Boeing strike averted as St. Louis workers approve contract

(St. Louis, MO) -- Union workers at three St. Louis-area Boeing factories have approved the company's latest contract offer.

The vote Wednesday to approve the three-year proposal has averted a strike that market watchers say could have severely disrupted defense production in the U.S.

The employees' union says the new deal features the ten percent 401(k) match they'd wanted and also a 14 percent wage increase.

The three factories in St. Louis, St. Charles, Missouri and nearby Mascoutah, Illinois produce various military aircraft including the F-15 and F-18 fighter jets and the MQ-25 refueling drone.