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, 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, adding that "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 IAM said 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.
Meanwhile, the company's recently appointed head of its South
Carolina operations, Beverly Wyse, on Friday 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."
A Boeing spokesman called the union's allegations frivolous and
said "our team is continuing to focus on building the
highest-quality airplanes in the world." In response to claims that
Boeing spread misinformation, the spokesman said any "conversations
we have with our employees are private."
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 NLRB. 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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