MARRIOTT LAMENTATIONS 192: "Death to whistleblowers - Marriott and Boeing in the dock" [Updated]

On 9 March 2024, John Barnett, a?former Boeing employee and whistleblower?was found dead after the second day of a court case against the aircraft manufacturer. He had previously filed a whistleblower claim against the company alleging?retaliation.?It is?reported that he feared being?killed

A close friend informed ABC News 4 that he made a bleak prediction while discussing the lawsuit before the case was heard in court. "I said, 'Aren’t you scared?'?And he said, 'No, I ain’t scared, but if anything happens to me, it’s not suicide' "

Prior to?retirement, he had worked at the plant used to assemble the 787 Dreamliner. Describing but one of a number of?allegations, he told the BBC that overworked staff had been deliberately fitting planes with sub-standard parts. "They started pressuring us to not document defects, to work outside the procedures, to allow defective material to be installed without being corrected. They started bypassing procedures and not maintaining configurement control of airplanes, not maintaining control of non conforming parts – they just wanted to get the planes pushed out the door and make the cash register ring", he informed Corporate Crime Reporter in 2019

Boeing responded in the 'normal' way: "Safety, quality and integrity are at the core of Boeing’s values.? Speaking up is a cornerstone of that safety culture and we look into all issues that are raised. Boeing offers its employees a number of channels for raising concerns and complaints and has rigorous processes in place, both to ensure that such complaints receive thorough consideration and to protect the confidentiality of employees who make them. Accordingly, Boeing does not comment on the substance or existence of such internal complaints." (This could well be Marriott talking!)

In January of this year, Barnett shared his views on the 737-9 MAX Alaska Airlines’ mid-exit door plug blowout and?suggested the aircraft may have been allowed to return to service too soon.?Boeing’s “culture is all about speed and production and getting airplanes out the door. And any issues, any concerns that you bring up are going to slow them down,” he said

Transparency International writes that John Barnett "wasn’t the only employee to speak out against Boeing. Over the years, multiple whistleblowers have come forward with concerns about production standards,?without appropriate actions taken by the company. This demonstrates a larger issue of ineffective internal whistleblower mechanisms

In 2019 Boeing?established a?‘Speak Up’ programme?to support internal reporting as the company tries to foster a positive safety culture. Marriott has its 'no retaliation' policy. However, neither company has shown able or willing to create?a culture in which?internal or external?complaints are adequately recognized without fear of retaliation. Moreover, both companies promote a system of internal investigation which undoubtedly compromises their commitment to a non-retaliatory and impartial environment

As a Marriott whistleblower, also retaliated against, currently on hunger strike, and very much?in touch with other abused Marriott whistleblowers, I?previously wrote?about some of the links between the Marriott and Boeing business models and their?directors (September 2021; updated?2022 and 2024)...?

...MARRIOTT LAMENTATIONS 55: "Kellner and Schwab, Marriott and Boeing?- Peas in a Pod"

At Marriott:?

Lawrence W Kellner?became a director in?2002 (He stepped?down in May 2022 to devote more time to Boeing)

Susan Schwab has been?a director since 2015

At Boeing:?

Lawrence W Kellner:?a director since 2011, was appointed?Chairman of the Board in December 2019. "According to Boeing, Kellner's appointment as non-executive chairman?was part of a leadership shake-up [after the 737 Max scandal] aimed at improving transparency and communication with regulators and customers" (LOL) - see Postscript

Susan C Schwab:?a director since 2010, stood down from the board in April 2021, shortly after Boeing had been "charged with 737 Max Fraud Conspiracy". At the time, Chairman Larry Kellner paid tribute: "Boeing has benefited enormously from [her]?committed and dedicated service"

At Marriott - illustrating?what emanated?from the botched 2016 merger,?the Starwood data breach scandal:

On September 8,?2018 Marriott's IT systems discovered a breach in the Starwood reservation system

On November 30, 2018?the breach was?disclosed to regulators and the public

(The St Regis Bangkok scandal, which still hangs?over Marriott, was also intensified by due diligence infractions during the merger process)

At Boeing - the 737 Max scandal:

On October 29, 2018 the first of the 737 Max fatal accidents took place in Indonesia

