Boeing hopes to offer a final work contract to its white-collar engineers' union by the end of this week, well before the termination of the existing contract, as the plane maker looks to avoid a second debilitating strike at its Seattle-area plants.
Current three-year work contracts for the 20,000 or so members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) are set to expire on December 1.
Boeing said late on Wednesday it had reached tentative agreement with the union on all non-economic issues in a new four-year contract, and hoped to wrap up negotiations this week.
However, it said "substantial differences remain" on the economic issues, which the two sides are set to hammer out on Thursday.
SPEEA leaders, who have been in face-to-face talks with Boeing since October 29, also reported progress, but were doubtful about a full agreement being reached soon.
"Several major issues remain unresolved and possible stumbling blocks to successful completion of the negotiations," said the most recent message on the union's web site.
"Among these items are wage increases, economics of medical benefits and retirement issues."
Boeing is still struggling to get its plants moving again after a 58-day stoppage caused by a strike by the 27,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which ended November 2.
On top of that, Boeing is facing disruptions on its 737 production line to fix a problem with small structural joining components -- known as nutplates -- on which suppliers didn't apply anti-corrosion coatings.
The company's 787 Dreamliner is also beset by a problem relating to incorrectly installed fasteners, which looks likely to delay the new plane even further.
Boeing said last week the 787 would not fly until next year, the fifth substantial delay on the first flight of the carbon-composite, fuel-efficient plane.
Boeing has not yet updated its delivery schedule to account for the strike and other issues, but analysts do not expect any 787 deliveries until 2010. The plane was originally intended to be in service in May of 2008.
