Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, October 31, 2009 Its mind made up, Boeing's talks with Sen. Murray were for appearances Political analysis By Jerry Cornfield Herald Political Columnist Everett never had a chance. At least it seems that way now to Sen. Patty Murray. Months of quiet diplomacy on her part ended in disappointment when Boeing chose Charleston, S.C., over Everett for a second assembly line for the 787. Disappointing but not surprising. Signs of the company's intentions had been popping up for months, say those familiar with conversations that Murray had with Boeing. Boeing executives only half-heartedly penciled in Everett for the coveted production line, discouraged Murray from rallying on the city's behalf, held bad memories of the strike and Gov. Chris Gregoire walking the line, smarted from battles with state legislators and purchased a South Carolina aerospace company. Murray heard firsthand on Feb. 9 about South Carolina's favored status from Boeing execs Tim Keating and Phil Ruter. Charleston topped the list of choices with Everett scrawled along the margin, its chances slim if not none. They suggested Murray not waste her immense political capital trying to alter the course of events set in motion by Boeing's big boss Jim McNerney. Boeing's plan for a second production line somewhere in America — the third will surely be in China — had gone from rumor to fact weeks before that February meeting. Everett's chances already seemed next to nil given the bitterness stirred by the Machinists strike in 2008. McNerney had reached wit's end with the union. He had shareholders pressing for profits, customers demanding deliveries and little patience for a contentious work force. Yet, he liked Murray and respected the gravitas she holds in the nation's capital. If she got deeply involved, McNerney was going to press pause on the process to see what evolved. Murray began in February working to open a line of communication between Boeing and the union. The two sides needed to be talking if Everett was to have any shot at besting Charleston. It wasn't going to be easy. Even if they did start chatting, Boeing wanted a guarantee they could run a second production line for years without fear of strikes. They called it a need for a stable work force. They demanded a long term contract ensuring no walkouts, period. They wanted 10 years of labor peace guaranteed. To ask any union member to give up their right to strike is heresy. To ask Machinists fresh from the picket line and full of mistrust for those running the aerospace giant is, well, crazy. Murray didn't go that route. She did urge union leaders to look at the big picture for the long haul and to hear Boeing out. She wasn't trying to mediate or negotiate for either viewpoint only to keep the conversation going. Boeing deliberately set the bar high. For weeks and months there was little movement from workers. Murray, meanwhile, kept in touch with McNerney, meeting with him in May and June. Neither side wanted lawmakers in the room during talks. So it left Murray, others in the congressional delegation, the governor and local elected officials to preach patience to both sides as Boeing signaled more of its intentions by buying Vought and securing development permits in South Carolina. On Wednesday, Oct. 21, the union did something Boeing never expected. Machinists reached up and grabbed hold of the bar McNerney thought was safely beyond their grasp. They submitted a “best and final” offer with a contract extension assuring no strikes through 2020. Workers had a few things they wanted in the way of wages, benefits and, probably most annoying to Boeing, a commitment from the company for future work at the plant. These were negotiations on a long-term contract extension so a counteroffer from the aerospace company seemed in order. It didn't come. Boeing went silent. Two days later, McNerney and Murray talked. Over the weekend there was a phone conversation between union and Boeing leaders. Come Monday, Murray was back on the phone with McNerney, stressing how success was in sight with the two sides within an inch of one another's positions. She felt confident the union would modify its stance if Boeing responded. McNerney made no promises. The next night, the eve of the decision, McNerney and Murray spoke again. This conversation differed from all their others. He told her a stable work force was not the only issue to be considered though he didn't share what other issues concerned him. The conversation ended and with it all pretense of a second look at Everett. Murray's spokeswoman Alex Glass said this week, “I think Boeing was surprised they got as close as they did and may not have wanted to get to the finish line. “There was somewhat of a feeling the jig was up and if they sat down with the union again they might have got more from the union,” she said. Wednesday morning, Murray invited union and Boeing negotiators to her office, publicizing the sit-down to the media. Intuitively, she knew the decision was a done deal and Boeing would not show up. This was no last-ditch effort, this was a brush-back pitch from a skilled politician. McNerney was to call her at 3 p.m. that day but didn't. He was on a plane to South Carolina. He phoned after 4 p.m. and Murray let him sit on hold while she considered