Jason Chan has officially moved from behind the scenes to the front of the room. The longtime Boeing mechanic and union staffer was elected president and directing business representative of the International Association of Machinists District 751 at a membership meeting on April 28. He steps into the district’s top role after Jon Holden departed in March to take a position with the union’s national organization. Chan, 49, has served as Holden’s chief of staff since 2021 and previously spent about a decade as a wing mechanic on Boeing’s 737 program. Members at the meeting nominated him without opposition.
According to The Seattle Times, District 751 represents roughly 33,000 workers across the Puget Sound region, and Chan will serve the remaining two years of Holden’s term. The paper reported that he was the only person nominated at the membership meeting, which meant the union did not have to run a broader election that would have been held in June if the race had drawn more candidates.
In a press release posted by IAM District 751, Chan said he was “honored and humbled” to take on the job and pledged to “work every day to earn that trust.” Union leaders framed the handoff as a continuity move designed to keep experienced bargaining staff in place as the next round of contract talks creeps closer.
Next Contract Fight Looms
Chan walks into an agenda that union leaders say will focus heavily on wages, retirement security, time off and work-life balance as they prepare for the next major round of negotiations. The current contract does not expire until 2028, but nobody in Everett or Renton is pretending that is far off.
Boeing, for its part, issued a short statement saying it “looks forward to working with Jason and congratulates him on his new leadership role,” according to The Seattle Times. Rank-and-file members will be watching closely to see whether Chan sticks with the same playbook that built leverage during the 2024 bargaining round or charts a different course.
Why This Matters for Puget Sound
The 2024 work stoppage was a blunt reminder of how much clout District 751 can wield. The strike paused production at Boeing factories in Renton and Everett and contributed to major delivery delays for the company. As Axios reported, the stoppage amplified machinists’ bargaining power and sent economic ripples through the region.
Chan’s background as a rank-and-file mechanic, combined with years inside the union, gives him relationships across the district. The early months of his tenure will be measured by how he positions members for the 2028 contract round and whether he can turn the solidarity on display in 2024 into concrete gains. From Everett to Renton, union halls will be watching how quickly Chan settles in at the main bargaining table and whether his approach shifts the balance in the next talks.
