Labor and government officials appeared puzzled Wednesday what to do next to deter The Boeing Co. from setting up a second 787 Dreamliner assembly line at an out-of-state site after U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks disclosed that the company wants guarantees of labor peace to consider putting the assembly line in Washington.

Boeing has hinted for several months that it may set up shop in another state – possibly South Carolina – to assemble more Dreamliners.

The fear that the company would carry through with that threat became more palpable when Dicks revealed Wednesday that company officials told the state’s congressional delegation it wants assurances there will be no more strikes at Boeing Puget Sound assembly plants.

“The whole thing comes down to can they get a long-term agreement with the union with a no-strike clause,” Dicks told The Seattle Times.

But Boeing wasn’t talking publicly about its needs, and local labor unions, whose contracts with Boeing have several more years to run, say the company hasn’t contacted them to ask to reopen their contracts.

“We don’t discuss what our executives may have said to public officials,” said Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx.

“And we don’t discuss negotiations with unions in the media,” he said.

At Boeing’s largest union, the International Association of Machinists, District President Tom Wroblewski wrote members that the company hasn’t approach the union with any formal proposals.

The union was upset that Boeing’s demands had become public through a public official.

“To use politicians as microphones to deliver a message, creates problems and does nothing to improve the relationship. The two sides need to work without the outside influence of politicians, analysts and reporters, he said.

“Many of Boeing’s problems with their employees have escalated because of this type of tactic,” he said.

But Wroblewski said the union is open “to talking about anything that will bring more jobs for our membership, and if Boeing has proposals that would ensure we’ll be building Boeing airplanes here in Puget Sound for generations to come, we’ll certainly listen.”

At the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, spokesman Bill Dugovich said the company hasn’t made any proposals to SPEEA, the second largest union at Boeing.

“No one has approached us,” Dugovich said. SPEEA represents the company’s engineering and technical employees in the Puget Sound area and elsewhere.

“We are watching developments closely,” he said.

Gov. Chris Gregoire said Wednesday she’d gotten the same message about no more labor disruptions from Scott Carson, president of Boeing’s commercial airplanes group.

But the governor’s spokeswoman, Karina Shawgren, said the state’s chief executive believes that settling the strike issue is a matter for the unions and Boeing to work out together.

“The governor is willing to work with the two in any role she can to move that dialogue along,” she said.

Dicks’ spokesman George Behan, said other media may have put too much emphasis on Dicks’ mention of a “no strike” clause.

“I think what Norm was saying is that labor stability is important to Boeing in deciding where to locate another plant. There are a number of ways to make that happen. Longer contracts would be one way,” he said.

Dicks is in a unique position to serve as a go-between with the union and Boeing, Behan said. Dicks has been an advocate for Boeing programs on Capitol Hill, and the Democratic congressman has also been a labor supporter, his spokesman said.

Boeing on Tuesday announced that it is buying Vought Aircraft Industries’ North Charleston, S.C., plant. That plant builds fuselage sections of the 787 Dreamliner.

The plant has been troubled since its creation four years ago. Major assemblies delivered by the plant have been incomplete, and Boeing has had to send its own engineers to the plant to help move the products through.

The aerospace company, which is already two years behind schedule flying the first 787, has orders for 840 of the planes. If it is to begin meeting production promises to airlines that have ordered the jets, it likely will have to double its final assembly space.

Washington won a nationwide contest in 2003 to become the Dreamliner final assembly site. The state offered Boeing and other aerospace companies $3 billion in incentives to put the planes together in Everett.

Boeing originally had said it could do the final assembly on one plane in just three days, but in the last two years, only three have rolled out the door, although those are test aircraft.

South Carolina is a right-to-work state where organizing a union is more difficult than here in Washington.

John Gillie: 253-597-8663

john.gillie@thenewstribune.com