her words. Framed on her wall is the first speech she delivered on the floor of the Senate in 1993. It was about Boeing, its history in the state and its roots in the people. Reading it again gave her a moment to get perspective and decide what she would say. She picked up the phone and spoke of how the Boeing she knew for years was not the Boeing she's been dealing with for months. She hung up, still one of Boeing's best allies in Congress when Washington's interests are at stake. There is really only one surprise in this week's decision: how long it took to be made. Political reporter Jerry Cornfield's blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out It is not the Unions or Murray It is the ever ending need for profit of greater and greater amounts. The idea of reinvesting into a company and growing it for the long term is dead, it is all about profit today for the shareholders. We can thank things like NAFTA as some of the tools used. Don't forget what the world was like before Unions. 14 hr work days 7 days a week. The big reason I thing however is not just labor cost. The reasons are far deeper. Part of it is the distance to markets. In South Alaska we are at a huge disadvantage with the cost of shipping materials and products to and from the markets. Add to that the 5th highest taxed state , and you have a major problem. Look at state over all at the turn of the 20th Century we were an important iron producing area along with timber and agriculture lead by the Great Northern Railroad. That died than Aerospace started with the war in the pacific. Now it is moving away. Remember when we were a major hub for cellular technology? Software? All are gone are vanishing, sinking or gone. The leadership of the state needs to help define a roadmap to the future and define an economy for the state . That or turn out the lights 70's will return. Ed Head | Nov 1, 2009 8:26 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Third 787 line to be in China Vladimer Lennon once said that capitalists would sell the rope which they were to hang from if it meant a profit. Looks like he was right. Mark Stocker | Oct 31, 2009 2:02 pm | 2 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Cowardly What a cowardly bit of CYA. It is obvious Ms. Murray has forgotten a critical piece of information; that is - Boeing doesn't exist for her benefit - rather her position exists to serve theirs, and ours... something Ms. Murray and all of her cohorts in the 'other Washington' would do well to remember. In 12 months from this week, I dare say, they will begin to understand, when those who have forgotten start to get voted out. Geht Riehl | Oct 31, 2009 9:03 am | 3 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Rich Maybe you should have someone proof your post next time. You didn't even spell Boeing right. Gina Malk | Oct 31, 2009 8:58 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) Its over...now what the boing workers need to do is slow down, force all the overtime you can get, pay your bills, and prepare for the future which is sure not Boing. Make Boing pay financially for what they are doing, if they do not like it refuse any overtime and watch them lose more contracts. You have a 1 1/2 year window to screw them for all the money you can get. Just do it without violating any laws or contract clauses...Slooow down, alert OSHA whenever possible, use sick leave at critical moments for Boing...you know the drill, reverse screwing is fun when it comes down to this. Rich Kruml | Oct 31, 2009 9:07 am | 2 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal What goes around comes around You know, when I was in the military we had ways of getting rid of incompetent, overbearing, or otherwise unfit leadership. A well-timed hand grenade rolled into a tent or a stray bullet could be quite effective. But some techniques are more subtle than others. A cohesive and artful unit could work together to find subtle (and non-incriminating) ways to disrupt and delay progress, with the consequences falling squarely onto the wayward leader. I wonder how many more program delays and credibility lapses McNerney can survive with his job intact? "Unions" worthy of the name should be able to work together to pull something off... Mojojojo | Oct 31, 2009 5:23 pm | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Re- Oh my gosh Not everyone at Boeing is union represented. As a matter of fact there are alot of us that are not. We are not whinning or striking but picking up the pieces. Both the Unions and the State got to jeopardize my future and I am not in any union..why don't we all quite the finger pointing and use our votes and minds to fix the problems. Leesa Murray | Oct 31, 2009 5:20 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal 2nd I have to second the comment below about the upcoming groundbreaking. After a number of years working as a project engineer in construction firms I can also safely say that there is no way in hell that you can break ground in December of this year on a project of this size unless you have many months in the research phase. Soils and geological reports, environmental impact statements, plumbing and electrical usage/upgrade asessments, groundwater treatment plans, traffic upgrades, zoning issues, etc. all come to bear long before you can even apply for