If you are not familiar with the term “scab,” then you may not pay much attention to union terminology. A “scab” is “a person who takes over the job of striking workers or works during a strike.” And aerospace stock Boeing (BA) seems to be ready to bring in exactly that, as it seeks “permanent replacement workers” for the strikers in St. Louis. Investors were not happy, and shares were down over 1.5% in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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Boeing announced that it plans to hire new workers to replace the striking workers at the St. Louis-area plants, as revealed by Defense Vice President Dan Gillian. Gillian noted the move was intended to “…ensure we’re properly staffed to keep supporting our customers.” Boeing has already been using non-union employees to keep production lines running since August 4, when the strike began, reports noted. The new employees will need to get government security clearance, a prospect that takes, at last report, around six months to complete.
The union, of course, is not taking this lightly. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) President Brian Bryant noted, “Boeing is doubling down on its mismanagement by saying it plans to hire replacement workers to build military aircraft and equipment, instead of negotiating with their dedicated, generational and skilled workforce.”
“…Do Right by Their Workers”
The strikers did get a note of support, meanwhile, from United States Senator Josh Hawley, who noted, “And I think what needs to happen at the end of the day is management needs to come to the table and do right by their workers. I mean, listen, the CEOs of Boeing have made unbelievable sums of money while their planes have been falling out of the sky…literally.”
But Boeing does not seem especially interested in making much of a deal with the St. Louis strikers. Boeing is open to “minor adjustments” in the previously-offered contract, but not large-scale ones, suggesting that any move to get what the Seattle crews got will be out of reach.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 17 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 46.4% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $261.24 per share implies 14.88% upside potential.
