spacetoday.net: Vote set to end Boeing strike

Posted: Mon, Jan 30, 2006, 6:30 AM ET (1130 GMT)
Delta 4 booster on pad awaiting launch (Boeing)

Boeing machinists are set to vote on a new contract proposal Wednesday that could end a strike that has delayed several Delta launches. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers who have been on strike at Boeing facilities in Alabama, California, and Florida will vote Wednesday on a revised contract offer by the company. Union officials said the offer contained "substantive, not substantial" changes from the company's last pre-strike proposal, but would not comment on whether union members would approve or reject the deal. The strike has affected Boeing's delta launch vehicle program, delaying at least three Delta 2 and Delta 4 launches from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base. If workers vote to end the strike Delta launches would resume by early March.