Boeing workers vote to continue strike as group reveals massive loss

Boeing factory workers have voted against the company’s latest contract offer and remain on the picket lines six weeks into a strike that has stopped production of the aerospace giant’s bestselling jetliners.

Local union leaders in Seattle said 64% of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers who cast ballots Wednesday voted against accepting the contract offer.

“After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly,” Jon Holden, the head of the IAM District 751 union, said in a statement Wednesday evening.

“This is workplace democracy – and also clear evidence that there are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after year.”

A spokesperson for Boeing said officials did not have a comment on the vote.

The standoff comes during an already challenging year for Boeing, which became the focus of multiple federal investigations after a door panel blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

The strike has deprived the company of much-needed cash that it gets from delivering new planes to airlines.

On Wednesday, the company reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6bn (€5.6bn).