BY SCOTT BREEN
RENTON, Washington - A crane operator died at the Boeing
factory here June 10. Dean Morris, 55, was operating an
overhead crane 60 feet above the factory floor when it came off
its rails and fell to the ground upside down, crushing him. The
plant manufactures wings for the company's 737 and 757 jets.
Morris, a Boeing employee for 17 years, was a member of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 751. His wife and two sons also work at Boeing.
Employees in the Wing Responsibility Center (WRC) building where the accident occurred were sent home at 11:30 a.m., three hours after the tragedy, when Boeing managers finally decided to suspend production for the rest of the day. Many had already stopped working when they heard of Morris's death.
In a statement to the press, Boeing said that it had "ordered a broad inspection of overhead cranes in all facilities in Puget Sound" as well as in Long Beach, California; Wichita, Kansas; Philadelphia; and St. Louis.
Workers at the IAM Local C union meeting that night held a minute of silence in commemoration of Morris. IAM 751 President William Johnson said that the Machinists union would be part of any investigation.
In a somber mood, many workers put black tape over their Boeing badges the day after the tragedy. Several hundred Boeing workers attended Morris's funeral June 15, including crane operators from as far away as Everett, 45 miles to the north.
A week later, crane operators blasted their warning horns simultaneously throughout the WRC building at 8:12 a.m., the time Morris' crane crashed, in memory of that tragedy.
The cause of the crash remains unknown. According to operators on the site, the crane cage ran off its rails despite three safety devices that somehow failed simultaneously.
In addition to the Boeing Company's investigation, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is conducting a separate investigation. The IAM is participating in these investigations as well.
Many operators have declined to run cranes in the WRC until there is a clear explanation of what happened and what Boeing will do to prevent its reoccurrence. Renton site manager John Hayhurst said that "Renton crane operations will not resume until the safety of our employees is ensured." The following week, however, the company got a few volunteers to begin operating a few of the cranes in the WRC.
There has been a recent history of safety complaints involving the cranes, which move overhead continuously throughout the three shifts at Boeing's facilities in Everett and Renton.
The death occurs after Boeing has reached its highest production rate ever, cranking out more planes per month than ever in its history. At the same time, it is engaged in massive layoffs, and trying to increase the productivity of labor through speedup and "lean manufacturing."
According to Boeing's Hayhurst, "This is the first industrial accident that has resulted in a fatality at the Renton facility."
Some workers can't help wondering if "lean manufacturing" and cuts in maintenance crews due to these layoffs have contributed to this new Boeing "first."
Scott Breen is an assembly mechanic in the WRC at Renton and a member of IAM 751A.