The date, Oct. 3, had been circled on Rothery’s calendar for more than a year. It was the last time that Boeing would bump up pension pay for Seattle-area factory workers before it froze the plan at month’s end, provisions dictated by a deeply unpopular 2014 contract extension. For Rothery, it was the final straw.  

“I’ll be 64 in November. After 37 years, that’s enough,” said Rothery, a tool-and-die maker. “I was working just to build a pension. As of Oct. 31, there’s no pension. Why stay?”   [Read more]