Published: Monday, August 17, 2009
County Council will hear aerospace concerns
EVERETT — Members of the Snohomish County Council will get a sneak peek this week at the aerospace industry’s agenda for the 2010 legislative session.
Always a hot topic, the state’s aerospace cluster has been on the minds of many local and state lawmakers lately as concerns swell that the Boeing Co. could look elsewhere either for its second 787 assembly line or for the production of its next all-new jet.
The council will hear from representatives from Boeing, its unions and aerospace companies in the county, said Mike Cooper, County Council chairman. That way the council can decide which pieces of legislation it will support in Olympia or whether the council should craft its own. The meeting also allows the council members to find out how the local legislators feel about the bills, since the state lawmakers for the county were invited.
Members of the aerospace industry recently voiced concerns about the problems facing the industry during the “Saving Washington Aerospace” summit held earlier this month in Everett. That summit was sponsored by industry group Aerospace Futures Alliance and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon.
“Nobody — not Boeing, not organized labor, not government, not our community — nobody wants to participate in the decline of the aerospace industry in our state,” said Boeing’s Fred Kiga, during the conference.
In its decision-making process for a second 787 line, Boeing will keep in mind its relationships with its unions. The company and its airline customers have complained about work stoppages in the Puget Sound region. However, with its globally produced 787, Boeing has seen firsthand the problems that can arise from an inexperienced work force. The company’s Dreamliner is nearly two years behind schedule, due to supplier and production problems.
But the relationship between Boeing and its union isn’t likely to surface in the Legislature. While Boeing’s widebody factory casts a wide shadow here in the county, Boeing is one of more than 140 aerospace companies in Snohomish County. Many of those companies share some of Boeing’s concerns about doing business.
One such issue that could be discussed in the Legislature is improved work force training. Bills that would have created a new aerospace training center in the county died during the last session. The county and Aerospace Futures Alliance have started a training center of their own at Paine Field.
“Work force training is more important than it has ever been,” said Michael Zubovic, president of the alliance and vice president of Advanced Technical Services in Everett, at the conference.
Other topics of concern included taxes, education and transportation. Although the council meeting is open to the public, seating is limited. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Always a hot topic, the state’s aerospace cluster has been on the minds of many local and state lawmakers lately as concerns swell that the Boeing Co. could look elsewhere either for its second 787 assembly line or for the production of its next all-new jet.
The council will hear from representatives from Boeing, its unions and aerospace companies in the county, said Mike Cooper, County Council chairman. That way the council can decide which pieces of legislation it will support in Olympia or whether the council should craft its own. The meeting also allows the council members to find out how the local legislators feel about the bills, since the state lawmakers for the county were invited.
Members of the aerospace industry recently voiced concerns about the problems facing the industry during the “Saving Washington Aerospace” summit held earlier this month in Everett. That summit was sponsored by industry group Aerospace Futures Alliance and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon.
“Nobody — not Boeing, not organized labor, not government, not our community — nobody wants to participate in the decline of the aerospace industry in our state,” said Boeing’s Fred Kiga, during the conference.
In its decision-making process for a second 787 line, Boeing will keep in mind its relationships with its unions. The company and its airline customers have complained about work stoppages in the Puget Sound region. However, with its globally produced 787, Boeing has seen firsthand the problems that can arise from an inexperienced work force. The company’s Dreamliner is nearly two years behind schedule, due to supplier and production problems.
But the relationship between Boeing and its union isn’t likely to surface in the Legislature. While Boeing’s widebody factory casts a wide shadow here in the county, Boeing is one of more than 140 aerospace companies in Snohomish County. Many of those companies share some of Boeing’s concerns about doing business.
One such issue that could be discussed in the Legislature is improved work force training. Bills that would have created a new aerospace training center in the county died during the last session. The county and Aerospace Futures Alliance have started a training center of their own at Paine Field.
“Work force training is more important than it has ever been,” said Michael Zubovic, president of the alliance and vice president of Advanced Technical Services in Everett, at the conference.
Other topics of concern included taxes, education and transportation. Although the council meeting is open to the public, seating is limited. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Thursday.
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