Boeing workers represented by the Machinists union are voting on a new contract offer. The proposal would extend the current contract for four years. The contract, which covers 31,000 employees, includes a no-strike clause through 2016. If workers ratify the contract, Boeing will build an upgrade at its plant in Seattle, and the union will retract a complaint from the National Labor Relations Board over plans to build a new factory in South Carolina. That complaint has spurred a national debate over the NLRB and labor laws. the contract also includes 2% pay increases each year and a $5,000 signing bonus.
See "Boeing Machinists Face 'Leap of Faith' in Landmark Wage Vote", James Langford and John Lear, Business Week, December 6, 2011