Cue the Orchestra Music



Thursday’s first editorial wishes our state’s leaders would stop beating a dead duck, in this case the Boeing-NLRB fight.

Pardon us, but we’re getting a bit weary of all the hot air being dedicated to Boeing’s fight with the National Labor Relations Board. Do our politicians not have other things to dedicate their time to?

Don’t get us wrong, the complaint is certainly spurious and worth opposing. As others have pointed out, if the suit against Boeing is upheld, companies will be loath to relocate to South Carolina and other right-to-work states for fear of being sued by their unions, and companies will be loath to relocate to union states for fear of never being able to leave.

What’s left? Expanding overseas, and nobody wants that.

But for all the merits of opposing the complaint, we can’t help but feel the argument has only been stoked by the unrelenting press conferences and news releases and tough talk. We appreciate that our leaders are willing to stand up for jobs in our state, but at some point, and we have passed that point, the actions move from a real defense of our state to self promotion as a state defender.

The NLRB complaint will be settled in federal court, and will likely drag out for years through appeals. The administrative law judge in charge of the first phase of the case told The Seattle Times last week “I’ll be retired or dead” by the time the case is settled. In the meantime, the aircraft plant in North Charleston will begin making planes and the jobs are secure for now. But our leaders keep talking. Gov. Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Catherine Templeton, the state’s Labor director, have already been sued over their anti-union statements.

The point has been made, folks. While we’re grateful for the initial strong support for keeping these jobs in our state, it’s time to gracefully exit stage left. We want prospective companies to see that we’re willing to fight for them, yes, but right now we fear it’s beginning to look instead as if relocating to South Carolina is more trouble than it’s worth.

 

What’s left? Expanding overseas, and nobody wants that.

But for all the merits of opposing the complaint, we can’t help but feel the argument has only been stoked by the unrelenting press conferences and news releases and tough talk. We appreciate that our leaders are willing to stand up for jobs in our state, but at some point, and we have passed that point, the actions move from a real defense of our state to self promotion as a state defender.

The NLRB complaint will be settled in federal court, and will likely drag out for years through appeals. The administrative law judge in charge of the first phase of the case told The Seattle Times last week “I’ll be retired or dead” by the time the case is settled. In the meantime, the aircraft plant in North Charleston will begin making planes and the jobs are secure for now. But our leaders keep talking. Gov. Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Catherine Templeton, the state’s Labor director, have already been sued over their anti-union statements.

The point has been made, folks. While we’re grateful for the initial strong support for keeping these jobs in our state, it’s time to gracefully exit stage left. We want prospective companies to see that we’re willing to fight for them, yes, but right now we fear it’s beginning to look instead as if relocating to South Carolina is more trouble than it’s worth.