BERKELEY — Boeing machinists went on strike on Monday morning after union members rejected the company’s second contract offer in two weeks.
A few dozen had gathered outside the company’s offices north of Lambert St. Louis International Airport, standing with picket signs.
Boeing isn’t being fair to its workers, said Keith Gallup, 37, an assembly mechanic from Bethalto.
“They’re just trying to get the cheapest labor as possible,†he said.
Company officials signaled they weren’t immediately budging.
“We are prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers,†Dan Gillian, a vice president and general manager for Boeing, said Sunday in a statement.
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He said leaders were disappointed employees rejected the offer.
Boeing is offering a 20% general wage increase over four years. But combined with other compensation boosts, such as extra pay for late shifts and attendance rewards, total average growth will be 40%, the company said Monday. The new contract also resolves a work schedule dispute, Gillian said.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers represents about 3,200 Boeing workers at facilities in St. Louis, St. Charles and Mascoutah, Illinois. The products made there include the F-15 and F-18 fighter jets, T-7A trainer and MQ-25 refueling drone.
Earlier this year, Boeing was awarded a $20 billion contract to build the Air Force’s next-generation fighter jet, the F-47. Although the Virginia-based company has not said whether it will hire more workers here, aerospace analysts had called the deal a major win for the region.
CEO Kelly Ortberg, on a quarterly earnings call this past week, downplayed the risk that a strike posed to the company, particularly compared to last year’s 53-day strike by about 30,000 Boeing workers at its Seattle-area operations that produce passenger aircraft.
“The order of magnitude of this is much, much less than what we saw last fall,†he said during the call. “We’ll manage through this. I wouldn’t worry too much about the implications of the strike.â€
Justin Winters, a Boeing employee with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, pickets outside of the company’s Berkeley headquarters on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, after union members voted down a contract with the defense contractor on Sunday and started striking.
Boeing workers involved with last year’s strike ultimately received a wage increase of 38% over four years.
Jeff Windau, a St. Louis-based industrial analyst for Edward Jones, said the strike could last a few weeks, “but it’s never clear exactly.â€
He said defense is becoming more important to Boeing’s bottom line.
“They’ve won some pretty significant deals here more recently with the new next-generation fighter,†Windau said, adding it probably gives the employees a little bit more leverage.
“They have a pretty significant program coming up that they need to continue development on,†Windau said.
Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, said the strike will last “as long as Boeing wants it to last.â€
“Labor has a lot of power right now,†he said. “Boeing found that out last year.â€
Sunday’s contract offer rejection came a week after an earlier vote had also rejected a contract offer for the employees of the three regional plants. The union and company continued to negotiate last week.
The union did not on Sunday provide vote totals for its District 837 members’ rejection of Boeing’s latest offer.
“IAM District 837 members have spoken loud and clear, (and) they deserve a contract that reflects their skill, dedication, and the critical role they play in our nation’s defense,†Tom Boelling, IAM District 837 directing business representative, said in a statement released Sunday afternoon, following the vote.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with these working families as they fight for fairness and respect on the job,†he said.
The strike started at midnight. By mid-morning Monday, about 30 people lined up along Airport Road outside the Berkeley facility.
“We feel entirely that it’s just completely inadequate,†Earl Schussler, 59, a longtime Boeing worker, said of the company’s offer.
Schussler said sacrifices were made by union members in 2014 so that Boeing stayed in St. Louis. Back in 2014, “we didn’t have any work here,†he said.
The 2014 contract sought to give Boeing a stronger hand in competing for new business in part by offering buyouts to veteran workers and lowering top pay for future hires.
“Now look at us today,†Schussler added, listing numerous products that the company is making. “We’ve made the sacrifices. It’s time to recognize us for those sacrifices.â€
Boeing stock closed on Monday at $222.38, up 48 cents or about one quarter of 1% — and almost 26% year to date.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture tens of thousands of images every year. See some of their best work that was either taken in June 2025 in this video. Edited by Jenna Jones.
