Files Petition For Election With NLRB

The International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeing an election for union representation at Boeing's South Carolina assembly facility.

South Carolina has been a right-to-work state since legislation was passed in 1954. The state's labor laws says that "Denial of right to work for membership or nonmembership in labor organization declared to be against public policy.

"It is hereby declared to be the public policy of this State that the right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged on account of membership or nonmembership in any labor union or labor organization."

There are over 2,400 production employees at the plant that the IAM hopes to represent. In a news release, IAM says that petition was filed after a significant number of Boeing workers signed authorization cards expressing interest in union representation. Workers at Boeing had reached out to the IAM regarding numerous workplace concerns, including forced overtime, fair wages and a lack of respect on the shop floor.

“We’re trying to build a better life for ourselves, our families and our community,” said four-year Boeing employee Gerald Guerena. “We feel the best way to do this is with a collective bargaining agreement that allows us to negotiate with the company over wages, benefits, safety procedures and more.”

The union says that efforts by Boeing workers to form a union have already been met with stiff resistance from Boeing management and outside political forces looking to advance their own agendas. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley recently used her State of the State address to attack the IAM and the Boeing workers who are seeking union representation.

“Boeing workers have a legal right to an election process that is free of intimidation and harassment,” said IAM lead organizer Mike Evans. “This is their decision and their decision alone. We expect Governor Haley and her friends, who have no clue what it’s like to be a front-line production employee for Boeing, to keep their personal biases to themselves and remain neutral in the weeks leading up to the union vote.”

The NLRB is expected to issue election dates and locations in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the IAM says it "will continue to help Boeing employees educate their co-workers on their workplace rights."

In its own news release, Boeing said that if the NLRB approves the election, "a vote will be scheduled for eligible teammates to decide whether they will turn over their rights to the IAM or keep a direct relationship with the company."

"Boeing South Carolina teammates have done what so many people said couldn't be done. And they did it by working together, engaging every day, and truly committing themselves to the success of our site," said Beverly Wyse, Boeing South Carolina's newly appointed vice president and general manager. "And let's be really clear, the IAM was not part of this success – it was our BSC teammates. In fact, the IAM aggressively opposed it, as publicly demonstrated by their filing of a claim with the National Labor Relations Board, to try to keep our site from even opening. Now, simply by filing this petition, the same union that tried to take our jobs and our work, has already begun to divide our team at a time when we're just beginning to gel and catch a solid rhythm in production."

Boeing says it firmly believes that a union is not in the best interest of Boeing South Carolina teammates and their families, their communities, and the state of South Carolina, especially after years of the IAM insulting the abilities of Boeing South Carolina teammates and fighting against BSC's success.

"We think our Boeing South Carolina teammates deserve to pave their own future and keep their hard-earned money in their own pockets," said Wyse. "In fact, they've been very successful doing just that for the past five years. They've built not only new airplanes, but also a new site, and new opportunities for an incredible future here in South Carolina by working together as a team, without the distractions of a union. We're extremely proud of what our teammates have accomplished."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.boeingworkers.com, www.WeAreBoeingSC.com