Boeing and machinists to resume talks

CHICAGO, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Boeing Co. and striking machinists agreed to resume talks with the help of a federal mediator, union officials in Seattle said Thursday.

"We should be meeting by the weekend," International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers local President Tom Wroblewski told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

"We have gone 33 days and we have not been talking and airplanes have not been delivered," Wroblewski said. "The investors are squawking and the stock market is going down. But the strength of our members has not wavered, and that's why I'm optimistic," he said.

Until recently, differences over union demands to have more say in company outsourcing have led to statements that the two sides were far apart.

In a statement released Wednesday, Boeing's vice president of human resources Doug Kight said "we are interested in exploring whether there is a path forward to resolve the strike."

"There are a number of issues to resolve, and any agreement must allow us to remain competitive and provide the flexibility to manage our business," he said.

The location and date of the resumed talks were up to the federal mediator, the newspaper reported.