A STRIKE threatening to shut down aircraft production will be avoided, if a historical new contract between union negotiators and Boeing in the United States is rubber-stamped.  

The 33,000 workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers would get pay raises of 25 per cent over the four-year contract, with average wages rising 33 per cent due to seniority step increases. 

That is less than the 40 per cent the union had demanded during negotiations.