Assignment:
The Labor War and Dreamliner
Airplane manufacturer Boeing announced in 2009 its intention to open a second assembly line in a nonunion South Carolina facility to supplement its production of the company's wide-body "787 Dreamliner " at its union-organized Seattle-area plants. The expansion was not viewed by the company as a dilution of work in Washington, since it has been adding jobs in that state. Union officials, however, saw the decision as a transfer of jobs. Boeing's plan would create about 1,000 new jobs in South Carolina, a right-to-work state. Boeing expected to produce seven Dreamliners per month in Washington and three in South Carolina.
In March 2010, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers filed unfair labor practice charges against Boeing claiming that the decision to open the second production line in South Carolina was made in retaliation for its workers' past strikes in the state of Washington and to discourage them from striking in the future. If the union claims are accurate, that strategy would violate the National Labor Relations Act. In internal documents and statements to media, Boeing officials had cited strike activity and the threat of future such activity as motivations for the South Carolina decision. One Boeing executive, for example, said "We cannot afford to have a work stoppage, you know, every three years."
In April 2011, the NLRB issued a complaint against Boeing alleging a violation of federal labor law for coercing employees and, in effect, discriminating against the union by being motivated to place the new work in a right-to-work state in order to avoid the union presence. Section 8(a) of the NLRA provides that it is an unfair labor practice to "interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed" under the act. Similarly, employers may not encourage or discourage union membership "by discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment." The NLRB complaint seeks a court order requiring Boeing to operate the second production line in Washington. In December 2011, the NLRB withdrew its complaint against Boeing, after the company and the union entered a contract that included building another jet in the Seattle area. The union leaders dropped their opposition to having some 787 Dreamliners built in South Carolina.
Questions
1. a. In your judgment, should the NLRB compel Boeing to keep the second production line in Washington State? Explain.
b. In your judgment, should the NLRB have the authority to countermand Boeing's business decision?
2. In your judgment, would the nation be healthier, economically and otherwise, if all states enacted right-to-work laws? Explain.