SEATTLE, Wash. -- Boeing and its engineers union - SPEEA - reached a tentative agreement late Friday night.

Members of Boeing's Society of Professional Electrical Engineers Assocation got their very first look at the company's contract offer earlier Friday. It comes a matter of weeks after a strike by Boeing's "biggest" union-- the Machinists -- shut down local plants for two months!

The tentative agreement proposes:

* a five percent annual salary adjustment in each year of the contract;

* participation in the company's Employee Incentive Plan, which, according to the company, paid individual employees 41 days of extra pay over the last three years;

* improvements to the health care benefits, including enhanced wellness and preventive care coverage at slight cost increases.

"These agreements are the result of lots of hard work by all parties," said SPEEA Executive Director and Chief Spokesperson Ray Goforth in a press release.

Boeing Vice President of Human Resources Doug Kight said in a separate release, "our goal was to negotiate contracts that reward our employees for their hard work and the success they helped create."

SPEEA is recommending that nearly 21,000 employees in Washington, Oregon, California and Utah vote to ratify the agreement.

SPEEA's two contracts expire Dec. 1. One covers about 14,200 scientists, engineers and other professionals with average salaries of $92,161. The other covers nearly 6,700 manual writers, technicians and other hourly workers paid an average of $68,157. Nearly 20,000 are in the Seattle area and about 550 are in Utah, California and Oregon.

Members of each unit will be asked whether to approve their contract and whether to authorize their leaders to call a strike if the contract is rejected. A majority is required for ratification or for strike authorization by either unit.