Business book pick: “Turbulence: Boeing and the State of American Workers and Managers”

“Turbulence: Boeing and the State of American Workers and Managers” by Edward S. Greenberg, Leon Grunberg, Sarah Moore and Patricia S. Sikora; recommended by Connie Kelliher, communications director for the local Machinists union

“We’ve all witnessed just how much Boeing has changed since it merged with McDonnell Douglas in the late 1990s and how it has impacted our region,” says Connie Kelliher. “A new book entitled ‘Turbulence: Boeing and the State of American Workers and Managers’ examines the changes at Boeing from 1997 to 2006 and how the new corporate culture took the company in a new direction as viewed from the employees’ perspective.

“The authors tell the story through employees’ comments gathered through a series of surveys and interviews with a cross-section of Boeing workers (hourly, salaried and management). The book investigates how the merger, outsourcing, downsizing and an ever-changing corporate culture that focuses on share value and cost cutting have impacted the company and its workers. Anyone interested in the history of Boeing (or corporate America) and how it has changed in the recent past would be interested in this book.”