Airbus Delays UK Walkout as Boeing Defense Labor Talks Freeze

Airbus averted an immediate walkout at its UK operations after the Unite union said the company had improved its pay and pension terms. The union has postponed the strike originally planned at the Filton and Broughton plants, and roughly 3,000 members will vote on the revised offer between 12-19 September. Details of the package were not disclosed, but Unite said the changes were sufficient to suspend industrial action while the ballot proceeds. Across the Atlantic, labor tensions at Boeing Defense remain unresolved. About 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837, who build F-15 and F/A-18 fighters, the T-7 trainer and components for the 777X, have been on strike at St. Louis-area facilities since 4 August. Boeing resumed negotiations briefly this week but has now placed the talks on hold until at least after the U.S. Labor Day holiday, according to both the company and the union.