EVERETT – Union leaders called Monday for legislation to block the Pentagon’s decision to award a coveted tanker contract to a company with European ties.
“No one expected the Air Force to hand over the Holy Grail of defense contracts” to Northrop Grumman and its partner European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., said Ed Fills, with the Texas State AFL-CIO.
On Friday, the Air Force announced it chose Northrop-EADS’ KC-30 tanker over the Boeing Co.’s Everett-built KC-767 for a $35 billion aerial refueling tanker deal. EADS is the parent company of Boeing’s commercial rival Airbus. The decision drew harsh criticism from Boeing’s unions and Washington state politicians late last week.
On Monday, leaders from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and the AFL-CIO led a call to action from Congress. The union officials want Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the government from handing out contract to foreign corporations that receive unfair trade subsidies.
Boeing alleges European governments provided illegal subsidies for Airbus to develop certain commercial jets, including the A330 on which EADS tanker is based. In turn, EADS and Airbus claim Boeing has received unfair handouts, including the tax incentives Washington state offered to secure final assembly of Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner jet.
The U.S. Air Force said it did not consider World Trade Organization disputes when deciding which company would build 179 tankers to replace its aging fleet of Boeing-built KC-135 tankers.
Union leaders say the Air Force is sending American jobs to a foreign country by not selecting Boeing for the deal. EADS is a Franco-German company. Northrop is based in Los Angles. The duo will assemble their KC-30s in Mobile, Ala.
AFL-CIO’s Fills said that as a child he was taught “cheaters never prosper. I don’t know if that translates into French.”
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