Boeing draws Nethercutt’s wrath over plant closure

Associated Press

SPOKANE — Close a Spokane parts plant at your own peril, U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., has told Boeing Co. executives.

Nethercutt on Tuesday said he would not support any legislation the company has before Congress if it closes its assembly plant west of Spokane.

Nethercutt said he told Boeing chairman and CEO Phil Condit and other company officials that closing the West Plains facility would be "absolutely unacceptable."

"They come to me on funding," said Nethercutt, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee. "I would have no reason to support Boeing, even on appropriations, if they were to abandon this plant."

Nethercutt made his remarks Tuesday in a meeting with The Spokesman-Review newspaper’s editorial board.

On Wednesday, members of the Boeing engineers union rallied with supporters in front of the plant, which is being studied for closure as a cost-saving measure.

A spokeswoman for Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes division said the company understands Nethercutt’s concern, but emphasized no decision has been made to close the plant.

"He obviously is doing a good job of representing his constituents," spokeswoman Phyllis Miller said. "We are working hand-in-glove with Mr. Nethercutt as we go through this thoughtful process of studying our physical assets."

Boeing cut about 5,000 jobs in Washington state last year, including 48 at the West Plains plant. It has said it may cut as many as 30,000 jobs this year, most of them in Washington, including another 100 in the Spokane area.

The Spokane plant makes floor and cockpit panels and air conditioning ducts for Boeing planes. It employs about 500 people.

"There are a variety of different scenarios," Miller said. "Closure is one of them, but there are others. We have made no decision."

The study results are expected to be announced early next month, she said.

Nethercutt said he believed there was "a better than even chance" Boeing will keep the plant open. His discussions with company officials were intended to convey the importance of the factory to the Spokane area, he said.

His promise to oppose any future legislation the company wanted was a way to "exercise the vote in the right way," Nethercutt said.

He said he has been a regular supporter of Boeing initiatives, including a current proposal to lease 100 converted 767 jetliners that would be converted into aerial refueling tankers.

The $22 billion plan, which would help bolster the Air Force’s aging fleet of KC-135s, has been criticized by some members of the Senate as being too expensive.