Outrage continues to grow over the U.S. Air Force decision to award a $40 billion aerial refueling tanker contract to European company EADS a contract which could eventually be worth $60 billion. Appearing on CNN’s Lou Dobb’s Tonight, IAM President Tom Buffenbarger ripped into the Air Force’s decision.
“How we could turn over the crown jewel of support for our nation’s Air Force to foreign manufacturers is beyond me,” said Buffenbarger. “We’re going to take this on tooth and nail and get this decision overturned. We’re going to see that America gets what it deserves in the form of economic justice and fairness for American workers.”
The AFL-CIO executive council, meanwhile, called on Congress to “defund” the contract, as well as conduct a full investigation into the circumstances under which the contract was awarded to a foreign contractor.
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee also held a hearing yesterday, beginning a formal inquiry into the contract. “I personally consider our aerial refueling program to be a major weapons system that is essential to our national security,” said the committee’s Chairman, John P. Murtha (D-PA). “I think it’s imperative that the Air Force explain to this committee its decision to award a major U.S. weapons system to a foreign company.”
Boeing’s KC-767 tanker would be built with over 85 percent domestic U.S. content and would support more than 44,000 U.S. jobs and 300 contractors in over forty states. The tanker competition was mandated in 2003, allowing a heavily subsidized European manufacturer, EADS, to bid against Boeing, a U.S. firm that received no subsidies.
The IAM represents nearly 35,000 Boeing employees in Washington state, Oregon, Kansas and other locations across the country.
Click here to view a letter sent by IP Buffenbarger to members of Congress and click here to send a message to your representatives in Congress, urging them to overturn this decision.
Click here to view IP Buffenbarger on Lou Dobbs Tonight.
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