On April 1, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing “Safety First: Restoring Boeing’s Status as a Great American Manufacturer” featuring testimony from Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg.
During the hearing, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) grilled Ortberg on the aerospace giant’s handling of whistleblowers and the numerous allegations of the company retaliating against whistleblowers who raise safety concerns.
“I want to ask you about whistleblowers, because we have heard from some of the Boeing whistleblowers and I know you are familiar with their names, but you don’t have a good record of protecting and supporting whistleblowers,” Senator Blackburn stated. “And some of the stories around these whistleblowers have been very upsetting to people like me who have worked through my public service to protect whistleblowers. I think that they are essential. So talk to me about what you’re doing to change that policy to support and not to ostracize or isolate whistleblowers.”
“Senator, the company has an anti-retaliation policy,” Ortberg responded. “It is unacceptable for anybody to retaliate against, whether it is a whistleblower, or anybody bringing up a quality issue.”
“My door is open to discuss with any of the whistleblowers what they are seeing and make sure there is no retaliation within the organization,” Ortberg added.
“Are you stepping back to some of those whistleblowers who have experienced a less than positive relationship?”...
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