64% Say Boeing Should Be Allowed to Operate Plant in South Carolina

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) may be upset with Boeing’s plan to operate a non-union plant in South Carolina, but most Americans think it should be allowed to.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll finds that 64% think Boeing has the right to operate the plant in South Carolina while just 21% disagree. When respondents are told that the NLRB believes that opening the plant is an act of retaliation against the union, the numbers barely move. Only 17% think the agency has the right to prevent Boeing from opening the new facility while 64% disagree.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The House is expected to approve a bill barring the NLRB from getting involved with Boeing’s plan to operate a $750 million aircraft assembly line in South Carolina – a right-to-work state -- instead of Washington State.  In April, the labor board filed a complaint against Boeing for opening the plant, claiming they did so in order to retaliate against unionized workers in Washington State for participating in numerous strikes.  Boeing attributes low costs for the plant’s location. 

Republicans and unaffiliated voters overwhelmingly side with Boeing on the issue while Democrats are more evenly divided.

While more than 7-out-of-10 private sector workers believe Boeing should be allowed to operate a new, non-union, facility in South Carolina, only 54% of government employees agree.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of union members agree that Boeing should be allowed to operate the South Carolina production plant.

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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on September 13-14, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.