Boeing whistleblower sounds alarm over safety at satellite factory: "They're not gonna listen to me until somebody dies"
Whether it's providing internet to storm-ravaged communities or supporting American troops at war, Craig Garriott has long believed the satellites he builds for Boeing helped protect lives.
Now, Garriott, 53, says, it's the lives of hundreds of technicians at the Boeing facility where he has worked for nearly three decades that need protecting from company management.
"They've taken the focus off quality, the focus off the people on the floor, and they've put it completely on profit and going fast," Garriott said in an exclusive interview with CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave. "I'm afraid with Boeing in the hands that it's in now down here, they're not gonna listen to me until somebody dies."
He said efforts by Boeing executives to boost production at the company's Los Angeles-area military and commercial satellite plant have led to a "toxic culture" that has put workers there in danger. Garriott recalled how a four-ton satellite estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars crashed to the factory floor after it wasn't properly secured — an incident so catastrophic he compared it to "a plane falling out of the sky."
"One person was underneath that satellite and they barely got out," said Garriott, who also represents 600 hourly workers as the head of the local carpenters union. "It's the worst thing that can possibly happen on a site."
A Boeing spokesperson did not respond to specific questions about the incident. In a statement to CBS News, the spokesperson said, "Boeing is dedicated to the safety of its employees, and all employees are empowered and encouraged to report any safety concerns."
Garriott's allegations echo concerns raised by multiple whistleblowers who have worked on Boeing's commercial airliners, including the troubled 737 MAX. And they add to struggles already facing Boeing's space division.
The most high-profile Boeing space failure occurred in September, when the company's Starliner spacecraft experienced a cascade of technical troubles on a manned test flight to the International Space Station. NASA considered the return flight too risky, and sent it back to Earth without the two astronauts it had planned to shuttle home. Those astronauts will instead travel back next year in a capsule built by rival SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk.
Tapped by President-elect Trump to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, Musk is set to potentially wield enormous influence over lucrative space and defense contracts, which could put Boeing at a further disadvantage.
Boeing, the company that helped put a man on the moon, is now exploring a new course — indicating it may sell off parts of its space business, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal. During Boeing's October earnings call, new CEO Kelly Ortberg suggested he was reevaluating the company's portfolio.
"We're better off doing less and doing it well than doing more and not doing it well," Ortberg said.
The Boeing spokesperson did not respond to questions about how the company views competition from SpaceX or about steps it is taking to prepare for the incoming administration.
Garriott estimates he's raised 300-400 safety violations over past year
Acquired by Boeing in 2000, the satellite manufacturing facility has long been considered one of Boeing's more stable business units. It relies in part on a union workforce that Garriott said is responsible for constructing and testing satellites and their component parts.
"This is perhaps the most technical group of hourly people that you'll probably find on this planet," said Garriott, who estimated he's raised between 300 and 400 safety violations over the past year. Those complaints, he said, range from obstructed fire extinguishers and fire alarms to concerns over heavy machinery blocking exits and trapping workers in certain parts of the factory.
In October, union workers filed a complaint with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration that, according to Garriott, highlighted unsafe conditions on the factory floor.
Another technician at the facility, who spoke to CBS News on the condition he remain anonymous to protect his job, said safety had become "an afterthought" and quality had "degraded" over the past five to six years.
"You speak up now, you're a troublemaker"
Garriott sued Boeing in April alleging company management retaliated against him for raising safety issues. He said he's been harassed by leadership at the facility and has been the target of dozens of corporate investigations that he says turned up nothing and were only meant to intimidate him.
"When I first started at Boeing, the guys that spoke up and said, 'Hey, this doesn't feel right,' those guys were revered," Garriott said. "You speak up now, you're a troublemaker."
In a statement, Boeing said it investigated Garriott's claims and disputed the allegations he made in his lawsuit.
'We have strict policies prohibiting retaliation toward employees who raise concerns, and Boeing did not retaliate against Mr. Garriott," the Boeing spokesperson said.
Garriott is the latest whistleblower claiming the company retaliated against him after raising safety concerns. John Barnett, a former quality manager at the company's 787 Dreamliner factory, died by suicide in March while in Charleston, South Carolina, giving testimony in his whistleblower retaliation case.
Barnett's mother, Vicky Stokes, told CBS News in April she holds the aircraft manufacturing giant responsible for the grinding treatment that ultimately left her son despondent.
"If this hadn't gone on so long, I'd still have my son, and my sons would have their brother and we wouldn't be sitting here. So in that respect, I do," Stokes said when asked if she places some of the blame for her son's death on Boeing.
In June, former Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told lawmakers on the Senate investigations subcommittee that Boeing's culture is "far from perfect," but said the company is "committed to making sure every employee feels empowered to speak up if there is a problem." He also said Boeing is working on improving "transparency and accountability, while elevating employee engagement."
Garriott said although his family fears he will endure further reprisals from Boeing, he's now speaking out publicly in an effort to improve conditions for workers he said he took an oath as union head to protect.
"I'm not gonna stop till I know that Boeing understands that these people mean something, they matter," Garriott said, urging company executives to open up a dialogue with workers on the factory floor. "Make 'em feel like they matter. Make 'em feel like their safety matters."
