By Dan McCue
Staff Writer

NORTH CHARLESTON -- Vought Aircraft workers have narrowly voted for a union at the plant in North Charleston. Of the 127 workers who participated, 67 voted in favor of representation by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the remainder voted against the union.

When it opened for business last year, Vought Aircraft Industries’ North Charleston plant ushered in a new era of aircraft manufacturing in the Lowcountry. With the vote in late October, workers have done something almost as unique here in South Carolina.

The election, which was supervised by the National Labor Relations Board, was held Oct. 26 and 27 at the plant, which produces fuselage sections for the new Boeing 787 passenger liner.

IAM spokesman Bob Wood said the vote was the culmination of union organization efforts that began almost as soon as the first employees began working in the facility. He said the union recognized last summer that it had the votes to win and formally sought National Labor Relations Board permission in early September to hold the vote.

Of the vote’s larger import in a famously non-union state, Wood said, “If we can get a win at the Vought plant, when we get a good contract here, that will show what our union can do for folks,” he said.

Vought officials confirmed that the election had occurred, but declined comment beyond the company’s Nov. 13 written statement.

“We recognize our employees’ right to choose to be represented by a union and respect their decision,” the statement said. “Vought intends to negotiate in good faith with the IAM. We will strive to reach a collective bargaining agreement that will allow us to continue to meet the needs of our employees, our customers and the company.”

Wood said while companies have a right to try to sway their workers from organizing even after a vote, Vought’s statement suggests the aircraft manufacturer won’t take such an approach here.

“Employers always have the right at this point to say, ‘Hey, give us a chance,’ but judging from Vought’s statement, it appears they accept the outcome of the vote,” Wood said. “That being the case, I expect the NLRB will certify the IAM as the bargaining representative for the plant’s workers within the next couple of days.

The union’s victory at the North Charleston plant gives it a very high-profile toehold in the state’s growing composite and manufacturing business clusters.

“There’s no question, the 787 project is the crème de la crème of the industry,” said Gordon Brown, a consultant to the Palmetto State’s composites industry.

The facility delivered its first completed fuselage section of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner—the first passenger aircraft made almost entirely of composite materials—in May. However, since that time, the plant has been blamed for supply chain breakdowns that recently forced Boeing to delay delivery of the first 787s by six months.

Elmer Doty, Vought’s chief executive, told analysts on Nov. 9, that the issue at the plant wasn’t worker competence, but problems with its own suppliers, which led to the plant’s sending fuselages to Boeing’s Seattle assembly facility without all the necessary parts installed.

Wood said he didn’t think the harsh publicity the facility has received recently played a role in deciding the outcome of the vote. The union had been aggressively targeting potential supporters for months through a Web site, http://campenough.blogspot.com, dedicated to organizing efforts at the North Charleston plant.

As part of that effort, the union posted contracts it had previously negotiated at Vought’s Nashville production facility, Boeing’s Seattle plant and Lockheed Martin’s facility in Marietta, Ga.

“We wanted them to see what a good union contract is like and what folks at other facilities are getting,” Wood said.

The Web site states that while Vought’s North Charleston employees earn about $15 an hour, IAM members at the Vought plant in Nashville earn $22 per hour on average, while workers at Boeing’s Seattle facility make $32 an hour on average.

Wood declined to say whether wages would be negotiators’ sole or primary concern when they meet with Vought representatives at the bargaining table. He said by next week, the union will poll the plant’s employees to learn their specific concerns and what should be included in contract discussions.

Despite the seeming power of the union’s position, there is still a chance that the bargaining effort at the plant will come to naught. Wood conceded that if a deal with Vought isn’t reached in a year, a majority of workers can vote to decertify the election. He also noted that the union will not collect dues from its members until a contract is negotiated and ratified.

Wood declined to comment on whether organizing activity is also taking place at the Global Aeronautica facility that is co-located with the Vought facility on an industrial campus adjacent to Charleston International Airport. Global Aeronautica is a joint venture of Vought Aircraft Industries and Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica.

“I will say that folks there should certainly be following what’s transpiring over at the Vought facility,” he said.