Boeing, the Machinists and fear and loathing in S.C.

Is the Boeing Co. afraid that the Machinists union will organize the South Carolina site?

That depends on your reading of this op-ed, penned by Jack Jones, vice president of Boeing South Carolina.

Jones’ piece appeared in The Post and Courier on Sunday, about a month after representatives of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers held meetings with Boeing workers in North Charleston.

The union said it could hold a vote to unionize Boeing’s facilities within a year.

Jones seeks to downplay a union vote in his op-ed.

“I have trouble believing that Boeing South Carolina teammates could buy what the union’s selling, and there’s no reason they should,” he wrote.

Jones spent several years overseeing the company’s jet delivery center in Everett before taking the South Carolina job in 2011. He emphasized the company’s commitment to South Carolina, saying the company “would never renege on this promise.”

The hubbub between Boeing and the Machinists over South Carolina comes as the company is trying to ramp up 787 production both there and in Everett.

A few key points:

Baseless: That’s how Jones described the lawsuit brought in 2011 against Boeing by the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of the Machinists. The lawsuit was dropped only after Boeing agreed to keep future 737 MAX work in Washington. Boeing also recently lost a NLRB case, again brought at the behest of the IAM, in South Carolina.

Disparaging remarks: The Machinists said the workers in South Carolina “weren’t good enough” to build airplanes, Jones wrote. Of course, Boeing is guilty of making similar comments about workers in the South, having insinuated that workers in Mobile, Ala., couldn’t assemble a tricycle.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Alex McGinty is an Emerging Leader. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Alexandria McGinty: Her volunteer activities cover the spectrum

Volunteer events and activities take time, McGinty says, but “it’s important to incorporate them into our daily lives.”

Ahmad Hilal Abid, founder of House of Wisdom at Edmonds College, is an Emerging Leader. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Ahmad Hilal Abid: Offering students support and mentoring

The founder of The House of Wisdom at Edmonds College hopes to bridge the gap in education inequity.

Emerging Leader Jonnathan Yepez Carino (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Jonnathan Yepez Carino: Helping fund student dreams

“Proud to serve minorities.” Carino recently established a scholarship fund for Latino high school students.

FILE - In this Friday, March 31, 2017, file photo, Boeing employees walk the new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner down towards the delivery ramp area at the company's facility in South Carolina after conducting its first test flight at Charleston International Airport in North Charleston, S.C. Federal safety officials aren't ready to give back authority for approving new planes to Boeing when it comes to the large 787 jet, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. The plane has been plagued by production flaws for more than a year.(AP Photo/Mic Smith, File)
Congress summons Boeing CEO to testify after Everett whistleblower’s claims

Sam Salehpour worked on the 787 Dreamliner but grew alarmed over changes to the assembly of the fuselage.

A man walks by Pfizer headquarters, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in New York. Pfizer will spend about $43 billion to buy Seagen and broaden its reach into cancer treatments, the pharmaceutical giant said Monday, March 13, 2023. (AP Photo / Mark Lennihan, File)
Pfizer to lay off 119 workers with closure of south Everett plant

The pharmaceutical giant plans to relocate the facility’s Seagen drug production to a plant in North Carolina.

The Port of Everett and Everett Marina on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Port of Everett bid to expand boundaries to be on August ballot

The Port of Everett is planning a series of public meetings on the measure through June.

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.