spacetoday.net: Boeing strike ends

Posted: Thu, Feb 2, 2006, 7:33 AM ET (1233 GMT)
Delta 2 Heavy launch of SIRTF (NASA/KSC)

A three-month strike that crippled Boeing's launch vehicle program ended Wednesday when striking workers ratified a new contract. Striking members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at Boeing sites in Alabama, California, and Florida all approved a revised contract proposal that union officials said offered "substantive, not substantial" concessions on wages and health and retirement benefits. the strike, which started November 2, had delayed three Delta 2 and Delta 4 launches from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base, and created a ripple effect that will likely delay future Delta launches as well. Workers are expected to report back to work on Monday, and launches will resume in about a month.