building permits. The statement from company spokesmen that the permit apps were merely a normal part of the decision process was pure bs. Not even the uneducated hillbillys of the sc give out bulding permits without knowing exactly what will be built there and when. Anyone who says differently never applied for an industrial manufacturing facility permit. So all you opinionated bashers who want to point fingers as to why Everett lost, consider the facts. It was never going to happen here when sc offered everything except their first-born to secure the deal and they only have to pay $14.00 an hour. This site decision was over long ago; The only question was how much could be wrung from sc to finalize the deal. Turns out it was alot. J Marchant | Oct 31, 2009 4:34 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Not so fast Let me first say that I personally don't care for Sen Murray and have never voted for her. I am surely one of the very last people that would defend her on any issue. That being said, all of you Murray-bashers need to go back and read all of the columns that have been published the last few days. First there was the secret talks that boeing leaked to the media so they would not be so secret and would keep up the pretense that Puget Sound was ever a candidate for the 2nd line. The union even made themselves look bad by saying there weren't any talks just to show the company that they at least were still playing ball. Next came the release of sc as the choice for 2nd line and all the bs reasoning for it. This was quickly followed by the revelations that sc had basically given up the keys to the entire state if boeing would throw a few jobs their way. That evening Wroblewski outlined in detail what the union was willing to do (and give up) to secure those jobs. According to his statement, the company refused to even give solid answers as to what it would take to swing their vote. The next day doug lite sends a letter to management detaling his opposing view of the negotiations and in so many words calling the union pres. a liar. Not surprising really, we saw the very same bs during the strike from him. Which brings us to this article where Sen. Murray in a very quiet way shows us all that Wroblewski was in fact telling the truth and that regardless of how many e-mails doug kite sends, the truth is that the company never negotiated in good faith because it was all a sham to wring more concessions from sc. And wring they did. As I said before, I am not generally a Murray supporter, but in this case I have to applaud her integrity where she saw the union pres. unfairly villified. She stepped up and set the record straight as only she could. doug kite had no problem calling Tom Wroblewski a liar; Will he also try to say the same of a Senior Senator, who also happens to be one of the loudest voices in support of boeing on capitol hill? J Marchant | Oct 31, 2009 4:15 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal oh my gosh Give it a rest! Boeing is opening 2nd line because, union striking every single contract! This does not allow Boeing to do business. In fact it makes them look bad to its customers. Allways late of orders. I would of gladly moved this line the hell out of Washington State. Look at the whinners, employees, union, state officials. Boeing is not whinning, they got control back from this idiots who run the union. Great work Boeings, stay alive and run your business without UNIONS! Craig French | Oct 31, 2009 3:07 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal RE: Deleting my posts? Dave: Your post was not deleted. It appears on another version of this story posted yesterday evening: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091030/NEWS01/710309680. I apologize for the confusion. Elaine Helm New Media Editor The Herald | HeraldNet.com Elaine Helm | Oct 31, 2009 3:04 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Boeing has been trying for 8 years You are right, Jerry. I think Boeing made the tentative decision eight years ago. When they moved the headquarters to Chicago, it was meant to send a message to the unions and the state that they were not happy with the business climate here. Did the state and the Machinists union listen? No! When Boeing moved more and more of the parts production out of this area, did the state and union wake up? Boeing did not want the strike last year. They had a lot of 787 orders, serious production problems causing major delays. They offered a generous contract and tried to negotiate with the union. The union thought they had Boeing over a barrel, so they went crazy with their demands, seemingly eager to strike. The governor made it worse with her pandering to strikers. As the economy tanked the union was forced to settle with almost nothing gained. I think the decision to move was made during that strike. Boeing decided to finally deal with the arrogance of the Machinists. If the Machinists had been smart last Spring when the talk of a second line started, they would have immediately offered a 10 year no-strike agreement. And forget about trying to guarantee future production here. From now on whenever a contract comes up, Boeing will have another future plane or production line up for a move. If the union and the state don't give them what they want, away it goes. So the union