Boeing urges employees to 'speak up' about product safety. But what impact does a whistleblower really have?

Whistleblower and former Boeing Quality Manager John Barnett was found dead last week from what the local coroner said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

At the time of his death, Barnett, who had raised concerns about safety issues at Boeing's North Charleston plant for years, was in South Carolina for a deposition in a retaliation lawsuit he filed against Boeing.

The New York Times reported in 2019 that Barnett and several other former Boeing employees alleged there were production issues for the 787 Dreamliner, like metal shavings and tools left inside of airplanes, which had gone unfixed by Boeing. Barnett said he was moved to another part of the plant after raising those concerns.

Marisa Garcia, a senior contributor to Forbes and former aviation industry professional, said Boeing's reaction to Barnett's claims is "surprising."

"Barnett had 28 years of experience, he would have been a knowledgeable employee," Garcia said. "So even if there were issues or interpersonal conflicts [...] it's still odd, because he knew what he was talking about."

Barnett had contacted Boeing's ethics office in Washington, D.C., and asked that an auditor be sent to the North Charleston plant.

"They chose not to do that," Garcia said. "And one of the things that I think we need to look at [is] how that is missed, because they're trying to encourage people to speak up."

Boeing created the "Speak Up" program in 2019 — after Barnett had left the company — to empower employees to flag concerns about product quality and safety through a confidential reporting channel.

But according to a Federal Aviation Administration report published last month, the "Speak Up" program has yet to take hold among employees, who prefer to report issues to their managers directly.

"If [employees] perceive it as something new, it tells you that they're not used to it yet; that it hasn't become second nature, and it feels awkward in some way for them to use that method," Garcia said. "So it would be important for Boeing to get employees to be at ease with it, and to actually engage in using it."

After a 737 Max 9 panel blew out mid-flight in January, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun released a statement encouraging employees to reach out when they see something is wrong. "I asked all teammates to use their voices to speak up as we continue to focus on every detail through the lens of safety and quality first," Calhoun wrote.

He also said on an earnings call that employees would be rewarded for "speaking up to slow things down if that's what's needed."

But in Barnett's case, that invitation to speak up arrived too late.

"Barnett represents a genuine effort to do the right thing that went awry," Garcia said. "At least in his lifetime, it didn't yield the results he wanted. And I think that's sad."

Listen to Soundside's full interview with Marisa Garcia by clicking the play button at the top of this story.