Boeing machinists return to work after eight-week strike

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- About 27,000 machinists begin to return to their jobs at Boeing's assembly lines across the country late Sunday, after they voted overnight to end their eight-week strike that has shut down the company's jetliner production and cost at least 2 billion dollars in profits.

Members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) Saturday evening voted overwhelmingly to approve a new four-year contract reached last week between the union and Boeing, ending the strike, which began early September and became the third longest in Boeing's history.

The new labor contract, brokered by a federal mediator in Washington, give the machinists more job security, a 15 percent pay raise and bonuses of at least 8,000 dollars.

The first machinists are expected to return to work Sunday night, with a large majority being back at work Monday, according to union officials.

"It's over," said Mark Blondin, the union's national aerospace coordinator. "It's been hard on our members. They've earned this contract."

The strike shut down Boeing's jetliner production at a time when the airplane manufacturing giant company has a record backlog of fuel-efficient jets to build.

Boeing has a commercial backlog of 3,725 planes to build currently, worth 275 billion dollars at list prices, after selling more than 1,000 jets each of the past three years.

Industry analysts estimate that the company lost at least 2 billion dollars in profits as the strike forced it to delay deliveries of new aircraft, including the long-awaited, fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner jet, to customers.