May 16 (Reuters) - A Boeing ( BA ) engineering union

said on Thursday it will offer its representatives training on

U.S. whistleblower laws for the first time, following concerns

that its members lack adequate protection against possible

reprisals.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in

Aerospace (SPEEA) will hold sessions on Friday for shop stewards

at Boeing ( BA ) and supplier Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ) after

receiving queries from members on how to become whistleblowers,

a union director told Reuters.

Testimony at a U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on

Investigations in April raised questions over Boeing's ( BA ) treatment

of whistleblowers. A Boeing ( BA ) engineer said at the hearing he was

told to "shut up" and removed from a plane program when he

flagged safety concerns.

Reuters could not independently verify the claims.

Boeing ( BA ), while not immediately available for comment on

the union training, has previously said it has "zero tolerance

for retaliation and encourage our employees to speak up when

they see an issue."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said earlier this

month it has opened an investigation into the Boeing 787

Dreamliner after an employee saw what appeared to be an

irregularity in a required conformance test.

The company is going through a full-blown crisis after a

door panel blew off a plane in January.

Union representatives will be trained to help members who

want to raise safety concerns, said Rich Plunkett, director of

strategic development at SPEEA's Seattle-area local.

Plunkett said SPEEA is trying to negotiate more robust

protections through agreements with Boeing ( BA ) or through their

contract.

Boeing ( BA ) has said it has held meetings in multiple countries

to get worker feedback.

"When we find issues, we go as far as standing down a team

to make sure that everybody on the team or everybody in the area

is aware of the issue," Mike Fleming, a senior vice president at

Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement.

"It's not meant to be punitive we share the

information across the programs."