Boeing’s white-collar union alleged Tuesday that company management retaliated against engineers overseeing design work on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration, heightening concerns about a self-regulation regime that’s come under renewed fire since Jan. 5, when a fuselage panel blew out midair.

In 2022, as Boeing worked to integrate new avionics packages into its 777 and 787 widebody aircraft, two of its engineers insisted the company needed to reevaluate prior engineering work completed on the two aircraft. The engineering union contends Boeing managers objected to this on the grounds that it would add costs and slow production.

After the FAA backed the engineers about how the work should be performed and the dispute was settled, in mid-2023 Boeing gave both men negative performance reviews, which cuts pay raises and promotion prospects.

The two “did the right thing and stuck to their guns despite heavy pressure from Boeing, and then got hit with career-damaging performance reviews,” said Rich Plunkett, the union’s director of strategic development. “This helps show why Boeing doesn’t have a healthy safety culture.”

The union said one of the engineers quit Boeing over the way he was treated; it’s appealing the performance downgrade to management on behalf of the other.

Boeing denies the charge of retaliation.

“After an extensive review of documentation and interviewing more than a dozen witnesses, our investigators found no evidence of retaliation or interference,” spokesperson Bobbie Egan said Tuesday. “We have determined the allegations are unsubstantiated.”

“We have zero tolerance for retaliation and encourage our employees to speak up when they see an issue,” Egan said.

If proven, the union allegations would undercut Boeing’s recent insistence that it prioritizes safety over cost and schedule considerations and maintains an open culture that protects employees who flag safety issues.

The union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, SPEEA, has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board demanding access to the report of the internal Boeing investigation that concluded the negative reviews did not amount to interfering in the oversight work of the two engineers.

...continued

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.