MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Missouri — St. Louis-area Boeing Co. machinists on Friday rejected the company’s newest offer, opting instead to prolong their six-week strike.

St. Louis members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 gathered at St. Louis Music Park on Friday morning to vote on the contract.

By noon, union spokesperson DeLane Adams said members had rejected it.

“Boeing’s modified offer did not include a sufficient signing bonus relative to what other Boeing workers have received, or a raise in 401(k) benefits,” the union said in a statement sent by DeLane. “The democratic vote underscores the determination of approximately 3,200 IAM Union members to continue their stand together until their voices are heard.”

Dan Gillian, Boeing’s top executive in St. Louis, said the company was disappointed in the result.

“We’ve made clear the overall economic framework of our offer will not change,” Gillian said Friday in a statement.

“We will continue to execute our contingency plan, including hiring permanent replacement workers, as we maintain support for our customers,” he continued.

Gillian said no further talks with the union were scheduled.

The union has been on strike since Aug. 4. Last month, members rejected an offer that included a $5,000 ratification bonus and a 20% general wage increase over four years.

The new offer includes a $4,000 ratification bonus and a 24% general wage increase over five years.

The new contract meant average wages would have grown from $75,000 to $109,000 over five years, Boeing said.

Gillian called it “the best deal we’ve ever offered to IAM 837.”

But it was clear Friday morning that union members were divided.

Outside the Music Park, workers in blue union shirts milled around, catching up with one another and asking each other how they voted. The lyrics of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” played from a speaker in the parking lot where union members sat by their cars chatting.

Joel Burroughs, a quality inspector, voted against it. He was frustrated with how long it took to get to the top of the pay scale. He said the new contract would help veteran workers, but not him.

“There’s definitely a divide between individuals with fewer than five years or persons who are kind of already at the top,” Burroughs said. “We have the least benefit from the contract.”

Dennis Delmain, a process mechanic at Boeing, voted for it. He said it was the first contract in the 16 years he’s been with the company where he wouldn’t lose anything.

“Every contract we’ve went through, I’ve lost something,” Delmain said. “I paid more on insurance. Whatever they give me went right back into what they charge us.”

But he knew that younger workers, especially, were upset over what Boeing was offering.

“This is a good contract for these younger kids. They don’t realize that,” Delmain said. “That 4%, by the time they get to the end of their career, 25, 30 years, that’s almost an extra $200,000.”

Nicholas Schutte, a quality inspector, voted against the offer. He said he didn’t like how union officials have been conducting negotiations. It’s like the union isn’t listening to what its members want, he said.

“The entire time they’ve been pussyfooting around,” he said. “(They’re) like, ‘Yeah, this is the best we could do. We don’t really know what you guys want.’”

Schutte said he didn’t think the contract would pass.

David Stevenson cast his ballot in favor of the contract but quickly left the concert venue where the vote took place because there was “too much negativity” from other workers, he said.

Stevenson is an assembly mechanic who worked for GKN Aerospace for 18 years before Boeing acquired his site last year. He said contracts are a “give and take” and that the benefits will accumulate over time.

The union will have more negotiating power in a few years when the new site expansion is completed and work on the new F-47 fighter jet is underway, he said.

“You can’t expect everything up front,” Stevenson said. “I mean, it’s not the best, but it’s a decent paying job… Nobody wants to work. Everybody wants to be wealthy. I’d rather be wealthy, but there’s worse jobs out there.”

Later Friday, after the votes were tallied, Stevenson said he doesn’t know what the plan is now.

“I’m not sure what they’re after,” he said of union leadership. “I don’t know how much more what they’re wanting. I haven’t heard anything from the union since we basically started.”

Still, he said he wouldn’t cross the picket line.

“It is what it is,” he said. “I guess we’ll keep walking.”

Meanwhile, he said, maybe he’ll get a second job. He hears DoorDash is hiring.

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