District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers literally marched to the polls yesterday to vote on whether or not to accept or strike against Boeing?s most recent contract offer. 80% voted to reject the contract, and 87% voted in favor of striking, as urged by union officials. The strike was scheduled to begin at 3:01 am this morning, but before it had a chance to, Boeing management asked to return to talks, despite an earlier announcement that this contract was their ?best and last? offer. The union agreed to return to talks for 48 hours. If the two sides do not come to an agreement, a strike is scheduled to begin Saturday morning. The decision to return for talks means that Boeing temporarily can continue working on the Dreamliner without further delays, but also puts more pressure on the company to meet union demands
See "After strike vote, Boeing union agrees to resume talks", Micheline Maynard, The New York Times, September 3, 2008