Boeing Workers Go on Strike

They are unhappy with the terms of the collective bargaining agreement offered by the company.

Work stopped one minute after midnight GMT, less than three hours after the local chapter of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced that 94.6 percent of workers who voted rejected the proposed contract and 96 percent approved the work stoppage, easily exceeding the two-thirds majority requirement of the union voting.

The strike involves 33,000 Boeing workers, most of whom live in Washington state, and is expected to halt production of the company’s best-selling planes.

The strike will not affect commercial flights, but it represents another setback for the aerospace giant, whose reputation and finances have been battered by production problems and multiple federal investigations this year.