David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday it was investigating union claims that Boeing (NYSE:) retaliated against two employees who insisted in 2022 that the planemaker reevaluate previous engineering work on aircraft 777 and 787.
The Society of Professional Engineers for Aerospace (SPEEA) said the two unidentified engineers were representatives of the FAA, which delegates some of its oversight authority and certification process to Boeing employees.
The union filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board last week, saying both engineers received the same negative ratings after the incident.
In a statement, Boeing said it “does not tolerate retaliation and encourages our employees to speak up about the problem. After carefully reviewing documentation and interviewing more than a dozen witnesses, our investigators found no evidence of retaliation or interference. We have determined that the allegations are unfounded.”
One of the two workers quit Boeing, the union said.
The FAA noted Tuesday that it has strengthened oversight of aircraft manufacturers in 2022, protecting airline industry employees in agency roles from interference by their employers. A December 2021 Senate report found that “the FAA certification process places undue pressure on line engineers and production personnel.”
“Boeing can tell Congress and the media all it wants that retaliation is strictly prohibited,” said SPEEA chief strategy officer Rich Plunkett. “But our union regularly fights cases of retaliation, and in this particular case, Boeing is trying to withhold information that would shed light on what happened.”
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The union filed a grievance seeking access to the report Boeing submitted to the FAA about the incident.
The union said engineers were at odds with Boeing managers in 2022 when “they insisted on using a different set of assumptions when analyzing in-flight computer networks on Boeing 777s and 787s to comply with new FAA guidelines.” “
The union said Boeing managers objected, saying it would cost money and cause production delays. After nearly six months of debate, the two engineers, with the support of the FAA, prevailed and Boeing reran the required analysis, the union added.
Last week, Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour, who raised questions about Boeing’s wide-body planes, told senators he was told to “shut up” when he noticed safety problems. He said he was kicked out of the 787 program and moved to a 777 because of his issues.