Two milestones for Boeing’s plant in North Charleston, SC. This week the plant, which has been building the original 787-8, delivered its first stretch 787-9 version, and the International Association of Machinists, the union representing most Boeing workers elsewhere, filed for a union representation election at the plant.
United Airlines, which was the first U.S. airline to get the original 787 now becomes the first to get the -9. MORE
The IAM request for an election among the 2400 workers at the plant is another step in a long story. It’s generally believed that Boeing opened the plant in the largely non-union state because of strikes in the Seattle-area plants; in fact the IAM filed a National Labor Relations Board case claiming that the plant had been set up illegally as a retaliatory measure. That case was settled in contract negotiations. A date for the vote has not yet been set. DETAILS