considered it heresy to give up the right to strike. From now on every time they even threaten to use it, they will cutting their own throat. Donald Standley | Oct 31, 2009 10:52 am | 3 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal 2nd 787 Line Wow, big surprise. State and Federal politicians wait until after Boeing has made up their mind to talk about improving the business climate in this state, and are shocked when they are not dealt with in good faith. The time for action was years ago, not now. Too little, too late. Enough is enough. And, despite the politicians attempt avoid blame for this, they are to blame. Our state will end up just like California unless it wakes up. Ron Collins | Oct 31, 2009 8:52 am | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) Since ground breaking in SC is before the end of the year. Does that not tell anyone that the entier process of designing a huge building, landscape, parking, roads, and all else that goes into such a huge build, happened long ago. All this talk and negotiations was all smoke and mirrors. The Boeing administration knew long ago where they wanted the second line, and so did all the enginers and planners that helped design such a huge building. Such things as built in tools, water, and hazmat needs and all else. By the looks of it the only people that did not know where the second line was going to be was the entire state of washington. asd dsa | Oct 31, 2009 6:13 am | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal My favorite subjects! Boeing and politicians! Yeah people, start scapegoating, blame Murray! As (seemingly?) ineffectual as Murray is (who voted in favor of Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the opening of the financial floodgates that has wrought havoc on us these past couple of years), it was ultimately Boeing's and its workers' doings. Yeah, sure, the State could have PAID Boeing to ramp up another White Elephant* -"Dreamliner" line- could have followed DC's shovel taxpayer dollars to big corporations (corporate welfare), but it didn't. Just like "professional" sports teams, no entity should hold our collective selves hostage- corporate terrorism! * Just like the automotive sector is crashing, and will never come back, so too will the airline sector. Wasting money and resources on Boeing is, well, it's like wasting money and resources on Murray! (they both screw us!) Spend some time, people, to learn more about how the world is really shaping up, read more than the crap that's printed in these local rags. Take a simple reality test- take a survey of people from your everyday life, ask them if they are planning on taking a plane trip any time soon. Can they afford to? How in debt are they? How do they feel about this going into the future, do they see improvements anytime soon? 2/3 of the world's population lives on $3/day or less; this should give you an idea of the likelihood of expanding the airline market (hint: if you're an AVERAGE US worker your wages have stagnated, actually gone DOWN, since the late 60s; you too will find it increasingly harder to rummage up money to fly as you struggle under your personal debts and the debts of your government [which has opted to load you with future debt in order to pay out huge sums of money to banksters and other corporate thieves]). This isn't just a local issue, it's global. The rest of the world is also in economic straights. Boeing cannot bail out this nation (through exports): though, the government will try and use its military products to force lower prices for us. Weaker dollar good for exports? Yeah, right. Perhaps a bit, but that means that The key import -oil- goes up in price; increase energy costs and those costs will have to be tacked on to our goods. I have to laugh when people complain that Murray already knew the results BEFOREHAND. Well, how does it feel local politicians? You've done the exact same thing (think Street Scape project and the Arena project- how did Perteet Engineering know to include capacity into the Streetscape project BEFORE the Arena site was officially selected? - NOTE to Herald editors- look in your archives, there you should find a note about Perteet announcing one month before the city council's final site vote that their project would serve capacity for the arena). Boeing management lies to its workers. Politicians lie to the citizens. What else is new? What are you REALLY going to do about it (beside pointing fingers, usually serving some political ideology/party). Mark Nagel | Oct 31, 2009 11:16 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal So what now IAM? Show them what Pacific Northwest IAM labor is all about: Skilled craftsmen and women second to none, first pass quality, no rework, working together, process improvement, teamwork, knowledge transfer to new mechanics, no traveled work, and elimination of overtime. Show them that it's the best $28 per hour they will ever spend. Make it a no brainer. Or you can be like Rich suggests below: slow down, bicker with each other, complain, insist on overtime as an entitlement, blame your manager, team leader, steward, BR, HR, director, sister, brother, mother,... send mistakes to second shift or the next stop in the assembly process. And come next contract, don't forget to really stick it to 'em. That'll show everybody what you're