US
(2009-11-19)
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SEATTLE, WA
(KPLU) -
Boeing's decision to put the second line for the 787 in South Carolina is a big blow to organized labor. The workforce in Charleston recently decertified the Machinists union. But even as the first shovel turns dirt on the new 787 line there, members here will be fighting to show they're worth the higher wages and benefits they command.
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"We really have a chance every day to prove why the smart decision is to allow the experienced Machinists union members here to build those airplanes."
That's union spokeswoman Connie Kelliher, who points out that the company is putting a temporary "surge line" in Everett - where the Machinists will handle extra output till the new line near Charleston is up and running efficiently.
"And we will be producing airplanes off the surge line in Everett long before that building is even complete in South Carolina."
She says the union will build the new 787s more efficiently - with less than a seventh of the workforce that's provided for in South Carolina.
Boeing argues it needs another location - if only to provide redundancy in the face of a disaster such as an earthquake or a terror attack. And the low wages, tax breaks, and absence of a strike threat in the palmetto state were too good to pass up.
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