While workers fight for better pay and union recognition, Boeing to pay ousted ex-CEO as much as $60 million

North Charleston, S.C. – The International Association of Machinists is suing the National Labor Relations Board for throwing out their union recognition election win among 178 Boeing flight tech workers here.

The suit, filed Nov. 13 in U.S. District Court in Charleston, says the Trump-named three-man GOP NLRB majority illegally overturned Regional Director John Boyle’s approval of the union’s 104-65 win among flight technicians at Boeing’s facilities.

Boyle OKed the vote results, turning aside Boeing challenges, more than a year before, but the board majority reversed him on Sept. 9, some 15 months after the balloting. That not only violated the Supreme Court’s ruling but hamstrung the union from informational picketing telling the public what was going on, IAM’s suit says.

UNION BUSTING WITH A GOLDEN PARACHUTE
Boeing has a history of union-busting in South Carolina, working feverishly to squash organizing activity by employees trying to earn a fair wage.

But the company seems to have little problem with setting up a compensation package that could net its fired CEO as much as $60 million.

According to CNN Business:

“Boeing’s ousted CEO Dennis Muilenburg left behind a long list of problems at Boeing, but he’s walking away with a sizable golden parachute.

“The exact amount of money that he will leave with isn’t yet clear. That will depend on his negotiations with Boeing, including how the company labels his departure — for example, was it a retirement? A resignation? A layoff?

Public filings show Muilenburg could be entitled to a benefit plan worth more than $30 million and, potentially, a severance payment of about $7 million. Muilenburg also has another $20 million-plus worth of vested stock and a pension package totaling more than $11 million.
Muilenburg’s exit from Boeing comes with the company mired in setbacks and scandals, including two fatal crashes and numerous issues with its 737 Max airplane. Boeing has struggled to get the plane, its most important product, back in the air.”

(Information from Labor 411 and PAI Union News Service)