Production of Boeing’s C-17 cargo jet has been indefinitely suspended after workers walked off the job early Tuesday in a dispute over pension and medical benefits.

Some 1,700 line workers began a strike just past midnight, surrounding the plant with hundreds of picket signs a week after workers overwhelmingly rejected Boeing’s “best and final” deal for a new 46-month contract. Boeing management said the plant’s roughly 3,000 other workers reported as usual, but the sprawling production floor next to Long Beach Airport will remain dark until the dispute is resolved.

“A strike is a lose-lose for everybody, but the pension and medical issue is simply too important to let go,” said Stan Klemchuk, president of United Aerospace Workers Local 148, which represents the striking workers.

&#8226 Read the full Long Beach Press-Telegram story.