When is a strike not a strike? Apparently when a governor and federal mediators apply enough pressure to union leaders that the wishes of the workers are ignored.

Such was the case in Seattle on Wednesday night. Eighty-seven percent of union machinists and aerospace workers voted to strike Boeing Co. after rejecting Boeing's latest contract offer. Boeing officials said the offer included 11 percent average wage increases, bonuses that averaged $6,400, pension increases plus a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment.

For whatever reason, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers rejected the $34,000 in average pay and benefit gains per employee. And then called for a strike -- the second in three years.

Yet this morning, the workers punched in at factories in Wichita and Washington state as if nothing had happened. That was because union leaders agreed to a 48-hour contract extension, which was requested by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire as well as federal mediators. There is a great deal of interest in keeping the factories open, as a strike reportedly would cost Boeing $100 million per day in deferred revenue.

As costly as a strike is in this particular industry, we were still under the impression that unions represent labor -- not owners or management. And that representation demands democratic voting procedures and the rule of the majority. For a strike to occur, there even needs to be a full two-thirds majority.

How 87 percent, clearly above the two-thirds threshold, does not have final say in the Boeing incident is beyond our comprehension. We would recommend, however, that once this particular collective bargaining agreement is settled, the unions need to rid themselves of their leaders. It is clear those leaders are not acting in the best interests of the union members -- nor are they playing by well-established rules.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net