Boeing's (NYSE: BA) largest union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, is in its third day of a strike that's idled 27,000 workers. An aviation consultant argued that the strike could last more than a month, if history is any guide, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday. However, Stock Analyst C. Leonard Bauer said what counts in work stoppages is not so much company/sector precedent, but "the reality of the facts on the ground ... the nature of the issues involved." Bauer added that he does not have a rating on nor own shares in Boeing.
"The two sides are reasonably close on the standard pay increase, it's pension payment increases and the use of outside contractor for work that the two sides are far from agreement on," Bauer said. "Boeing is booming now and the IAM wants some assurance that their retirees' pension will not go the way of other corporate pension plans, which were revised lower as corporations faced tougher times. The two sides are still pretty far apart on that issue, as well as on the use of outside contractors." Boeing's shares rose 80 cents to $64.71 in Tuesday morning trading.
Given the above, a strike of less than a month "would be a moral victory," Bauer said.
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