Unionization Efforts Underway at S.C. Boeing Facility

Workers had voted out union in 2009

A union representing machinists and aerospace workers took a step closer to organizing Boeing Co's South Carolina plant this week, holding informational meetings with workers at a hotel near the 787 jet factory in this strongly anti-union state.

Representatives of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) met Boeing employees on Tuesday and into the early hours of Wednesday, handing out information and answering questions about union rights in a "right-to-work" state, one of 23 that prohibit making union membership a requirement of employment.

"We're a lot closer (to union formation) than folks think we are," said Tommy Mayfield, a southern territory organizer for the IAM. "There's an awful lot of support. They're not ready to take a vote yet, but we're glad the process is out in the open."