A union representing workers at Boeing Co.’s St. Louis-area defense factories urged U.S. lawmakers from Missouri to intervene and nudge the planemaker to reach a deal.

The IAM Union, which represents 3,200 workers currently on strike, said it had written letters to senators and representatives to press Boeing to return to the bargaining table, the group said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We remain ready and willing to listen to any constructive proposals from the union,” Dan Gillian, a Boeing vice president and senior St. Louis site executive, said in an email.

About 3,200 machinists walked off the job earlier this month after members voted down a deal that would have raised wages by 20% and boosted retirement contributions. The union last went on strike in 1996, with the stoppage lasting 99 days.

The action adds pressure to Boeing’s turnaround efforts with the defense and space division contributing about a third of the company’s revenue.

Union members build fighter aircraft such as the F-15, the T-7 training jet, missiles and munitions. They also manufacture components for Boeing’s 777X commercial jets. In March, Boeing won a contract to design and build the U.S.’s next-generation stealth fighter jet, beating out rival Lockheed Martin Corp. for the multi-billion-dollar program dubbed the F-47.

Still, the operation that’s now gone on strike is far smaller than the civil aircraft business that was severely affected late last year by a walkout, which brought manufacturing in the Seattle area to a standstill for weeks and contributed to Boeing selling equity worth almost $24 billion.

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