If you ask its engineering union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, Boeing's (BA 1.39%) negotiations surrounding a new collective labor agreement seem tailor-made to provoke a strike. In fact, SPEEA says it's gearing up to run a strike against the aerospace giant, one that could cost the company $250 million a day in lost airplane sales and hamstring a whole string of airplane parts suppliers -- from General Electric (GE 1.17%) to Honeywell (HON -0.73%) to Spirit AeroSystems (SPR 0.86%) in the process. Is there any hope for the parties to come to agreement, and avoid a crippling labor strike?

Fool contributor Rich Smith recently reached out to both SPEEA and Boeing, asking them what's really at stake in these negotiations, and what they both need to come to an agreement. In today's video, he examines SPEEA's three key demands, and explains why it may be to SPEEA's advantage to soften its positions, and move toward compromise with Boeing on each.