By ALLISON LAMPERT and DAVID SHEPARDSON Reuters
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WASHINGTON — The lead negotiator for a Boeing union representing about 33,000 workers who have been on strike for nearly a month said on Wednesday that members were prepared to wait out the planemaker, after pay talks collapsed a day earlier.

“We’re in this for the long haul and our members understand that,” Jon Holden said in an interview with Reuters.

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He said Boeing offered only minor improvements before breaking off talks on Tuesday and the union had a strong fund to support paying members $250 a week during the stoppage.

Reaching an accepted deal is critical for Boeing. Ratings agency S&P estimates the strike is costing it $1 billion a month and it is at risk of losing its prized investment grade credit rating.

Even before the strike began on Sept. 13, the company had been burning cash as it struggled to recover from a January mid-air panel blowout on a new plane that exposed weak safety protocols and spurred U.S. regulators to curb its production.

The walkout by the U.S. West Coast members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) shut production of Boeing’s strong-selling 737 MAX and 767 and 777 jets.

A letter sent on Wednesday from around 20 House Democrats to Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Holden and the international president of the IAM urged the two sides to bargain in good faith to reach a fair contract in a “timely manner.”

Boeing declined to comment on the letter.

Shares of the U.S. planemaker closed down 3.4% on Wednesday. The stock has lost more than 40% of its value in 2024.

Boeing said on Tuesday it had withdrawn its pay offer to the IAM after two days of talks and accused the union of not seriously considering its proposals.

The planemaker made an improved offer last month that would give workers a 30% raise and restore a performance bonus. But the union declined to hold a vote on the proposal Boeing called its “best and final”, arguing a survey of its members found that it was not enough.