A machinists’ strike in October would be the third strike for Boeing in as many years—with possible implications for the US military.

The summer of 2026 is beginning to turn to fall, but aerospace and defense giant Boeing appears on track to rewind the clock to 2024 instead.

That year was an annus horribilis for Boeing for a variety of reasons. Early in the year, a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight during takeoff; the pilots were able to land the plane without incident, but the FAA grounded Boeing’s 737 MAX 9 fleet in its aftermath. In July, the company pleaded guilty to deceiving federal investigators about the plane’s readiness ahead of earlier crashes in 2019, but the plea deal was quickly thrown out by a judge. And the company’s much-ballyhooed Starliner dropped a pair of astronauts off at the International Space Station, but was unable to return to pick them up, leaving them stranded for more than nine months before a rocket from rival space firm SpaceX brought them down in March 2025.

Most consequentially for Boeing’s defense business, the summer of 2024 also saw a crippling labor strike at its facilities in Seattle. The following year, machinists at a Boeing facility in St. Louis walked off the job after contract negotiations fell through, leading to another shutdown from August through November 2025. The strikes were calamitous for Boeing and the US defense industrial base, significantly delaying production of the Air Force’s F-15EX Eagle II and other aircraft.

This week, history may be repeating itself: Boeing is facing the prospect of another significant strike in the fall that could severely disrupt aircraft production, delay critical jet certifications, and put heavy financial strain on the company.

Boeing announced on Friday that it would withdraw perks it had offered for 2026 to the largely white-collar workers who are members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) union, after its members rejected the largest wage increase offered in more than four decades. The union, which represents around 17,000 engineers, scientists, and technical workers, voted to authorize a strike—and will forfeit the proposed immediate 3 percent guaranteed wage increase that would be retroactive to this past February, along with a 30 percent wage increase over the next four years. In addition, employees were to receive three extra days of paid leave, lower limits on mandatory overtime, and even additional opportunities for virtual/remote work.

“With the disappointing vote results, we are now diverting those dollars to execute our plan and prepare for a potential strike,” wrote Ben Nimmergut, Boeing vice president and functional chief engineer for production engineering, in a statement to The Air Current. “That means the retroactive pay and higher incentive plan target for 2026 are no longer available.”

No One’s Happy About the Boeing Strike

Dan Nowlin, a Boeing equipment and tool specialist who also served on the negotiating team that originally endorsed the contract, said that the no vote was unexpected.

“We—with the company—we worked very hard to come to an agreement. We believed that it was an agreement that we could take honestly before the members and get a result,” Nowlin told Kiro7.com.

After the contract offer was rejected, members voted to allow the SPEEA’s leadership to authorize a strike if a new contract is not reached after the current one expires in October.

There are several issues and grievances at play between the two sides. Among them were concerns that jobs could be sent out of state, and that decisions made by the company’s engineers and technical staff were overruled by management. It was also about the money, with workers stating that salaries for those located in the Pacific Northwest weren’t keeping up with inflation and the broader aerospace sector.

This Boeing Strike Won’t Be as Bad as 2024

The 2024 strike in Seattle saw approximately 33,000 commercial airplane workers, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), walk off the job for two months. That strike halted key commercial aircraft production—including the 737 Max, 777, and 767—cost billions in financial losses, and triggered widespread supply chain and workforce cutbacks.

The St. Louis strike that began last September involved 3,200 defense and military aircraft workers, impacting production of the F-15EX Eagle II for the Air Force and the F/A-18 Super Hornet for the Navy. It ended on November 13, 2025, when union members voted to accept a fifth contract offer, securing extra pay raises for top-paid employees despite dropping other demands like a larger 401(k) match.

It took several months for the defense division to get back on track, and it wasn’t until March of this year that Boeing was able to expand production of the Eagle II.

The pending strike is likely to have less of an impact on the defense aircraft. Instead, it will cause further delays to the 737 Max 10 and 777-9, and airlines already waiting for delayed 737 Max and 787 deliveries could face even longer wait times.

Boeing likely has contingency plans in place, but any prolonged work stoppages drain cash flow and hurt supplies across the nationwide aerospace supply chain. Facing yet a third strike in as many years is something the aerospace firm has earnestly attempted to avoid.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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