Boeing supplier’s labor vote puts 737 output hike at risk

Boeing’s largest supplier is racing to avoid a potentially crippling strike, a disruption that would jeopardize the US planemaker’s effort to hike production of its cash-cow 737 jetliners. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings is preparing to make a so-called best-and-final offer this week to about 6,000 unionized employees at its Wichita, Kansas, home base. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers plan a June 21 vote on the proposal and, depending on the outcome, could go on strike at midnight on June 24. The sides are at loggerheads over wages, mandatory overtime and a management plan to gut traditional health-care insurance, said Cornell Beard, president of IAM’s District 70, which represents IAM members across Kansas. “The company is again telling us what a bad position they’re in,” Beard said in an interview. “Every time there’s a sacrifice to be made, we’re the ones to make it.” A work stoppage could have far-reaching implications for Boeing and its European rival Airbus SE — also a customer of cash-strapped Spirit — at a time when their factories are straining to keep pace with soaring jet sales. After 15 years of labor peace at aerospace manufacturers in the US, investors may be tuning out the risks of a strike, said Kristine Liwag, an analyst with Morgan Stanley. <br/>