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Head of Wash. Boeing machinists retiring

SEATTLE — The head of Puget Sound-area Boeing machinists says he's retiring at the end of January.

Tom Wroblewski cited health concerns as he made his announcement to a union council Tuesday evening. He says the stress of the past three months has put him in the hospital twice since Dec. 27.

On Jan. 3, Boeing machinists narrowly approved a contract in which they conceded some benefits in order to secure assembly of the new 777X airplane in Washington state. The same machinists rejected a Boeing proposal in November. Wroblewski had argued against a second vote, saying the offers were too similar. National Machinists union leaders pushed for the second vote.

The 59-year-old Wroblewski has served as president of Machinists Union District Lodge 751 since March 2007. He was re-elected in 2008, and again in 2012.

Copyright The Associated Press