Machinists Union Cancels April 22 Boeing South Carolina Vote -- 3rd Update

By Jon Ostrower 

Boeing Co.'s largest union canceled a scheduled vote aimed at unionizing some 3,175 staff at South Carolina manufacturing sites, marking a significant victory for the aerospace giant's battle against organized labor.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced the cancellation on Friday, five days ahead of the scheduled April 22 date for the vote. The union had filed its petition for the vote with the National Labor Relations Board in March, kicking off a vitriolic fight with Boeing, which has built up the South Carolina site over the past several years as an alternative to its unionized facilities in Washington state that also assemble commercial jets.

"After speaking with Boeing workers who we were previously unable to reach, we've determined now is not the right time for an election," lead IAM organizer Mike Evans said, adding that "an atmosphere of threats, harassment and unprecedented political interference has intimidated workers to the point we don't believe a free and fair election is possible."

The IAM said two organizers had been threatened at gunpoint during home visits to gauge support and urge votes for unionization and that "others reported hostile and near-violent confrontations." It said the situation amounted to a "toxic environment and gross violations of workers' lawful organizing rights.

Meanwhile, the company's recently appointed head of its South Carolina operations, Beverly Wyse, on Friday thanked the staff there for "their patience and professionalism," and said they have "the opportunity to make Boeing South Carolina and our local community an even better place to work and live. And that's what we're going to do together."

A Boeing spokesman called the union's allegations frivolous and said "our team is continuing to focus on building the highest-quality airplanes in the world." In response to claims that Boeing spread misinformation, the spokesman said any "conversations we have with our employees are private."

State and local officials have been vocal in their opposition to the organizing effort, including South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. A spokesman for Gov. Haley didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The union earlier this month began signaling that local support for its effort has softened and that canceling the vote was an option.

The union can immediately begin collecting fresh signatures for a new petition but has to wait at least six months before filing with the NLRB. The union vowed to press ahead with its push, which can take two or three attempts before a collective bargaining unit is formed, but likely faces a continued uphill battle in a state where unionization rates are among the lowest in the country.

The withdrawal of the petition is the latest in a long history of confrontations between Boeing and organized labor. Starting the South Carolina operation, which assembles Boeing's 787 Dreamliner jets, was a strategic move spearheaded by Chief Executive Jim McNerney, in part to counterbalance the tumultuous and disruptive relations the company has had with its jet assemblers in the Pacific Northwest.

While Boeing's South Carolina operation currently builds a small fraction of the company's total jetliner output, it is slated to produce seven of the long-range 787s each month by later this decade--which will be half of the planned total output of that jet--up from three a month that it builds today.

Write to Jon Ostrower at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for The Boeing Co.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0970231058

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires