EVERETT — The Machinists union is considering postponing next week’s union vote among Boeing production workers in South Carolina.
While the vote is on the other side of the country, the outcome matters for Machinists in metro Puget Sound, a union leader here says.
Organizing Boeing’s North Charleston plant will make it harder for the company to pit the two workforces against each other, said Jon Holden, head of the union’s District Lodge 751, which represents about 32,000 Boeing workers in metro Puget Sound and Portland.
District 751 sent 16 members to South Carolina to help the organizing campaign.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and its opponents have stepped up their efforts as the vote approaches.
Union spokesman Frank Larkin said Wednesday any decision on postponing the April 22 vote would be “based on the results of the house polling effort that is currently underway to determine levels of support.”
He said no decision has been made but “it is something being considered.” He said there is no timetable for a decision.
The union had enough support among eligible workers to petition the National Labor Relations Board last month to hold the vote. Almost 3,200 of the approximately 7,500 Boeing workers in South Carolina are eligible to vote. Many of those employees work on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, which is assembled there and in Everett.
One-third of eligible workers must sign cards saying they want a union vote, which is decided by a simple majority of votes cast.
If the union postpones the vote, it can reschedule it in six months. If it loses the vote, it must wait a year before holding another vote.
Elected leaders in South Carolina, including Gov. Nikki Haley and North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, have strongly opposed the union effort and urged workers to vote no.
The IAM has accused Boeing of spreading false information to pressure workers to vote no.
Boeing says Machinists’ organizing efforts, including home visits, are intrusive and unwanted by workers. The company has told workers that they don’t need a union to have their voices heard.
But the anti-union efforts belie that, Holden said. “If organizing didn’t balance the power, why would they be fighting it?”
A Boeing website about the vote says the company only wants employees to be fully informed for the election.
The vote would involve production workers at the company’s 787 assembly plant and the nearby Interiors Responsibility Center, which provides interior parts for Dreamliner. The vote also includes production workers at Boeing’s new propulsion plant.
Winning or losing won’t affect job security for Washington workers, Holden said.
“We understand the pressures to deliver airplanes,” he said. South Carolina workers “deserve the same rights and protections we have.”
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
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