Machinists Union Ratifies Pact With Boeing

Volunteer Wilson Ferguson of Tacoma, Wash., looks for a union member's eligibility card before...

Volunteer Wilson Ferguson of Tacoma, Wash., looks for a union member's eligibility card before giving out a ballot. The Boeing Machinists voted on a new contract offered by Boeing at the International Association of Machinists union hall in Seattle, Saturday Nov. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

(AP)

Machinists union members have ratified a new contract with The Boeing Co., ending an eight-week strike that cut the airplane maker's profits and stalled jetliner deliveries.

Union members voted about 74 percent in favor of the proposal on Saturday, five days after the two sides tentatively agreed to the deal and union leaders recommended its approval. The union represents about 27,000 workers at plants in Washington state, Oregon and Kansas.

The union has said the contract protects more than 5,000 factory jobs, prevents the outsourcing of certain positions and preserves health care benefits. It also promises pay increases over four years rather than three, as outlined in earlier offers.

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