On March 10 2019, the second fatal crash took place in Ethiopia

The 737 Max was grounded worldwide between March 2019 and December 2020

Recently reported incidents (2024) include an?Alaska Airline?Boeing 737 MAX 9; an ANA?Boeing 737-800;?a United Airlines Boeing 757-200; a?United Airlines Boeing 777-200; a?United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8; a?United Airlines Boeing 777; a?United Airlines Boeing 737; an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737; a South West Airlines 737-800

Since?the earlier?events Kellner and Schwab have faced the ignominy of lawsuits concerning?board ineptitude?and breach of duty at both Marriott and Boeing

Over the years,?the data breach, St Regis and?737 Max scandals (among others) have revealed that the Marriott and Boeing boards were light on competence and objectivity;?weak in their?knowledge?of?board responsibility, company structure and?industry practice;?unprepared for a?worst case scenario; lacking in candor and accountability; bereft of?ethical backbone; deft?in concealment

At both companies, a complete?board and executive overhaul was and remains necessary; quality of governance is?at a very low ebb indeed and a toxic culture pervades.?Changes?have been minimal; showing few signs that?lessons?have?been learned or understood,?the personal issues of executive entitlement, survival and?reputation remain centre-stage

Sadly, the?main elements of organizational?narcissism (the delusion?of uniqueness, omnipotence, omniscience and the propensity?to exploit at the expense of ethical behaviour)?are now?embedded in the?functioning of these once great companies. Integrity, transparency, empathy and trustworthiness have become?mere words in the lexicon of?infracted company codes

History shows that when?companies institutionalize?a narcissistic identity that displays contempt and essentially gives permission for malfeasant?and?self-centred?behaviour they tend not to survive. Time will tell...

POSTSCRIPT:

In March 2024, after further recent scandals and increasing scrutiny from regulators and customers over quality control problems, it was announced that?Boeing chairman Larry Kellner?had?informed the board that he will?not?stand for re-election at the upcoming Annual Shareholder meeting

Kellner?served on the Boeing Board for 13 years,?as its chair since late 2019. "As chair, he oversaw the establishment of a new board aerospace safety committee, and during his tenure led the recruitment of seven new independent directors, bringing deep engineering, safety, manufacturing and aerospace expertise to Boeing’s board" (Boeing news release)

“Boeing plays an essential role in our world, and serving this company, and our people, has been a true honor,” said Kellner. “After over a decade on the board and several years as its chair, I have been considering the right time for a transition of leadership on our board..."

In 2021, a shareholder recommendation had been?submitted to deny another term for Kellner. The recommendation alleged that Kellner was partly responsible for risk-assessment and management failures that contributed to the 737 Max issues. But shareholders voted by an 83% margin to allow Kellner to continue

In the end, Kellner ran out of rope...?

Pursuing a similar flightpath, with questionable decisions being made inside?an autocratic atmosphere of covertness and denial, the Marriott board would do well to consider the?current demise of Boeing and its executives and the arguments?behind a previous shareholder lawsuit

"Boards are fiduciaries, which means that their duty is to protect other people’s interests, generally defined as consisting of a duty of care, a duty of loyalty, and, some legal scholars would argue, a duty of candor" (Sucher and Gupta). Among a host of?responsibilities, they are required to establish?and uphold company ethical standards.?Indubitably, the Marriott and Boeing boards have failed in that particular task

Meanwhile, Marriott and Boeing whistleblowers continue to live in fear of retaliation or death...

2nd POSTSCRIPT:

A second Boeing whistleblower has died just weeks after?John Barnett, a?former Boeing employee and whistleblower?was found dead after the second day of a court case against the aircraft manufacturer

Joshua Dean,?a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, had previously filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alleging “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line”.?Dean was fired by Spirit last year, and filed a complaint with the Department of Labor alleging that his termination was in retaliation for raising safety concerns

Last month, another Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, informed Congress?there was "no safety culture"?at Boeing, and alleged that employees who raised the alarm were “ignored, marginalized, threatened, sidelined and worse”. He said he feared “physical violence” after going public with his concerns

Very much how Marriott whistleblowers feel...

John Shepherd (Marriott victim and hunger striker)