How a union in the state of Washington is pressuring South Carolina workers

Should your company be forced by law to give your personal information to a federal agency?  Should that federal agency have to hand over your information to union officials in another state?  For Boeing employees in South Carolina, this is the troubling reality. 

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751 filed a complaint of unfair labor practices against Boeing South Carolina (BSC).  That union, however, is not located in South Carolina. 

It’s actually in Seattle, Washington.   

So why is IAM Seattle so invested in Boeing South Carolina?  They want BSC employees’ dues.  Even if they have to go across the country to get them. 

If 30 percent of the employees in South Carolina sign union authorization cards, IAM will legally become the workers’ exclusive bargaining agent.  However, BSC employees have already refused signing before and have even started an online resource to keep IAM out of their wallets. 

On Monday, January 18, 2016, Washington Representative June Robinson introduced the IAM-backed HB 2638 to the legislature.  The bill failed to get support in the Finance House Committee.  HB 2638 would have effectively cut tax savings for companies with 4,000 employment positions below baseline and Boeing could have potentially lost half of its approved tax breaks. 

IAM tried to punish Boeing for hiring workers in South Carolina by testifying in support of legislation that would raise the company’s taxes.  The bill failed, but IAM is exacting their revenge on Boeing in the form of authorization cards.

The union wants the 8,104 workers at BSC to join them.  But if it were up to the union, those 8,104 jobs wouldn’t even exist in the first place.

Can you blame Boeing for hiring workers in South Carolina?  And can you blame those workers for slamming the door in IAM’s face?