Strike to continue as Boeing workers reject 35% wage hike

SEATTLE - Boeing factory workers voted to reject a contract offer and continue a more than five-week strike on Oct 23, in a blow to new chief executive Kelly Ortberg's plan to shore up the finances of the struggling planemaker.

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The vote was 64 per cent in opposition to the deal, which offered a 35 per cent rise in wages over four years.

The rejection of Boeing's offer reflects years of resentment from workers who felt cheated by the company in talks a decade ago, and it also deepens a financial crisis.

After the vote, union leaders said they were ready to immediately resume negotiations with Boeing on the first new contract since 2014 when the company used the threat of moving production of the new version of the 777 out of the region to push through a deal that ended traditional pensions.