Boeing says it should ‘celebrate’ its whistleblowers. Help us do so as more come forward

After recent allegations of retaliation and the deaths of two of its high-profile whistleblowers, Boeing continues to face mounting public pressure as additional whistleblowers come forward about safety and manufacturing lapses.

Fortune this month published an exclusive interview with Brian Knowles, the attorney of the two deceased whistleblowers, who claims at least 10 more whistleblowers from Boeing, Spirit, and another supplier are ready to speak out about safety concerns.

Meanwhile, Boeing is the subject of a new federal investigation due to an internal whistleblower. Last month, a Boeing employee spoke up internally about issues they witnessed during a quality test, leading the company to realize that it may not be completing the required inspections. Boeing voluntarily alerted the Federal Aviation Administration, which has since opened an investigation into whether Boeing has failed to properly inspect its 787 Dreamliners.

Scott Stocker, vice president and general manager of the company’s 787 program, wrote in an April 29 memo to employees that they should “celebrate” the employee who raised the alarm.

Boeing should celebrate these whistleblowers for keeping us safe, but they should do more than just celebrate them. They should listen and act. Actions speak louder than words and had Boeing acted earlier on the internal alarms that were being raised, lives may have been saved.

By all accounts, until recently, whistleblowers inside Boeing were not celebrated. Instead, they were retaliated against. Recent Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour, for example, alleged Boeing retaliated against him for speaking up internally about the safety of its aircrafts. Two other Boeing whistleblowers — John Barnett and Joshua Dean — both suddenly died within less than two months of one another. Both were involved in lawsuits against Boeing that involved, in part, the way they were treated when they raised concerns.

More than 25,000 people have signed a petition, organized by the progressive advocacy group MoveOn, urging the Department of Justice to investigate their deaths.

Still, more whistleblowers are coming forward against the company. Just this month, a whistleblower named Santiago Paredes, a former quality inspector for Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas, told BBC and CBS News that plane bodies made by Boeing’s largest supplier regularly left the factory with serious defects. He said he was “put under pressure to be less rigorous,” BBC reported.

For each whistleblower who risked everything to speak out, there are others who anonymously raised concerns. And still more who were chilled from doing so.

This was made clear last month when Al Jazeera reported it obtained documents showing Boeing has been the subject of 32 internal complaints in the U.S. during the past three years. Thirteen of those complaints were filed under a statute that protects whistleblowing.

That’s why TSN has created this petition so that all Boeing whistleblowers know that we stand with them. And we thank them for having the courage to speak up in the protection of all of us.