The ratification of the contract on eve of election day clears the way for a major U.S. manufacturer and government contractor to restart Pacific Northwest assembly lines that factory workers have left idling for 53 days.

According to the union, the 33,000 workers it represents can return to work as early as Wednesday or November 12 at the latest.

Most of its union workers are in the Seattle area, but Boeing has 1,200 union machinists at its Oregon facilities.

Boeing’s CEO said it could take “a few weeks” to resume production, in part because some may need to retrain.

IAM District 751 leaders supported the latest proposal, saying they believed they had achieved all they could through negotiations and the strike.

“It’s time for our members to consolidate these gains and declare victory with confidence,” the union district said ahead of Monday’s vote. “We believe that asking members to remain on strike for longer would not be a good thing given that we have had so much success. »

The average annual salary for Boeing machinists is currently $75,608 and will eventually rise to $119,309 under the new contract, according to the company.

A continuing strike would have plunged Boeing into a new financial peril and uncertainty.

Kelly Ortberg, CEOan outsider who started at Boeing only in August, announced plans to lay off about 10 percent of the workforce, or about 17,000 people, due to the strike and a series of other factors that have tarnished the company’s reputation and reputation. fortune of the company this year.

— David Koenig and Lindsey Wasson, Associated Press