SEATTLE -- Boeing's Machinists union will vote Saturday on whether to end a 53-day-old strike against Boeing Co.

KING

In a posting on the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Web site, the union says the vote will have just one ballot to accept or reject the new contract. Only a 50 percent plus one majority is needed to accept or reject.

The union representing 27,000 production workers in Washington state, Oregon and Kansas went on strike Sept. 6 after rejecting a final contract offer by the company. Sticking points were job security and health benefits. More than 90 percent of members are expected to vote on the new proposal, reached late Monday.

Members of the Machinists union walked off the job even as the economy slid into turmoil and credit markets froze. The strike is their fourth against Boeing in two decades after a 28-day strike in 2005, a 69-day walkout in 1995 and a 48-day strike in 1989. The seven-week strike has cost Boeing an estimated $100 million a day in deferred revenue and pushed back scheduled deliveries of its commercial airplanes, including its long-awaited 787 jetliner.

Boeing and Machinists union representatives said the proposed deal would enhance job security, the thorniest issue in the dispute.

Early Tuesday, striking workers huddled around a burn barrel outside a 737 plant near Seattle and said they had seen only a summary of the proposed deal and wouldn't decide how to vote until they see the details.

"We've just seen the good parts," said Clay Tinker, a technician who joined Boeing in 1989. "We haven't seen the fine print, just the highlights."

"I have no idea on how I'm going to vote. I haven't seen the contract yet. I've just seen little pieces of it," said another worker.

Francis "Frank" Larkin, a spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in Washington, D.C., told The Associated Press the deal was reached shortly before 9 p.m. EDT Monday, in the fifth day of talks at Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service headquarters in Washington and the 52nd day of the walkout.

If the offer is ratified, members could return to work Monday, which would mean Sunday night for workers on the third shift. Members typically have 14 days to return to work after a contract is ratified.

Until the contract is ratified, members are still expected to walk the picket lines.

In a news release, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Scott E. Carson said the agreement "rewards employees for their contributions to our success while preserving our ability to compete."

Boeing spokesman Tim Healy said the settlement included provisions for subcontractors to deliver parts and supplies to the shop floor and procedures for the union to bid for work.

Negotiations with a federal mediator started Thursday in Washington, D.C. under a news blackout. It took until Saturday to agree on job security issues and two more days to agree on wages, retirement and medical care, Healy said

The union represents about 25,000 workers in the Seattle area, 1,500 in Gresham, Ore., and 750 in Wichita, Kan. Participants in the talks included IAM President Tom Buffenbarger and General Vice President Rich Michalski.

"I think we've addressed all the major concerns that our members have had," Buffenbarger said by telephone.

According to a union statement, the deal provides total wage increases of 15 percent over the 4-year life of the contract, compared with a total of 11 percent over three years in Boeing's last pre-strike offer.

It includes bonuses over the first three years of the contract, pension increases and the preservation of current medical benefits -- an issue Boeing had sought to change.

The pact also strengthens provisions for the union to bid against subcontractors for work and includes agreements to protect jobs held by workers such as forklift drivers and to limit vendor deliveries to the shop floor.

The union's aerospace coordinator and chief negotiator, Mark Blondin, said the sticking point in the last unsuccessful round of talks was Boeing's insistence on replacing about 2,000 union workers who distribute parts, deliver materials and perform similar tasks with outside suppliers and subcontractors.

Parts and supply delivery to the shop floor has been a sore spot with the union since 2002, when the Machinists voted to reject a contract offer giving subcontractors access to the shop floor for the first time but failed to muster the two-thirds vote required for a strike. As a result, Boeing was able to put the terms into effect without union agreement.

The Machinists sought to remove that provision during their 28-day strike in 2005 but settled without winning on that issue.

The latest walkout began three days after Boeing's last offer was rejected in early September. Two days of last-ditch talks to avoid a strike failed, and another two-day round of negotiations collapsed Oct. 13. Mediators were involved in both of those efforts.

Separately, Boeing's contract talks with its union engineers will move into high gear later this week. The company hopes to avoid a second strike, this one by its white-collar union, which represents 21,000 scientists, engineers, manual writers, technicians and other hourly workers.

Shares of Boeing rose $2.12, or 5 percent, to $44.48, in midday trade on Tuesday.

Boeing statement

"Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers today reached tentative agreement on a new four-year contract covering 27,000 employees in Washington, Oregon and Kansas.  Union leadership is recommending that employees vote to ratify the contract.

The company retained the flexibility necessary to manage its business, while making changes to the contract language to address the union's issues on job security, pay and benefits. The offer provides general wage increases every year and increases pension benefits. In addition, Boeing is proposing no changes to the cost share employees currently pay for a selection of outstanding health care plans.

"This is an outstanding offer that rewards employees for their contributions to our success while preserving our ability to compete," said Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "I thank both negotiating teams and the federal mediator for their hard work and commitment in reaching this agreement.  We recognize the hardship a strike creates for everyone - our customers, suppliers, employees, community and our company - and we look forward to having our entire team back."

By mutual agreement, details of the agreement will be released first by the union. If employees vote to approve the offer, it will end the strike by approximately 27,000 employees in Washington, Oregon and Kansas."

Machinists statement

"Our Union has delivered what few Americans have - economic certainty and quality benefits over the next four years.

We have secured health care benefits with no additional cost shifting. The amount members will pay in deductibles and co-pays by the end of this contract, will have remained constant since 2002.

Preserving a defined benefit pension plan for all members is becoming rare; improving the defined benefit plan is a positive move.

As the financial markets have crumbled, the Union delivered 15% guaranteed pay increases for every member over the life of the agreement. In addition, there are significant lump sum payments in the first three years.

The fight for job security is something we battle every contract, every opportunity and every day. In this round, we won the battle and made some significant gains. In the fight for job security, we won. We will fight again in every contract going forward, as long as companies like Boeing see an advantage in bolstering their bottom line by sacrificing quality for the cheapest labor. At 30,000 feet airline customers want quality."