Boeing Officially Opens Charleston Plant Days Ahead of Labor Board Hearing
Elected officials and representatives from community and business groups, suppliers and subcontractors joined more than 1,000 Boeing employees at the compa

Elected officials and representatives from community and business groups, suppliers and subcontractors joined more than 1,000 Boeing employees at the company’s North Charleston, S.C., facility today for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the new 787 Dreamliner final assembly building.

The event took place under a cloud of controversy, as Boeing and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) await a hearing scheduled for next Tuesday in Seattle marking the start of deliberations in a lawsuit filed by the NLRB against the Chicago-based company for alleged coercive actions against its machinists’ union. The hearing, scheduled to take place in Seattle in front of an administrative law judge, launches a process to address claims that Boeing located the factory in South Carolina in retaliation for past strikes by its Puget Sound workforce and chill future strike activity.