By Jon Ostrower
Boeing Co.'s largest union canceled a scheduled vote aimed at
unionizing some 3,175 staff at South Carolina manufacturing sites,
marking a significant victory for the aerospace giant's battle
against organized labor.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers announced the cancellation on Friday, just five days ahead
of the scheduled April 22 date for the vote. The union had filed
its petition for the vote with the National Labor Relations Board
in March, kicking off a vitriolic fight with Boeing, which has
built up the South Carolina site over the past several years as an
alternative to its unionized facilities in Washington state that
also assemble commercial jets.
"After speaking with Boeing workers who we were previously
unable to reach, we've determined now is not the right time for an
election," lead IAM organizer Mike Evans said in a statement. Mr.
Evans said "an atmosphere of threats, harassment and unprecedented
political interference has intimidated workers to the point we
don't believe a free and fair election is possible."
The statement claimed two organizers had been threatened at
gunpoint during home visits to gauge support and urge votes for
unionization, and that "others reported hostile and near-violent
confrontations." It said the situation amounted to a "toxic
environment and gross violations of workers' lawful organizing
rights.
Boeing didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on
the union's allegations. In a brief statement, the company's
recently appointed head of its South Carolina operations, Beverly
Wyse, thanked the staff there for "their patience and
professionalism," and said they have "the opportunity to make
Boeing South Carolina and our local community an even better place
to work and live. And that's what we're going to do--together."
State and local officials have been vocal in their opposition to
the organizing effort, including South Carolina Governor Nikki
Haley. A spokesman for Gov. Haley didn't immediately respond to a
request for comment.
The union earlier this month began signaling that local support
for its effort has softened and that canceling the vote was an
option.
The union can immediately begin collecting fresh signatures for
a new petition, but has to wait at least six months before filing
with the National Labor Relations Board. The union vowed to press
ahead with its push, which can take two or three attempts before a
collective bargaining unit is formed, but likely faces a continued
uphill battle in a state where unionization rates are among the
lowest in the country.
The withdrawal of the petition is the latest in a long history
of confrontations between Boeing and organized labor. Starting the
South Carolina operation, which assembles Boeing's 787 Dreamliner
jets, was a strategic move spearheaded by Chief Executive Jim
McNerney, in part to counterbalance the tumultuous and disruptive
relations the company has had with its jet assemblers in the
Pacific Northwest.
While Boeing's South Carolina operation currently builds a small
fraction of the company's total jetliner output, it is slated to
produce seven of the long-range 787s each month by later this
decade--which will be half of the planned total output of that
jet--up from three a month that it builds today.
Write to Jon Ostrower at jon.ostrower@wsj.com
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