The US National Labour Relations Board has dropped its complaint against Boeing, following an eight-month saga that culminated 7 December with the 74% approval by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) of a new four-year contract that will place the Boeing 737 Max final assembly operations in Renton, Washington.
"I am very happy to announce that my office has approved the withdrawal of a charge by the Machinists union against the Boeing Co., which brings our case in this matter to an end," said acting general counsel Lafe Solomon in a written statement.
The complaint, first filed in April, alleged that Boeing had violated the National Labour Relations Act by placing its second 787 final assembly line in North Charleston, South Carolina as a retaliatory act for the September-October 2008 strike that halted jetliner production at its Puget Sound facilities.
The leadership of the IAM and Boeing concluded four weeks of secret negotiations on 30 November, announcing a new four-year contract extension that would secure employee pensions, adjust health care benefits, slow wage growth and secure future production of the re-engined 737 Max in its Renton, Washington factory where the 737 family has been built since 1970 after being consolidated along with the 707 and 727.
A key unwritten aspect of the agreement was the new contract would prompt the IAM's leadership to request the NLRB complaint be dropped, as its grievances with the company have been remedied.
"I am pleased that the collective bargaining process has succeeded and that the parties have begun a promising new chapter in their relationship," said Solomon.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
