By Matt Tomsic
mtomsic@scbiznews.com
The National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint Wednesday, calling for Boeing to open a second 787 final assembly line in Washington state to remedy what it calls an illegal transfer of work to non-union facilities in North Charleston.
Boeing is building a multi-million dollar facility near Charleston International Airport to complement its first final assembly line in the Seattle area.
The board is pursuing an order to require Boeing to maintain a second assembly line in Washington state, though the complaint does not ask for the line in South Carolina to be closed, according to a news release from the NLRB.
The 10-page complaint quotes Boeing officials discussing the move to South Carolina as a way to avoid union strikes in Washington and finds company officials were coercive to its employees.
The complaint characterizes Boeing’s decision as retaliation against past strikes and a move to chill future strikes.
In statements made in December 2009, Ray Conner, vice president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Jim Proulx, a spokesman for Boeing, told the Seattle Times the company chose South Carolina to use a “dual-sourcing” system and to contract with separate suppliers to pass strikes in Washington.
Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, echoed those statements, saying in March 2010, Boeing decided to move the second line to South Carolina because of past strikes, the complaint said.
The complaint also includes similar statements from Boeing CEO Jim McNerney. The labor relations board started its investigation after receiving a complaint in March 2010 from the International Association of Machinists.
Union workers in Everett, Wash., staged a two-month strike in 2008 that cost Boeing tens of millions of dollars. The strike halted plane production there, causing ripple effects through the company’s global supply chain.
Boeing and the union discussed bringing a second 787 production line to Everett, but those talks fell apart in 2009, when the parties couldn’t agree on terms.
To resolve the complaint, Boeing and the machinists union could reach a settlement, which would have to be approved by the labor relations board. If they don’t reach a settlement, the board will hold a hearing in June, when both sides can present evidence before a labor relations board judge.
South Carolina Republican Sens. Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham criticized the complaint. DeMint said it could have a chilling effect on job growth in South Carolina. Graham said the labor relations board’s complaint is about union politics.
Boeing’s decision to diversify production makes sense, he said, and the complaint, if successful, would give unions a veto over business decisions.
“This is one of the worst examples of unelected bureaucrats doing the bidding of special interest groups that I’ve ever seen,” Graham said in a statement emailed from his office. “In this case, the (National Labor Relations Board) is doing the bidding of the unions at great cost to South Carolina and our nation’s economy.”
Reach Matt Tomsic at 843-849-3144.
What if they had moved to Asia? Would this be in question with the union. Thank you Boeing for standing up for progress and growth of your economic interests in America. You are making ALL AMERICA a better place and safer aircraft for the industry. When will we commit to make things better for our country and not just our own back yards?
Coming from a two union member household, I can assure you that unions serve a very useful purpose in protecting the employment rights of their members. Growing up in the South, you become indoctrinated to the anti-union, right to work vitriol from an early age. From your very first job you learn that you can be fired without cause and you have no recourse, so you spend your life sucking up to whatever boss you have at the time hoping that the axe doesn’t fall. Right to Work really means Right to Wrong. Why are South Carolina families so far beneath the median income in the United States? (Right to Work) Why are our teachers and other government employees severely underpaid and treated like dirt by their administrators? (Right to Work) How many of you lost your job in the Great Recession while the company retained junior employees who make less money? (Right to Work) I could go on and on, but the fact remains that Union employees have it much better than their Right to Work counterparts. If you want to secure a better future for your family, get a union job (there are some right here in SC if you know where to look) or talk to one of the labor unions and get the process started where you are. Don’t believe all of the doom and gloom that you hear, I am very satisfied with the standard of living provided by our union jobs, can you say the same?
Another clear example of what unions have turned into in America: government sanctioned extortion rackets.
Simple solution:
Congress should stop funding the National Labor Relations Board, and it should be dissolved.
These type complaints belong in Court not in a NLRB Scam.
The left(minority of americans)are taking over
our country. They must be stopped!
The unions need to be stopped. I worked for a union controlled airline in Cincinatti. There was an employee who was cought sleeping in the terminal and the union fought to protect his job. He had already done this to United in Indainapolis. Why should people need unions in today's market? If an employee does a good job, the company will keep them. Unions promote laziness.
I have a non-union job in SC that pays very well and in the 42 years the company has been in business they have never layed off an employee. Everyone keeps there job by doing one thing....Working Hard. If you have to "Suck Up" to your boss it sounds like you have a problem. The unions were very usefull years ago before all of the labors laws in place now were there. Now they are nothing more than a way of blackmail for those wanting more than they deserve. If you don't like where you work you have a choice.
This is one huge company we're talking about; the contracts come and the contract go. Where do a lot of them come from? Government. Boeing is directly tied to our national security and by that token so are the employees.
While Boeing is rolling in a never ending sea of tax payer dollars and contracts from all over the world, their employees are needed to keep them in check. Boeing allows the union to exist, it makes working with employees more manageable and predictable. Just as a company is predictable when employees are not unionized. Low pay, benefits and other perks exist.
If Boeing is not in the wrong with the SC employ yes, let them in the union. 1,2,3. Easy. All settled. Job security. The good people won't feel so tentative and that it will end after just one project.
Obama goes away and both states have a plant. But don't forget this from the article:
In statements made in December 2009, Ray Conner, vice president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and Jim Proulx, a spokesman for Boeing, told the Seattle Times the company chose South Carolina to use a “dual-sourcing” system and to contract with separate suppliers to pass strikes in Washington.
Jim Albaugh, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, echoed those statements, saying in March 2010, Boeing decided to move the second line to South Carolina because of past strikes, the complaint said.
Yes