Union eyes organizing Airbus plant

A major aerospace union said it isn't put off by the UAW's failure to organize Volkswagen in Tennessee, according to The Street. Indeed, the International Association of Machinists will seek to organize the Airbus final assembly line being built in Mobile, Ala., and also plans to try again at the Boeing plant in Charleston, S.C. Tom Buffenbarger, president of the IAM, said in an interview with The Street that he thinks the union has a fair chance at pulling it off. No timetable has been set to organize in Mobile, but Airbus spokeswoman Maryann Greczyn said the company "continues to stand by the philosophy that our current and future employees have and will have the right to choose representation if they desire to do so." The A320 plant at Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley will open in 2015 and deliver its first aircraft in 2016. It will eventually have 1,000 workers. (Source: TheStreet, 02/21/14) The U.S. average for union membership is 11.3 percent. In Alabama it's 10.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Alabama's rate is higher than any of its neighboring states.