| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 8:24 am |
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Business 
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Business groups emphasize: Boeing Works Here An alliance has mobilized in a bid to keep Boeing and a second 787 assembly line in Washington state. As concern about the Boeing Co.’s future in Washington state grows, so does the list of groups trying to keep the company here.A new alliance of business organizations recently formed in an effort to keep Boeing and a second final assembly line for the company’s 787 Dreamliner in the state. The group, called Boeing Works Here, launched its campaign in early August, following the Saving Washington Aerospace conference held in Lynnwwod. That event coincided with Boeing hanging its sign on its newly purchased 787 supplier factory in Charleston, S.C. Government and business leaders are worried that Boeing will select Charleston rather than Everett for a second production line for its delayed Dreamliner. Boeing is expected to make a decision on a second line by year’s end. Boeing Works Here is mobilizing quickly, using many social media tools. The group has accounts with Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and MySpace, plus its original Web site, which includes a blog. “We are a growing group of business organizations that are concerned about what the loss of the 787 line would mean to the health of this state’s economy,” said Jim Kneeland, spokesman for Boeing Works Here. A public relations guru, Kneeland has served as spokesman on several high-profile campaigns. Kneeland was spokesman for the Seattle Sonics while owner Clay Bennett maneuvered to take the professional basketball team to Oklahoma. Kneeland was also spokesman for former Gov. Booth Gardner. Members of Boeing Works Here include WashACE, the Washington Roundtable, Association of Washington Business and the Washington Restaurant Association. Kneeland said the group is adding members daily. One factor expected to loom large in Boeing’s decision is its relationship with its unions, leading to speculation that the company is after a no-strike clause with its Machinists. “We’re hoping we can take the risk of labor stoppages out of the equation,” Boeing’s Fred Kiga told participants at the aerospace conference last week. Members of the Machinists union at Boeing’s 787 subassembly factory in South Carolina will vote on Sept. 10 whether to continue representation by the union. The Machinists here are quick to point out that the delays in Boeing’s 787 program came not from a two-month strike last fall but from mistakes made from inexperienced workers for Boeing’s 787 suppliers. But the group Boeing Works Here isn’t concerned with that part of the battle, Kneeland said in an e-mail. “Our interest is not to pick sides between the company and its workers but to provide a voice for all the businesses large and small — and their employees — that we have a stake in whether Boeing leaves or stays,” Kneeland said. “We need to keep Boeing here.” Several aerospace groups have formed in Washington in recent years, including the governor’s aerospace council and the Washington Aerospace Partnership. The region also has industry groups, such as the Aerospace Futures Alliance and the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance. Community and business-based groups aren’t unique to Washington, of course. While Northrop Grumman and its partner EADS battled Boeing for the U.S. Air Force tanker contract, the duo’s supporters in Mobile, Ala., organized the Come Back Home to Mobile site and the Keep Our Tanker group. The Air Force called off the last competition between Northrop-EADS and Boeing. But that battle is set to resume in September. Kneeland said that while the group supports Boeing’s efforts in the tanker contest, its “concern is to keep Boeing production here in Puget Sound, rather than allowing it to move to the South.” For more on Boeing Works Here, visit boeingworkshere.com. |
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- Some legislators again targeting people’s initiative petition rights
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