WASHINGTON — Documents released Friday by a union in a high-profile labor dispute with The Boeing Co. suggest the aerospace giant opened a new plant in Charleston, S.C., partly to escape its labor problems in Washington state, despite considering South Carolina the highest risk of its option.
The Machinists union said the documents bolster the National Labor Relations Board’s lawsuit accusing the company of retaliating against unions in Washington state by opening a second production line for its 787 aircraft in Charleston.
The internal documents – presented to Boeing’s board of directors in 2009 – show Boeing officials believed that of all the options they had studied, opening the South Carolina plant had the highest likelihood of failure. Another option was to open the second line in Everett, where the company was already building the plane.
But the documents also say the South Carolina plan, dubbed “Project Gemini,” would help in “rebalancing an unbalanced and uncompetitive labor relationship.”
One document listing rationale supporting the South Carolina plan said it “creates a nonunion, competitive labor choice” and “lowers labor costs and avoids the current hostage situation,” an apparent reference to past strikes at plants in Washington, Oregon and Kansas. The same document also lists other positive reasons for choosing South Carolina, including logistical efficiency, geographic diversity and gaining political support in a key state.
“The Project Gemini documents prove what we’ve suspected all along – that Boeing moved to Charleston to punish our members for exercising their union rights,” said Connie Kelliher, a spokeswoman for the union’s District 751.
A Boeing spokesman had no immediate comment. Boeing has denied it opened the new plant to retaliate against the union, saying it did so for valid economic reasons.
The latest documents were obtained through a subpoena during the government’s lawsuit now pending before an administrative law judge in Seattle. The NLRB brought its case after the Machinists union filed a complaint charging Boeing with violating the law.
The NLRB says that Boeing opened the second line in right-to-work South Carolina to punish union workers in Washington state over a series of costly strikes, including a 58-day work stoppage in 2008. NLRB acting general counsel Lafe Solomon wants Boeing to move the new line to Washington state.
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