Posted: Wed, Jan 11, 2006, 6:00 AM ET (1100 GMT)
A strike by 1,500 Boeing employees involved with the Delta launch vehicle program continues, with recent talks unable to bring both sides closer to an agreement. Officials from Boeing and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers met Monday in an effort to try an end a strike that started two months ago, but made no progress. The union has turned down a proposal from the company for wage increases, saying the pay hike would not keep pace with inflation and would also cause health care costs to rise. The strike has delayed three launches of Delta 2 and Delta 4 vehicles from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base, and has also halted most Delta manufacturing work at the company's plant in Decatur, Alabama. Company officials said they are now looking into "contingency plans" to move ahead with those launches.
