NATIONAL
Fired SC Boeing Machinists win legal battle
The following is from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM):
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 20, 2019) — Five instances of company discipline and unjust terminations of IAM members at Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner manufacturing facility in North Charleston, S.C. have been found to be acts of unlawful retaliation against employees for their support of the union, a regional director for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has informed the IAM.
The Regional Director found five of six termination cases constituted unlawful discrimination against union supporters, including all three of Boeing’s alleged “bird-strike” cases, in which the company selectively and without precedent used safety inspection rules to unjustly terminate IAM members. This is the critical first step in an NLRB process that should lead to the return to work of these unjustly terminated workers.
Boeing is challenging the May 2018 NLRB election results despite the Regional Director’s ruling that the collective bargaining group of 176 Flight Line workers meets the requirements of an appropriate unit under the National Labor Relations Act.
Elected officials from across the country have joined the IAM in calling on Boeing to negotiate with its Flight Line workers and raised questions about Boeing’s repeated practice of fabricating safety violations to retaliate against union supporters at its South Carolina plant.
“We applaud the NLRB regional director for following the guidelines of federal labor law and ruling in our favor,” the group of unjustly terminated workers said. “Our support for IAM representation should have never been reason to be unjustly fired. We would like to place this behind us. Now is the time for Boeing to do the right thing and allow us to return to work.”