After sucking hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives from the state of South Carolina, the Boeing Company this week concluded a months-long charade of indecision by announcing it will build a second 787 Dreamliner assembly line in North Charleston, South Carolina. The decision by Boeing executives is the latest move in an outsourcing strategy, which is credited for delaying the launch of the problem-plagued 787 by more than two years.
Despite claims by Boeing that high labor costs and the threat of future strikes were key reasons for looking beyond Washington state for a new manufacturing site, the company refused to consider proposals from the IAM that would have guaranteed uninterrupted production for at least 11 years.
“Boeing’s goal was not an agreement that would keep the work in Washington state,” declared IAM General Vice President Rich Michalski. “Their goal was to run out the clock on a charade that included blaming their own workers for a decision to establish operations in yet another distant and high risk environment.”
The decision was met with outrage in Washington state, where lawmakers provided more than $3.2 billion in tax incentives in 2003 to get the company to build the first 787 production line in Washington.
“Boeing has betrayed our loyalty once again, walking away from our discussions just like they walked away from Seattle eight years ago to move to Chicago,” said District 751 President Tom Wroblewski. “We tried very hard to reach an extended agreement with Boeing. We listened closely to what executives said, and suggested ideas to meet their needs. We offered concrete, real-world solutions.
“Instead of investing in our shared future and a highly talented workforce in a region ideally suited for aerospace, Boeing has decided to double-down on its failed 787 strategy and place an ill-advised, billion-dollar bet on a strategy that’s a proven loser.”
Fri. December 18, 2009
I just spent 20 years at a major airline, not represented by a union. I had 100% medical, 401k, traditional retirement, etc. as part of my compensation package. I watched them erode over the years. When my retirement package disappeared, the corporate officers who tried to convince me that the \"portability\" of my 401k was the way to go, took bonuses equal to a one year of \"company savings\" and bailed out. Their pockets were lined with my retirement and I had no one to represent my interests. The current economic situation, where corporations look for savings on the backs of the employees, is exactly why we need a union. I didn\'t mean for this to be a rant. I was origionally going to comment on the Boeing S.C situation. One of my fellow employees, who recently left the military, took a job at that facility. He was horrified to find a handful of skilled aircraft workers, overseeing a group of employees who had no idea what they were doing.Fri. November 27, 2009
“Boeing paying 100% of employee medical costs is one example of how unrealistic the labor unions have become.” Arthur, you and people like you are so brain washed. The IAM medical is not near as good as it was many years ago. Boeing used to have a lot better benefits years ago and was making plenty of profit. Like the employees keep repeating over and over, Boeings problems are all because of poor management decisions. Not wages and benefits.Fri. November 20, 2009
Boeing may be gambling with a failed corporate strategy but is it also possible that they are throwning the dice on the future safety of airline passengers? No one in my family will ever fly on any 787 Dreamliner put together \"on the cheap\" by a totally inexperienced and untested workforce.Thu. November 05, 2009
The bottom line is Unions function in our society has come and gone.Global competition the likes of Airbus,Bombardier,Embraer,Russia and now China has meant a true need to control labor costs to remain competive. Boeing paying 100% of employee medical costs is one example of how unrealistic the labor unions have become.Sun. November 01, 2009
As a business owner, I can\'t believe they\'d do this. They already had to buy Vought. The 787 project is a disaster because of their outsourcing plan. So they\'ve decided to solve the problem by... ...doing more of the same thing? The good news: The real craftsmen in Everett will have lots of work fixing the stuff that gets broken everywhere else.