On April 20, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint against Boeing because the company moved the second line of its production facilities for the new 787 Dreamliner from the Puget Sound area in Washington State to North Charleston, South Carolina.

One of the factors that contributed to Boeing’s decision was that its Washington production is interrupted every three to four years with union strikes and South Carolina’s right-to-work laws create a more friendly business environment that ensures Boeing can meet its production goal of three Dreamliners per month. The NLRB claims that this decision discriminates against union workers and is trying to force Boeing to produce the airplanes in Washington.

NLRB’s Actions Hurt the Economy

Boeing has already created more than 1,000 jobs and invested more than $2 billion in South Carolina. Forcing them to relocate the production facilities to Washington would hurt the South Carolina and national economy. In addition to its South Carolina hires, Boeing has expanded its workforce in the Washington facilities as well. Since 2009, when the company shifted the second line to South Carolina it has also added more than 2,000 jobs to its Puget Sound staff.

NLRB’s Unconfirmed Board is Overreaching

The NLRB complaint was issued by Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon, who has only recently been formally nominated to the position by President Obama. Solomon’s complaint comes at the behest of an NLRB board that is driven by unconfirmed, recess-appointed union lawyers. The board is currently an unbalanced 3-1 split with union lawyers dominating the panel. Craig Becker, who served as SEIU and AFL-CIO associate general counsel, and Mark Pearce are both extreme ideologues who could never pass muster in the Senate, so President Obama recess appointed them. Now they’re attacking Boeing for creating jobs in South Carolina. For more information on Obama skirting Congress to push his agenda: www.ObamaChart.com.

Companies Have a Right to Locate their Facilities Where they Choose

Twenty two states currently have right-to-work laws that allow individuals to decide for themselves whether they want to join a union, instead of being forced to turn over a portion of their paycheck to the unions even if they don’t want to join. These 22 states consistently outperform the rest of the nation when it comes to economic growth and job creation. Right-to-work states boast have an unemployment rate below the national average. Companies want to create jobs in these states; the NLRB should not block job creation in states that established policies to attract work.