How Boeing got away with breaking the law

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:38:00 +0000

Republicans won’t have the National Labor Relations Board's case against Boeing to kick around anymore – though no doubt they’ll keep flogging its corpse. On Friday, the NLRB announced it was dropping its most famous investigation in years. The union that had brought the case, the International Association of Machinists, asked the NLRB to relent following a compromise reached with management. The IAM is touting its deal as a better alternative than pursuing the NLRB case. They’re right – which is a damning measure of how poorly the Obama administration defends workers’ human rights.

At a time of high unemployment and stagnating wages, the Boeing case shows why it is so hard for workers to collect a larger share of national income. It highlights Republicans' resolute defense of law-breaking big business, and President Obama's lack of equivalent fire in defense of the 99 percent. Obama expresses sympathy for the occupation movement But in a case where he might have actually done something for the people who do America's work, he passed.

Salon.com > International Association of Machinists

How Boeing got away with breaking the law