Thu, Aug 13, 2009
Dreamliner Production Site Decision Could Hang In The
Balance
The International Association of
Machinists representing workers at Boeing's newly-acquired assembly
facility in Charleston, SC, has agreed to a September 10th vote to
de-certify the union.
If the union is scrapped, the non-union shop could compete
directly with the company's unionized Everett, WA plant, for new
work on the Dreamliner.
The Seattle Times reports that the vote was called for by Dennis
Murry, a quality inspector at the South Carolina facility. He said
he was dissatisfied with a contract pushed through by the union
last year without a lot of input from union members. Murray said
the contract was weak.
Some union workers have been resentful of the contract,
negotiated with Vaught before the plant was sold, which includes
provisions for only small raises and bonuses, the latter at the
discretion of management. "I want people to have a fair voice in
what happens to them," said Murray. "That's the position a union
traditionally fights for. In this case, it's the workers fighting
against the union to achieve that."
Boeing chairman Jim McNerney has said that union issues will
play a major role in determining where Boeing will open a second
Dreamliner assembly plant. But industry analysts doubt the decision
will be made on that factor alone. They say that the
Charleston area has a less experienced workforce, and getting the
South Carolina facility up to speed would require a large outlay of
money for capital improvements.
Boeing labor relations spokesman Tim Healy said "facts and data"
would be shared with the workers spelling out differing treatment
of union and non-union workers at Boeing. "We'll tell them we
prefer to deal with our employees directly, without an
intermediary," he said. IAM national aerospace coordinator
Mark Blondin expressed confidence that the SC workers would choose
to continue with the union. "Facts don't lie," he said. "Boeing
does not treat non-union workers well."
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