This is good news for everyone if it goes through.
WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) – Spirit AeroSystems and its machinists union reached a tentative contract agreement on Tuesday, with about 6,000 workers set to vote Thursday on whether to end a strike at the company’s plant in Wichita, Kansas.
The four-year contract includes wage increases of at least 23.5% over the life of the deal, guaranteed annual bonuses and a yearly cost of living adjustment, and a $3,000 signing bonus if the contract is accepted by Thursday, Spirit said in a statement.
If passed by a simple majority, employees represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) would end the strike and return to work on July 5, the union said.
As I noted the other day, the last thing anyone needs right now is yet another hiccup in the 737 supply chain. I didn’t change the forecast for the MAX when I heard about the strike because I assumed we’d see a quick resolution. Investors seem to like the new deal, too. Spirit’s stock price has almost fully recovered from its June 22 low.
Updated: The union approved the new contract by vote and will return to work on July 5th. The plant has been closed since June 22.
Douglas Royce covers the aviation gas turbine and military markets at Forecast International, a market research firm that forecasts annual production across a wide range of aerospace and defense systems.
