Boeing South Carolina Workers Seek Union Recognition

A group of workers at Boeing’s South Carolina assembly plant have petitioned the aerospace giant to seek union recognition at the North Charleston location.

The petition by the International Association of Machinists (IAM) is the third in three years, but this time is limited to flight line employees, Boeing said in a statement.

General manager at Boeing South Carolina, Joan Robinson-Berry, said the IAM union “refuses to hear the clear message our team has voiced repeatedly. Now they want to pit our teammates directly against each other.”

She said the company will challenge the petition as it attempts “to isolate our flight line teammates, is unreasonable and is prohibited by federal law.”

The National Labor Relations Board will now determine if the petition will proceed as submitted. If the NLRB approves the petition it will be put to the relevant workers in a ballot.

Boeing pointed out that in the last ballot, 74 percent of votes cast opposed union recognition.