Machinist union rejects Boeing contract, call for strike

SEATTLE -- The machinists union has rejected Boeing's final contract proposal and has called for a strike.

Connie Kelliher, a spokeswoman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge 751, says the union plans a news conference at 3 p.m. (1800 ET) to explain the details of the rejection.

Boeing presented its third and final contract proposal on Thursday.

The union covers more than 27,000 Boeing workers in three states. The call for a strike comes as Chicago-based Boeing tries to keep up with a backlog of plane orders and avoid more penalties caused by production delays of its next-generation passenger jet.