The union seeking to organize 3,175 Boeing Co. jet assembly
staff at the company's nonunion South Carolina factories said it
will decide by week's end if it will cancel a planned April 22
vote, a union official said Tuesday.
Boeing's largest union, International Machinists and Aerospace
Workers, sparked a fresh confrontation with the company in March
when it filed papers with the National Labor Relations Board to
unionize nearly half of the company's staff in the state.
Withdrawal of its petition for an election at Boeing's South
Carolina facilities has "always been a possibility" if sufficient
support didn't materialize during the organizing effort and
cancellation is "being given serious consideration," said IAM
spokesman Frank Larkin.
Mr. Larkin said 125 to 150 union staff and volunteers, including
"several dozen" local Boeing employees are canvassing the eligible
staff with phone calls and home visits to gauge support for the
creation of a collective bargaining agreement. Mr. Larkin said it
was not unusual for an organizing effort to take two or three
attempts before a collective bargaining unit was created and said
any cancellation would not signal an end to its local campaign.
The measurement of support, said Mr. Larkin, comes as the union
claims misinformation about moving the factory or losing future
work has undermined its organizing effort. While the company is
barred from retaliating against employees for any unionization
vote, "rumors on the shop floor can come without clear
attribution," he added.
A Boeing spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request
for comment on Tuesday. Previously, Boeing has vocally opposed any
effort to unionize its staff in South Carolina.
Many local politicians including South Carolina Governor Nikki
Haley and North Charleston, S.C., Mayor Keith Summey have been
vocal in their opposition of the unionization drive.
Boeing has quickly expanded its presence in South Carolina,
where it employed around 7,700 people as of March 26. Staff there
build major portions of its advanced long-range 787 Dreamliner and
the company currently assembles three Dreamliners each month at its
sprawling North Charleston plant and plans to accelerate to seven
per month later in the decade.
Curtailing the April 22 vote, which coincides with the release
of Boeing's quarterly earnings disclosure, would require the union
again to collect signed cards from at least 30% of eligible staff
indicating a desire to vote on unionization. A new petition to the
NLRB to hold a fresh vote would have to wait six months.
A spokeswoman for the labor board did not immediately respond to
a request for comment.
Write to Jon Ostrower at jon.ostrower@wsj.com
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