Boeing’s largest factory is in “panic mode,” with managers accused of hounding workers to keep their mouths shut over quality problems, according to workers and union officials.
The US aircraft maker is facing a safety crisis sparked by a cabin panel blowout during a flight in January and intense scrutiny of its production line as regulators launched a series of investigations.
Related: The US Department of Justice could sue Boeing after violating the Max 737 crash settlement
The Everett, Washington site – hailed as the world’s largest manufacturing building – is the heart of Boeing’s operation and is responsible for building aircraft such as the 747 and 767, as well as repairing the 787 Dreamliner.
One mechanic at the complex, who has worked for Boeing for more than 30 years, claims it is “full” of defective 787 jets in need of repair.
Many of these planes are flown from Boeing’s South Carolina site, where the company moved final assembly of the 787 in 2021 in what was characterized as a cost-cutting measure.
“There is no way on God’s green earth that I would want to be a pilot in South Carolina and fly people from South Carolina here,” the mechanic, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, told the Guardian. “Because if they come in here, we’ll separate them.”
Managers at Everett “will hound technicians” to keep quiet about quality assurance concerns and potential repairs, the technician claimed, emphasizing speed and efficiency over safety. He added: “Boeing needs to look in the mirror and say, ‘We got it wrong.’”
No way on God’s green earth would I want to be a pilot in South Carolina flying that [787 jets] here
Anonymous Boeing engineer in Washington
Boeing has not commented on claims that staff were pressured not to raise quality concerns. Everett’s work on 787 jets is taking place as part of an established verification program, the company said.
The company met with US regulators this week to discuss how it plans to address quality issues. Executives recently described how employees have been encouraged to make their voices heard since January, with submissions to an internal portal for safety and quality issues increasing by 500%.
Earlier this year, a panel of experts appointed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people described a “disconnect” between Boeing’s leadership and the safety personnel. and made 53 recommendations to address its concerns.
Following the January explosion, which occurred aboard a brand new Max 9 aircraft, the FAA launched an in-depth investigation. After a six-week audit of Boeing’s production line found multiple failures to meet production quality control requirements, the agency gave Boeing 90 days to develop an action plan and review its findings. panel to discuss.
Boeing submitted its proposed plan to the FAA on Thursday. In a statement, the company said it “welcomed” the panel of experts’ 53 recommendations. Mike Whitaker, the FAA administrator, told reporters that Boeing had accepted them all.
Najmedin Meshkati, a member of the panel, said Boeing’s safety culture has been “eroded” over the past two decades, in the wake of its merger with McDonnell Douglas in the late 1990s, “under the direct supervision of its leaders and board of directors.” who have been complicit in and ultimately responsible for the current problems.”
“Boeing’s most valuable asset is its highly dedicated and skilled workforce, and fortunately most system-related problems are solvable,” Meshkati, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California, said in an interview for the company. presented his plan this week. “However, Boeing’s corporate governance is constantly being cloned [board] needs to be revised and diversified,” he added, suggesting that the headquarters should move back to Seattle and “systematically” implement all of the panel’s recommendations.
The FAA this month launched another investigation into the production of the 787 Dreamliner, examining whether Boeing employees in South Carolina had completed required inspections of the plane and whether they had “falsified aircraft records,” after Boeing informed the watchdog that it “may not have completed all checks.
Sam Salehpour, an engineer at Boeing, testified before Congress in April that the 787 was riddled with quality defects and called for all 787s to be grounded for inspection. Boeing denied his allegations and said it has “full confidence in the safety and durability” of the plane.
The mechanic who spoke to The Guardian described how “massive disruptions” in Boeing’s 787 production line had put enormous pressure on the company as it scrambled to reassure regulators, airlines and passengers.
“Right now in Everett we’re in a panic,” they said, because Boeing executives “finally discovered that they have more people who have no idea what’s going on than people who do.”
A Boeing spokesperson said: “As we have shared publicly on numerous occasions, we will subject all undelivered 787s to our Participation Verification Program to ensure each aircraft meets our exacting technical specifications before delivery to our customers. For aircraft assembled since 2022, this additional connection verification work is not necessary.
“In mid-2023, we announced that we would move all joint verification efforts to Everett so we can focus our South Carolina team on new aircraft production positions. No changes have been made to this plan and our team in Everett has continued to complete the eligibility verification program.”
Some workers at Everett have characterized the shift of 787 production from Washington to South Carolina as an anti-union move: While Washington has a mechanics union, Boeing’s South Carolina plant is non-union and was the site of a controversial union. organizing a ride a few years ago.
The team leader is not chosen based on his skills on the plane, but based on his relationship with another manager
Anonymous Boeing engineer
Another Boeing employee at Everett, who also requested anonymity, drew a contrast between productivity at the Washington state complex and the North Charleston plant in South Carolina, where final assembly of the 787 was moved but where no union mechanics were hired.
“We would be building 10 to 12 planes per month, while South Carolina would be building just over two, almost three per month,” they said. “I never see them reaching 10 a month.”
A “very robust unionization strategy” at Boeing is partly responsible for the company’s broader safety problems, said Rich Plunkett, director of strategic development for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (Speea), IFPTE Local 2001, which represents 17,000 workers. at Boeing and Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems.
In addition to failing to hire union engineers in South Carolina, Boeing has significantly reduced the number of workers writing instructions for machinists in recent years through outsourcing, voluntary layoffs and layoffs.
“The existing employees are not the enemy,” Plunkett said. “They are your solution. And you have to involve them collectively.
“Boeing must implement a meaningful anti-retaliation policy, demonstrate by walking its talk and stop threatening their workforce [that] if they cannot do everything, they can send the work abroad more cheaply. Because Boeing’s globalization continues, if not expands, while Boeing tells the free world they are changing the culture.”
Some veteran union workers at Boeing are drawing a link between the current problems and a move by the company more than two decades ago to introduce “team leader” managers, replacing an earlier system in which the highest-ranking, experienced factory workers were in charge.
“The team leader is not chosen based on his skills in the aircraft – he is chosen based on his relationship with another manager or another person,” the engineer said. “Now we don’t have team leaders who know what’s going on.”
Today, the managers “who are thinking have never done physical labor before,” she added. “You can’t possibly learn how to build an airplane in a third-floor school. There are many things you can learn in the classroom, but building an airplane is not one of them.”
Boeing said: “We value experience as well as other factors such as skills, performance and leadership that play a role in building a strong team leader. Our team leaders assist in employee development, while the overall training we provide enhances the knowledge and skills of our teammates as they progress in their Boeing careers.”
Recently, disagreements between Boeing and unions have stalled talks about creating a program for employees to report safety problems to regulators without fear of retaliation.
Speea claimed last month that Boeing wanted to control the flow of information to regulators; Boeing said it had offered the union the same deal it made with another union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and was willing to negotiate.
Boeing did not comment on the company’s position on unions, on criticism of its 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas, or on complaints about quality assurance problems.