all about! TheRiver | Oct 31, 2009 10:57 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal murray is a joke give me a break murray - you are ineffective is why it did not work ... they are probably tired of your FORM letters like i am when we try to come to you with our concerns - you sit in DC and do nothing to help normal wa citizens ... it is so time for you to go. go work for boeing in SC, ok? :) rita stanwood | Oct 31, 2009 10:13 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Murry still not effective Mother in tennis shoes, was poor choice 17 years ago and with all that senoirty still no one, the writer calls her a savy political vetren, we get excuses because outside of democratic backslapping having a higher estrgen level is a poor reason to choose a senator and with the ostirch with its head in the sand mentality, she is ineffective not because she is a woman sometimes the voters make poor choices in this case three times and knowing this state four is a virtual lock because who doesnt want mom rynning around D.C., I will raise my hand on that one.us Paul Abbitt | Oct 31, 2009 10:09 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Our world has changed Although the world has changed, the role of the airplane company has not changed; profit has always been the bottom line. But in our changing world the stock holders demand more and more profit. So leaders have been changed. There is only one person on the Board of Directors who has a background in aerospace. The CEO is not an aerospace person. The leaders have changed the business model of the airplane company. Products have changed in pursuit of more profit. The role of the union has not changed either; the union exists to benefit the workers. But have the tactics of the union changed to meet a changing world? If so, they obviously have not worked. Creative solutions have been offered and rejected or discarded. Ownership/profit/loss sharing is one of those; no strike contracts is another. Perhaps it is time to try new solutions and even some of the ones that have been discarded. Someone said something to the effect that if we keep doing the same things, the results will not change. Our world has changed; have we? kenneth andrews | Oct 31, 2009 10:04 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Deleting my posts? I don't play that cheap partisan crap. I wrote a good, inoffensive post that had no reason to be deleted. Your widget is now off of my Google homepage: who needs your podunk paper echoing your betters in Seattle anyways? Dave Hamilton | Oct 31, 2009 8:55 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Tanker Issue I think as the article states that everyone believes that we have seen our last new plane in Washington. The last I heard in the papers, SC was still having problems with both quality and production quantity on the 787 line but it makes more sense for Boeing to have a second temporary "surge" line in Everett while building a permanent line in SC. Should we continue to give Washington's support and time to an airplane that is also headed south if the tanker is awarded to Boeing? Shouldn't SC and Alabama be slugging it out? I would like to hear Sen. Murray's take on this situation. richard michaelson | Oct 31, 2009 7:54 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal For appearances alright The article seems to be a smoke screen for "don't blame me", I did try, really. We are talking about our DEAR senator. The bottom line is that the last union strike was a killer. If Patty or Queenie were going to step in, 2-3 years ago was the time and not at the midnight hour. Ya can't just keep caving into union demands and take their bribes (oops, I really meant campaign contributions). Game over in the Puget Sound. If you wish to avert future job losses/exodus the time to act is NOW and not when the crisis is over. I keep hearing that Boeing is Renton is all but dead after 2015? Airport lease not renewed after 2015? Does the state really think they are going to shift the jobs top Everett? Perhaps more gets moved to South Carolina or other sites (other states) that Boeing plans to open? If you wish to keep Boeing here, start working on it NOW. K Dog | Oct 31, 2009 2:52 am | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal blame Keep blaming Boeing! You'll lose ALL future planes. Keep up the contention. What morons here. Homer Remoh | Oct 31, 2009 5:01 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

1. Man arrested in fatal shooting of brother 2. Highway 9 crash victims memorialized 3. Taxes needed to close state's growing deficit? 4. Confrontation led to elderly man's death, police say 5. Fire sends shoppers fleeing JC Penney at Alderwood 6. Snohomish salon owner has a venture with style 7. Pearl Harbor's voices of the past 8. Vikings’ Henderson breaks leg against Cardinals 9. Boeing shares soar as 787 first flight draws near 10. New law aims to deny some felons bail 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Wildcats fall to familar foe in semis • ‘Nutcracker' times three • Road warrior • Mavericks reloading • Holiday Lightings & Santa Sightings • Cities prepare for winter blast repeat • Wolfpack duo takes last shot at state tourney • This Weekend in Your Town • Tips for the stormy season • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million