Weirder? Yep, Dead Horse, maybe.

Seems some South Carolina Boeing employees have filed a "retaliation" charge against the Machinists' union because they used the NLRB process to bully Boeing into locating the 737 Max production line in Washington State. Through collective bargaining Boeing and the union reached a 4 year agreement which included assurances that the 737 Max line would be built in Washington, and also included a resolution of the 787 Dreamliner case which ensured that contested work relocation would remain in South Carolina. The employees were assisted by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. I wouldn't bet the farm on a complaint issuing on this charge.

Labor peace?

Machinists claim Boeing wants not labor peace.

IAM seeks to enjoin Pratt closures

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal filed a friend of court brief in supporting a Machinists' union effort to enjoin Pratt and Whitney from moving Connecticut operations to Georgia and Asia. In a Section 301 action, the union claims the company's promise to make a serious effort to keep the work in Connecticut, a promise contained in the current labor agreement, was violated. Moreover, the union contends, the Company never intended to keep the promise. The union's breach od contract action seeks to delay the plant closures for the remainder of the existing contract, at which point they hope to be in a position to bargain for a deal to prevent closure. Trial begins today.

South Carolina 787 Washington 0, round 3

Boeing has announced it plans on duplicating all parts manufacturing near its new South Carolina 787 final assembly facility. Nothing will be uniquely manufactured in the Puget sound area. This will allow the South Carolina facility to operate completely independent of the Washington facilities and their strike prone Machinists union.

South Carolina 787 Washington 0

We've seen a lot of unspecific discussions about the Boeing/IAM negotiations central to the company's decision to locate its second 787 assembly line in South Carolina rather than in Washington state, but this latest article details how far apart the Machinists union and management were in contract negotiations.

South Carolina 787 Washington 0, part 2

The State.com has a good background piece on the South Carolina wooing of Boeing, including involvement of Senator Lindsey Graham.

Raytheon machinists ratify contract

IAM members overwhelmingly approve a new 3 year contract with Raytheon Missile Systems, thereby avoiding a repeat of the 10 week strike which spanned late 2006 into 2007.   Wage increases are set at 2.75%, 2.75% and 2.5%. Health insurance premium increases were capped at 22.5% for the first year, and 25% in each of the final 2 years.