Boeing Machinists say tanker decision is ‘outsourcing our future’

Published 11:03 pm Wednesday, March 19, 2008

EVERETT — Angry over a Pentagon decision that they say jeopardizes American jobs, Boeing Co. workers plan to “take it to the streets.”

They started on Wednesday with a rally supporting efforts to overturn the U.S. Air Force’s award of a $35 billion tanker contract to Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent, EADS. Boeing machinists and engineers had hoped to supply the government with KC-767 tanker, assembled in Everett. Instead, they’re pushing lawmakers to take up their fight.

“We’re going to hold the government’s feet to the fire on this one,” said Susan Palmer, with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Palmer was the Machinists’ business representative for the 767 line for nine years and serves as district secretary-treasurer.

Boeing Machinists and engineers crammed into a crowded union hall Wednesday afternoon near Boeing’s factory in Everett to hear from union officials, Washington’s governor and the state’s congressional delegation. Carrying signs with slogans like “We build it better” and “Not with MY tax $” Boeing workers took turns answering rally cries of “What do we want? — Tankers.”

“Our government isn’t just outsourcing our plane, it’s outsourcing our future,” Palmer said.

Palmer noted the strong tie between American workers and the U.S. armed forces — a tie that could be broken if the Air Force’s decision is allowed to stand, she said.

Northrop and EADS won the contract to supply 179 aerial refueling tankers to the Air Force using an aircraft based on an Airbus commercial jet. The consortium will finish assembly of their tankers in Mobile, Ala., and say their tanker creates 48,000 direct and indirect American jobs.

Boeing filed a protest last week with the Government Accountability Office, which will have until mid-June to give its determination. The company claims the Air Force favored Northrop-EADS, picking the duo’s larger tanker although it asked for a medium-sized aircraft. Boeing also alleges the Air Force erred in its evaluation of the KC-767, causing Boeing to lose the $35 billion deal.

Like Palmer, Gov. Chris Gregoire said she was angry the Air Force would make a decision that could take high-paying jobs away from American workers. The decision, she said, is especially troubling during a shaky economy. “I don’t get what the United States Air Force doesn’t get about what the right thing is to do,” Gregoire said.

She, like Boeing workers, is counting on the state’s congressional delegation to block the Air Force’s award.

But it’s going to be a long, uphill battle to do so, said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Not everyone in Congress understands or supports Boeing and the unions’ position on the tanker.

“We’ve got to spread the word: if we do not protect our aerospace industry, we will lose it,” she said.

Murray believes the Air Force didn’t hold a fair competition, allowing EADS to compete with an Airbus aircraft developed with what Boeing and the U.S. government allege are illegal subsidies. The Air Force’s decision also raises national security concerns, Murray said.

“I am going to keep working and speaking out for you until we get this contract back,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., urged union members to reach out to labor groups in states that aren’t as impacted by the Air Force decision as Washington. Boeing also has seen support in Congress from lawmakers from Kansas, where it would have installed military applications in its KC-767 tankers.

“I need you to help me get this message out,” Larsen said.

Union leaders also advocated the members’ role in Boeing’s fight. They advised Machinists and engineers alike to get involved with the delegation’s efforts, signing their petitions online and bombarding members of Congress with letters.

“We can’t allow this to stand,” said Jim Bearden, with the Machinists union. “We got to take this to the street.”

Reporter Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454 or mdunlop@heraldnet.com.