When Boeing announced that it was phasing out its pension plan for new non-union workers, company officials said they would propose the same change to Boeing’s unions. Well, they’ve done that with the largest union — the Seattle-based International Association of Machinists unit — and the answer was a firm “no.” Pensions & Investments reports that Boeing has dropped its pension proposal, meaning that newly hired union members will continue to get a traditional pension instead of an enhanced 401k.

The publication quotes Boeing spokesman Tim Healy:

“This proposal reflects our effort to listen to employees and (develop) an agreement they’ll be happy with,” Mr. Healy said.

The underlying cost concerns behind the proposal to close the DB plan to new employees haven’t changed, Mr. Healy said. “A (DC plan) for employees will continue to be something that we’ll talk about, but for this contract, it’s out,” he said.