A strike in progress 33,000 Boeing machinists took a potentially dangerous turn as a security guard displayed a gun after an altercation with workers walking a picket line Monday outside the plane maker’s main headquarters in Seattle.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to “reports of a disturbance” at a Boeing parts distribution center at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday morning, a King County Sheriff’s Office spokesman told CBS MoneyWatch, noting reports of protesters blocking access to the property.
A security guard flashed a gun as he left the location, though there was no indication he pointed it at anyone and he left without further incident, according to the sheriff’s department.
Boeing called the incident “unacceptable” and said the contract security guard involved would not return to the company.
“We respect the right of our employees to peacefully picket and believe everyone should feel safe. We are cooperating with the King County Sheriff’s Office as they investigate,” the aircraft manufacturer said in a statement.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM District 751, and the company that employed the guard, Allied Universal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tensions between Boeing and striking assembly workers are high. The plane’s manufacturer said Monday it was hiring freeze because of the strike launched three days earlier, saying that the fallout “endangers” their business.
Workers voted overwhelmingly to reject a proposal that would have increased wages by 25% over four years, with the deal falling short of the union’s initial demand for a 40% wage increase over three years The union also sought to restore traditional pensions that were eliminated a decade ago, but settled for increased contributions from Boeing to employees’ 401(k) pension plans.
The striking workers build the 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling jetliner, along with the 777 business jet and the 767 cargo plane at factories in Renton and Everett, Washington. Boeing 787 Dreamliners are built by non-union workers in South Carolina.
Boeing has already faced financial setbacks and a battered reputation before the strike. It has lost more than $25 billion since the beginning of 2019 after a series of manufacturing problems and comes under investigation by federal regulators this year.
IAM District 751 said in a declaration that its negotiating committee will enter into mediation with Boeing on Tuesday. The union noted that the mediator would not have the authority to force either side to accept specific terms, but would instead act as a neutral party trying to help the sides find common ground.