Ouch.

RENTON, Wash. — Cash-strapped Boeing is facing mounting costs from an ongoing machinist strike as workers push for higher pay. A failure to get a deal done could be even more expensive.

 

In the shadow of a factory outside Seattle where Boeing makes its best-selling planes, picketing Boeing machinists told CNBC they have saved up money and have taken or are considering taking side jobs in landscaping, furniture moving or warehouse work to make ends meet if the strike is goes on much longer.

The work stoppage by Boeing’s factory workers in the Pacific Northwest just entered its second week. The financial cost of the strike on Boeing depends on how long it lasts, though ratings agencies have warned that the company could face a downgrade if it drags on too long.

Way bigger ouch.

A major strike is on the horizon for thousands of maritime workers, posing a threat to East Coast ports responsible for billions of dollars of goods.

 

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the largest union of maritime workers in North America, has vocalized plans to go on strike at all of its Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports Oct. 1 if a new contract agreement can’t be reached with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). The union is arguing for better wages and continued protections against automation and new technology in its terminals.

“A sleeping giant is ready to roar on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, if a new Master Contract Agreement is not in place,” ILA President Harold J. Daggett said in a statement Monday.  “My members have been preparing for over a year for that possibility of a strike.”