When Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun faced a congressional hearing and the families of victims of Boeing crashes Tuesday he revealed two shocking pieces of information: He knew all about the company’s culture of intimidating whistleblowers, and that he’d ever spoken to one.
The Hart Senate Office was filled with protestors and families holding pictures of dead loved ones. Before facing lawmakers, Calhoun turned and addressed the angry crown according to CNN:
Before his opening remarks, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun stood from the witness table, turned around to face family members of Boeing 737 Max victims and apologized.
One attendee responded, “you should be in jail.”
Calhoun returned to the witness table and began delivering his opening statement.
Families of those lost on Boeing 737 Max planes demanded criminal charges, while protesters against the U.S. involvement in Israel’s actions in Palestine were also present, demanding Boeing stop sending planes to Israel. Once the hearing began, things didn’t get better for Calhoun. In his opening remarks, Calhoun told U.S. senators that the company always listens to whistleblowers, but that he hadn’t you know, personally listened to them:
Under questioning by subcomittee ranking member Ron Johnson of Wisconsin about whether or not he had spoken to any of the whistleblowers, Calhoun replied: “I have not directly spoken to any families of whistleblowers.”
“Do you think that would be a good idea?” Johnson asked.
“Yeah,” Calhoun responded.
“I’d recommend it,” Johnson added.
It might be a good idea for Calhoun—who received a 45 percent raise this year to $32.8 million per year from Boeing and will receive a $40 million payment when he retires this year—to talk to whistleblowers, because the Subcommittee on Investigations sure is. The feds have spoken to more than a dozen such whistleblowers and they all tell the same story; dangerous parts being included in planes in the name of low costs and steps taken to hide such parts from regulators.
It’s bad enough to ignore safety concerns coming from employees who are on the front lines, but its much worse to silently condone their intimidation and abuse. Calhoun admitted to senators he knew about the dangerous culture at Boeing:
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged that the company has retaliated against whistleblowers.
“I know it happens,” he said.
When Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked if Boeing fired any of its employees who retaliated against whistleblowers, Calhoun said he didn’t have the numbers, but emphasized that he knows that the retaliation has happened.
Complaints were often routed directly to the people employees were complaining about, according to Bloomberg. One whistleblower, John Barnett, detailed a disturbing pattern of retaliation against employees who spoke out. Barnett was found dead of a supposed suicide while awaiting his chance to bring his concerns before congress.
Once the Federal Aviation Administration stepped in and began taking whistleblower complaints directly, reports of shady dealings at the company exploded. The agency says it has received more than 11 times as many Boeing whistleblower reports in the first five months of 2024 compared to all of 2023.