CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Charleston Mayor Joe Riley has recorded a radio ad promoting Boeing South Carolina in which he also mentions a company website with an anti-union message.
Riley tells The Post and Courier (https://bit.ly/1CQ7Ba7 ) he agreed to make the ad because Boeing is a great company with a big impact on the economy.
In the ad running on Charleston radio stations he notes that Boeing has meant thousands of jobs for the economy and has made important contributions to local organizations.
He also suggests that listeners who want more information go to the website weareboeingsc.com.
The website has a video saying that unions break their promises all the time and can’t guarantee anything.
“Union members across the country get laid off all the time,” the video says, adding “what matters most to a union is when and how it can collect dues.”
Riley says he’s not recommending that employees vote for or against a union.
“I wouldn’t tell anyone how to vote,” he told the newspaper. “That would be up to employees.”
He also would not say whether he favors a union.
“I’m not a union employee, so I won’t take a position,” Riley said. “But I am very impressed with the quality of Boeing.
The International Association of Machinists union has been ramping up efforts to organize the company’s North Charleston operations, where Boeing makes the 787 Dreamliner. The union represents thousands of Boeing production workers in Washington state.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has recorded radio ads urging Boeing workers in South Carolina to reject efforts to establish a union.
Boeing last month opened a new propulsion plant in North Charleston and now employs about 7,500 people in the state.
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