Union reaches a tentative agreement with Boeing

The Boeing Co. and its Machinists union reached a tentative contract agreement Sunday, which if approved would end a three-week strike that shut down the company's airplane production.

Connie Kelliher, a spokeswoman for Machinists District Lodge 751 in Seattle, confirmed the agreement had been reached.

Negotiations in the three-week-old strike had been stalled since about 18,400 Machinists walked off the job Sept. 2 over health premiums and other issues.

Boeing spokesman Chaz Bickers could not immediately be reached for comment, but earlier in the day he confirmed that the sides had resumed negotiating.

Workers represented in the talks now receive an average of $59,000 (Ђ48,690) a year. The company has said they would earn about $62,500 (Ђ51,575) a year by the end of the new contract, excluding overtime and other extra payouts, AP reported.