Boeing, union reach tentative deal to end strike

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Boeing and its largest union reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract that could end a strike that has shut down the company's commercial airplane operations since early September.

Chicago-based Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) announced the tentative agreement Monday evening.

In a news release, Boeing said it modified the contract language to address the union's issues on job security, pay and benefits. The company also said the deal allows it to retain the flexibility necessary to manage its business.

The agreement "rewards employees for their contributions to our success while preserving our ability to compete," the company said in the statement.

IAM withheld additional details of the agreement until it is distributed to its members.

According to the union, it took five days of negotiations and assistance from federal mediators for the parties to hammer out the deal.

In a statement to union members, Tom Wroblewski, president of the IAM's District 751, said the union had gained "important and substantial improvements" over Boeing's previous offer. "Your solidarity brought Boeing back to the table and made this company address your issues," he said.

The agreement still must be approved by the 27,000 striking workers before it goes into effect. A vote will take place in three to five days, according to the union.

The strike, which began on September 6 and has lasted 52 days, is the longest that the machinists union has staged at Boeing in more than a decade, according to a Boeing spokesman. The work stoppage has cost the aerospace company about $100 million a day in lost revenue, he said.

From CNN's Karina Frayter