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Boeing workers in St. Louis, the 3,200 Midwestern machinists who power the military-supplier branch of the country’s single largest exporter, have now been on strike for more than six weeks. Since they walked off the job Aug. 4, I’ve followed their long, grueling strike [ [link removed] ].
They’ve rejected three consecutive contract offers, buoyed by last year’s seven-week Boeing commercial strike in Seattle. Now, the company is beginning to feel the heat [ [link removed] ]: In an investor call on Sept. 11, CEO Robert “Kelly” Ortberg admitted that the work stoppage has “impacted fighter production,” slowing down F-15 and F-18 production and hampering Boeing’s ability to produce some munitions.
Tomorrow, Boeing workers are set to vote on a union-proposed contract to end the strike. Last week, the workers rejected a company-proposed offer by 57%. But workers are also feeling the pressure: They lost their health insurance after crossing the one-month mark. Meanwhile, Boeing has threatened to hire full-time workers to replace them instead of resolving the contract fight. The company is holding career fairs across the country, but none in-person in St. Louis.
Boeing Vice President of Air Dominance Dan Gillian called [ [link removed] ] the union’s offer a “publicity stunt” and a “waste of time that will not help the parties reach a deal.” If the union approves the latest offer, which includes bigger signing bonuses and 401(k) contributions that workers say are more aligned with those their counterparts in Seattle get, it will go to Boeing as a preapproved contract. If Boeing rejects the contract offer, the strike will continue.
In my reporting for Inkstick, I’ve learned how some Boeing machinists — people who construct multimillion dollar bombs and planes for wealthy clients like the US and Israeli governments — are so underpaid they have to take on second and third jobs to make ends meet. One worker I spoke with has worked off-hours as a Lyft driver and a security guard; a colleague of his runs a catering business on the weekends.
For more on what keeps Boeing workers on the picket line — and the intricate politics of military-industry unionism — I hope you’ll check out my article [ [link removed] ] on Inkstick.

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