Boeing factory workers go on strike after rejecting contract offer

A Boeing worker on strike (Lindsey Wasson/AP)

Aircraft assembly workers have walked off the job at Boeing factories near Seattle after union members voted overwhelmingly to go on strike and reject a tentative contract that would have increased wages by 25% over four years.

The strike started at 12.01am local time, less than three hours after the local branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced 94.6% of voting workers rejected the proposed contract and 96% approved the work stoppage, easily surpassing a two-thirds requirement.