Union says they will not be ‘intimidated’ after 6 Boeing employees are terminated

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - The Machinists Union has responded to the firing of six workers at Charleston’s Boeing Plant.

In the statement by the Union’s international president Robert Martinez Jr., the union says 6 line workers were “unjustly” terminated. The statement also says the union will not be “intimidated” by the terminations.

“The Machinists Union has always been a critical part of Boeing’s accomplishments. We are proud that 35,000 IAM members make Boeing one of the most successful and largest aerospace companies in the world. I want to thank Sens. Brown and Sanders for standing up for Machinists Union members at Boeing South Carolina. The facts will show that these dedicated and experienced Flight Line workers were unjustly terminated. Now six South Carolina families are in chaos just days before the holidays. Boeing South Carolina Machinists members will not be intimidated. The Machinists Union will continue its fight for the rights of Boeing workers in South Carolina.”

While Boeing says they will not discuss details of personnel matters, they have released a statement calling the decisions “fully evaluated” and “consistent with long-standing, visible and objective safety, compliance and conduct policies.”

“Boeing follows a robust process to ensure termination decisions are fully evaluated and consistent with long-standing, visible and objective safety, compliance and conduct policies.  In each of the cases that the IAM highlights, the individual was terminated for violating well-established, consistently applied policies without regard to union sentiment. There has been no retaliation against any individual based on that person’s feelings about a union.”

The IAM currently represents more than 35,000 Boeing employees at 24 locations nationwide. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers represents 600,000 active and retired members in the North American aerospace, defense, airline, manufacturing, transportation, woodworking, the federal sector and other industries.

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