IAM, Connecticut Lawmakers Applaud GAO Report

The Connecticut Congressional delegation joined with Machinists union members and other labor representatives this week to celebrate the Government Accounting Office’s (GAO) report that cited serious flaws in the refueling tanker competition that led to a French-built Airbus being chosen over a U.S-manufactured Boeing 767.

Hundreds of Connecticut workers and union members were joined by Senator Chris Dodd and Representatives John Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro and Tim Murphy for the rally, which took place at the Connecticut AFL-CIO Convention.
 
“In our opinion, what the GAO decision means is Boeing won the competition and should be awarded the contract,” said IAM District 26 Business Representative Everett Corey. “We’re ready to begin building the new tanker starting today.”

Among the points made in the GAO report was that the Air Force did not assess the relative merits of the tanker proposals in accordance with the criteria it initially established. The GAO also cited the Air Force for conducting "misleading and unequal discussions" with Boeing by informing Boeing that it had fully satisfied a key performance objective, but later determined privately that Boeing had not.

The GAO also concluded the Air Force miscalculated the life-cycle costs of Boeing's tanker, and incorrectly concluded that the Northrop tanker would have lower operating costs.