Board Says Company Is Wrong In Opening Non-Union Shop In
"Right-To-Work" South Carolina
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a complaint
against the Boeing Company, alleging that it violated federal labor
law by deciding to transfer a second production line to a non-union
facility in South Carolina for discriminatory reasons.
Boeing announced in 2007 that it planned to assemble seven 787
Dreamliner airplanes per month in the Puget Sound area of
Washington state, where its employees have long been represented by
the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
The company later said that it would create a second production
line to assemble an additional three planes a month to address a
growing backlog of orders. In October 2009, Boeing announced that
it would locate that second line at the non-union facility. In
repeated statements to employees and the media, company executives
cited the unionized employees’ past strike activity and the
possibility of strikes occurring sometime in the future as the
overriding factors in deciding to locate the second line in the
non-union facility.
The NLRB launched an investigation of the transfer of second
line work in response to charges filed by the Machinists union and
found reasonable cause to believe that Boeing had violated two
sections of the National Labor Relations Act because its statements
were coercive to employees and its actions were motivated by a
desire to retaliate for past strikes and chill future strike
activity.
“A worker's right to strike is a fundamental right
guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act,” said NLRB
Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon in announcing the complaint
Wednesday. “We also recognize the rights of employers to make
business decisions based on their economic interests, but they must
do so within the law. I have worked with the parties to encourage
settlement in the hope of avoiding costly litigation, and my door
remains open to that possibility.”
To remedy the alleged unfair labor practices, the Acting General
Counsel seeks an order that would require Boeing to maintain the
second production line in Washington state. The complaint does not
seek closure of the South Carolina facility, nor does it prohibit
Boeing from assembling planes there.
Boeing says it will vigorously contest the complaint. "This
claim is legally frivolous and represents a radical departure from
both NLRB and Supreme Court precedent," said Boeing Executive Vice
President and General Counsel J. Michael Luttig. "Boeing has every
right under both federal law and its collective bargaining
agreement to build additional U.S. production capacity outside of
the Puget Sound region."
Union officials have been pressing the NLRB for more than a year
to bring forward the complaint and force Boeing to abandon plans to
produce aircraft in South Carolina and ramp up production in Puget
Sound. With Wednesday's action by the NLRB's acting general
counsel, the board now will begin a formal proceeding to hear the
IAM's allegations.
Boeing also was critical of the timing of the complaint, which
comes a full 17 months after the company announced plans to expand
its manufacturing capacity in the United States in South Carolina.
Construction of the factory is nearly complete and the company has
hired more than 1,000 new workers. Final assembly of the first
airplane is slated to begin in July.
Boeing has made it clear that none of the production jobs
created in South Carolina has come at the expense of jobs in Puget
Sound and that not a single union member has been adversely
affected. In fact, Boeing says IAM employment in Puget Sound has
increased by approximately 2,000 workers since the decision to
expand in South Carolina was made in October 2009.
Prior to that decision, Boeing held extensive discussions with
the IAM over the potential placement of the new 787 production
capacity in Puget Sound. Those discussions ended with Boeing unable
to reach agreement with union leadership on demands that would have
hampered the company's competitiveness in the increasingly
competitive global market for large commercial airplanes.
Luttig said Boeing was confident that the claim would be
rejected by the federal courts. He also emphasized that the company
will begin assembling 787s in South Carolina this summer, as
planned. "We fully expect to complete our new state-of-the-art
facility in South Carolina in the weeks ahead, and we will be
producing 787s – America's next great export – from our
factories in both Puget Sound and South Carolina for decades to
come," he said.
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)
The NLRB's actions were opposed by both Senators from South
Carolina, Republicans Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham. "This is
nothing more than a political favor for the unions who are
supporting President Obama's re-election campaign," DeMint said in
a statement published on his website. "Unfortunately, it comes at
the expense of hundreds of jobs in South Carolina and thousands of
jobs nationwide. There is no doubt that if the National Labor
Relations Board's claim against Boeing moves forward, it will have
a chilling effect on job growth in my state and in right-to-work
states across the country. Using the federal government as
political weapon to protect union bosses at the expense of American
jobs cannot be tolerated. I intend to use every tool at my disposal
as a United States Senator to stop the President from carrying out
this malicious act."
Absent a settlement between the parties, the next step in the
process will be a hearing before an NLRB administrative law judge
in Seattle, set for June 14, at which both parties will have an
opportunity to present evidence and arguments.