Acting US labor secretary encourages Boeing and workers to reach 'fair contract'

By Allison Lampert

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su on Wednesday encouraged Boeing and more than 30,000 of the planemaker’s factory workers to bridge a divide in negotiations and reach a fair contract, as a vote on a new deal looms on Sept. 12.

Boeing’s Seattle-area workers, who produce the planemaker’s strongest-selling 737 commercial jet, are voting next week on their first new contract in 16 years, with the two sides still tackling demands such as job security.

The workers can strike as early as Sept. 13 if they reject the contract and overwhelmingly support a work stoppage.

The U.S. planemaker has been seeking to restore 737 MAX production to a rate of 38 per month after a January mid-air panel blowout on a new plane led Boeing to slow output of the jet.