Jon Huntsman Hails NLRB Decision to Drop Complaint Against Boeing

GOP presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman said Friday that the National Labor Relations Board decision to drop its lawsuit against Boeing "was a victory in a battle that should have never been fought."

The NLRB filed a complaint against Boeing in March accusing the aerospace company of establishing a nonunion production line in South Carolina in retaliation against union workers in Washington state for past strikes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The machinists union entered into a new four-year contract extension with Boeing earlier this week and, as part of the deal, agreed to withdraw its unfair labor practices charge against the company. That led the NLRB to drop the case, the Times said.

Articulating the concern expressed by Republicans from coast to coast, Huntsman called the NLRB's complaint "an unprecedented attempt to interfere in the free market, and an attempt to politicize companies decisions as how and where they create jobs.

"We never should have reached this point; President Obama should have ordered the NLRB to stand down months ago. But instead, his lack of leadership allowed a rogue agency to threaten thousands of South Carolina jobs."

Huntsman, who formerly served as U.S. ambassador to China for the Obama administration, said, "I give great credit to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson for fighting against the NLRBs meritless action.