Boeing workers in South Carolina reject union

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Workers at a Boeing Co plant in South Carolina voted on Thursday to decertify the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers as their union.

Robert Wood, a representative for the machinists, said in an email that 68 voted in favor of union representation, while 200 voted to decertify the union at the Charleston plant that was formerly owned by Vought Aircraft Industries.

"We are pleased that hourly workers expressed their desire to deal directly with the company on employment matters without any intermediary," Boeing spokesman Tim Healy said in a statement.

Boeing bought the plant in July. The facility makes part of the fuselage of the delayed 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which is expected to make its first flight this year.

The election was held by the National Labor Relations Board after some workers at the plant filed a petition to decertify the union.

"While we believe the workers at the South Carolina Boeing plant would be better served and their rights protected with union representation, ultimately, it was a decision those workers would make," the machinists union said in a statement.

Boeing, the second largest plane maker in the world, said last month that it was evaluating where to locate a potential second production line for the 787 and confirmed that it was seeking a permit in South Carolina.

Airbus, a unit of EADS, is the largest plane maker in the world.

Boeing said there was a seven-day waiting period for potential objections before election results are certified by the National Labor Relations Board.

(Reporting by Karen Jacobs in Atlanta and Kyle Peterson in Seattle; Editing by Toni Reinhold)