Spokane7
55°
July 9, 2009 in Opinion
Boeing may be tempted to fly away for good
Boeing’s Dreamliner is causing nightmares in Washington state.
Boeing’s $1 billion purchase of the 787 supplier Vought Aircraft Industries in Charleston, S.C., is sure to trigger more sleepless nights for the state’s political leaders and the thousands of workers affiliated directly or indirectly with the airplane builder. And just as news of that deal broke, the congressional delegation is reporting that Boeing may open a second production line outside the state if it cannot reach a no-strike agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers by fall.
Those two events may not be related, because the Vought purchase was caused more by that company’s shortcomings. Production delays left it with little income, and investors were unwilling to put up more capital. So Boeing bought the company to ensure that fuselage production would continue.
But the purchase gives Boeing a 240-acre campus on the East Coast, heightening fears that it will follow through on its ultimatum. The Machinists union has struck the company four times over the past 20 years, most recently for two months last fall, which cost Boeing an estimated $6.5 billion in revenues. This is serious business for the state, and the benefits reach beyond the Puget Sound area. Important Spokane-area businesses such as Kaiser Aluminum, Triumph Composite Systems Inc. and Goodrich Corp. have direct stakes in the outcome.
A $3.2 billion tax break package approved by the Legislature in 2003 helped the state land the current Dreamliner production line. But Boeing has made it clear that the key to grabbing the second line is an assurance that the Machinists union won’t strike. The Dreamliner is already way behind schedule. That’s frustrating to political leaders. In the near term, business climate issues, which government can affect, are a secondary concern for Boeing.
With each passing year, the old argument about the state having the most skilled work force erodes. Deloitte Consulting reported in the spring that other states are making significant educational and training efforts to narrow the skills gap. If the union insists on standing pat, it may see assembly jobs sent out of state. By the same token, Boeing cannot expect workers to give up their strongest tool for leverage without gaining some reciprocal assurances.
A lot is riding on whether the two sides can work out a reasonable compromise, but it would be a mistake to think that Boeing is bluffing. In recent years, it has demonstrated that it is willing to make bold decisions. The state’s chief advantage is a skilled labor force with a tradition of high quality work, but that asset quickly loses value if workers don’t show up.
A stubborn refusal to recognize the intense competition for aerospace jobs could result in the state’s playing the loser’s game of “what if.”
As workers in Michigan and other longtime industrial states can attest, that’s no fun for anyone.
Don’t fudge fish standard 
liarsinnews on July 09 at 8:12 a.m.
Thanks Governor Gregoire, Patty Murray and her Washington senator (partner friend) Marie Cantwell.
Gary D Rhodes on July 09 at 1:42 p.m.
I think we can be pretty sure this is Bush’s fault.
Raising_Hell on July 09 at 7:26 p.m.
Yeah, Bush hasn’t been flying much since leaving the White House. Of course, odds are in twenty years most of us won’t be either.
Good corporate citizen (LOL) Boeing is on the road to be 2020’s GM. They make overpriced military jets that we don’t need and can’t afford, and civilian aircraft that we won’t have fuel to fly. The FAA’s long range predictions of growth for air travel are based on falling fuel prices. Wonder what world they live in?
http://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation/long-range_forecasts/media/long06.pdf
It’s time we stopped subsidizing air travel and got on board a high speed rail network in this country. If Boeing wants to have a future, I suggest they start putting their engineers and machinists to work on mag lev. The Japanese are already way ahead of us, so Boeing can’t ship technology and jobs to them as they did with the airline business. Or perhaps dirigibles are more their cup of tea?
George_Sands on July 10 at 12:48 a.m.
Boeing. The company that put nothing (0) into B_eing.
Dont forget Murray is Boeing’s lap dog. She tried to sneak in the $6 Billion 767 Tanker Lease program as a no bid budget item, that would have cost us $3 Billion if we had just bought the planes out right. Of cours John McCain got wind of it from a former Boeing Employee and quickly put the kibosh on that little bit of Pork.
Glass, Murrays second in-incompetance was upset she wasn’t going to haul that big suitcase of Boeing cash to her Alexandria VA. townhouse.
Ol Slick Gary Schloke ponied up $3.2 BILLION (of our money) in support/tax breaks for the Lazy B to get a “not worth the t.p. its written on guarantee to build the 787 in Seattle/Everett.” Boeing then turned around and moved their discorporate rats nest of bozos to Chicago just to spite the ol Schlokeman. Since at that time Boeing was selling most of its jets to Asia, they musta figured out to be closer to their customers was to go the LONG way around the globe East to Chicago. Boeing’s compasses (both the Moral one and magnetic one) must be installed 180 degees out.