Vote to continue strike exposes Boeing workers' anger over lost pensions

Since going on strike last month, Boeing factory workers have repeated one theme from their picket lines: They want their pensions back.

Boeing froze its traditional pension plan as part of concessions that union members narrowly voted to make a decade ago in exchange for keeping production of the company's airline planes in the Seattle area.

Like other large employers, the aerospace giant argued back then that ballooning pension payments threatened Boeing's long-term financial stability. But the decision nonetheless has come back to have fiscal repercussions for the company.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced Wednesday night that 64% of its Boeing members voted to reject the company's latest contract offer and remain on strike. The offer included a 35% increase in wage rates over four years for 33,000 striking machinists but no restoration of pension benefits.