NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 29, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the tentative agreement that Boeing Co. (A+/Stable/A-1) and its machinists union have reached on a contract offer has no affect on its ratings or outlook on Boeing. The agreement follows a nearly two-month strike that shut down the company's commercial airplanes unit. The International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' union leaders are recommending that the new contract offer be ratified by its members with a vote on Nov. 1. Boeing's revised offer is an improvement over the earlier one for the workers in terms of pension and health care benefits, but the union leadership agreed to extent the length of the contract to four
