In September 2024, more than 30,000 Boeing workers went on strike after overwhelmingly rejecting management's offer on pay and conditions. Striking machinists say they are not paid enough to cover rising living costs in the West Coast states where Boeing's plants are based, with many working side jobs to make ends meet, and are pushing for benefits and entitlements, including pensions, lost in previous contract negotiations to be reinstated. Workers also say that pay rates do not compensate them adequately for their role in ensuring the safety of the planes Boeing manufactures, including the stress that such responsibility entails and the consequences if something goes wrong, including criminal liability. A string of recent safety incidents on Boeing planes - including an explosive decompression linked to an incorrectly installed door plug, causing minor injuries on a January 2024 flight from Portland Oregon to Ontario California - have drawn scrutiny and accusations of cost-cutting, with workers alleging that managers pressure them to keep quiet about quality assurance concerns and potential repairs.

The union has proposed 40% wage increases, as well as annual bonuses and a restoration of workers' pensions, while Boeing's "best and final offer", presented on September 23rd included 30% general wage increases over a four-year deal and reinstated an annual productivity bonus not included in the original offer.

One striking Boeing worker said: "for the amount of work I do and the quality that I produce, it seems unfair that I’m unable to afford my rent ... [Boeing is] putting me in essential poverty even though I’m working 40, 50, 60 hours per week”.

In response to the strike, Boeing announced it was suspending the jobs of tens of thousands of staff as a cost-saving measure.

Boeing's chief executive Kelly Ortberg said executives were trying to reach a new agreement "as soon as possible" and that executives would take "commensurate" pay cuts for the time of the strike and that staff on furlough would retain "all benefits". Brian Bryant, the international president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said he saw Boeing's actions as "smoke and mirrors" meant to distract from the real issue.