Boeing strike costs $50 million a day as negotiations resume

• Boeing is expected to resume negotiations with union bosses on Monday.
• Analysts estimate the strike is costing Boeing $50 million a day.
• Thousands of members of the IAM union have been on strike since September 13th.

Boeing and union bosses are expected to return to the bargaining table on Monday, more than three weeks after workers took to the picket line.

A group of Bank of America analysts led by Ron Epstein estimated that the strike cost Boeing $50 million a day.

About 33,000 Boeing workers, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, have been on strike since September 13.

“A resolution with the IAM is my priority and our team is ready to resume mediated discussions this Monday,” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told employees on Friday, according to Reuters.

When contacted by Business Insider, Boeing did not comment further and only confirmed that negotiations would resume on Monday.

To save money during the strike, the plane maker furloughed some employees and banned all workers, including executives, from flying business class.

Nearly 95% of union members voted against Boeing's initial offer of a 25% pay increase over the life of the four-year contract.

After 10 days of strike, Boeing increased the offer to a 30% wage increase plus a doubling of the signing bonus to $6,000 if workers agreed by the end of the week.

The IAM District 751 bargaining committee called Boeing's “direct trade tactics” a “blatant sign of disrespect” and said this offer was released to the media while union leaders were still reviewing the details.

Committee members added that they would not be able to vote on the offer before the company's deadline.

Union members said a key issue was the desire to regain a defined benefit pension that was lost in contract negotiations in 2014 and replaced with 401(k) contributions.

The union said Boeing “remains adamant that it will not rescind the defined benefit plan.”

Many picketers appear ready to continue the strike, supported by union-funded debit cards with a weekly wage of $250.

Boeing is scheduled to report its third-quarter results on October 23. The company's stock has fallen nearly 8% in the last month and 38% since the beginning of the year.

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