LYNNWOOD — Nearly 3,000 miles away, the Boeing Co.’s newly acquired factory in South Carolina cast a shadow over talks Monday about Boeing’s and the aerospace industry’s future in Washington state.
“That’s about as far as we want South Carolina to go with the Boeing Co.,” Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon told participants at the “Saving Washington Aerospace” conference in Lynnwood.
Local and state political leaders worry Boeing’s recent purchase of supplier Vought Aircraft Industries’ factory in Charleston, S.C., could signal that the Puget Sound region will lose out, at best, on a second 787 production line and, at worst, on production of Boeing’s next all-new jet. Snohomish County and the Aerospace Futures Alliance hosted the summit to discuss the industry’s fate in the state.
Coincidentally, also on Monday, the Chicago-based aerospace company unveiled its new “Boeing” sign at its South Carolina factory. Scott Fancher, Boeing’s 787 program leader, told the company’s workers in Charleston that the city and Everett are on Boeing’s short-list for a second 787 Dreamliner production line, according to the Charleston Regional Business Journal. The publication quoted Fancher as saying that Boeing likely will make its decision on the second 787 line by year’s end.
“This could be Washington state’s finest hour or it could represent its loss on a national stage,” Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., told summit participants in Lynnwood.
Boeing has been critical of work stoppages by its Machinists union here in Washington and lists that as a top factor in its second 787 line decision. The union also represents some Machinists at the former Vought facility. Some Machinists there filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to force a vote over union representation.
Back in Lynnwood, Dicks and Larry Brown, the Machinists union’s legislative director, played down the significance of the attempt by South Carolina workers to leave the union. Brown said Boeing’s purchase of Vought isn’t necessarily an indicator that the company will move out of the state. Instead, Boeing was decided to buy Vought’s 787 factory because of that company’s inexperienced work force, he said. Boeing essentially is moving toward correcting a problem with its outsourcing model.
“Here in Washington state we have the finest aerospace workforce … that is not rhetoric; it’s reality,” Brown said.
Although Boeing’s Fred Kiga said the company’s trouble with unions isn’t the state’s only problem, he emphasized Boeing’s need to minimize work stoppages. Airline customers, notably Virgin’s Richard Branson, have publicly criticized the company and Machinists for strikes. Those customers, Kiga said, are losing patience.
“We’re hoping we can take the risk of labor stoppages out of the equation,” he said.
One thing on which Boeing, the Machinists and the politicians could agree: This is a matter for Boeing and the Machinists and no one else.
The future of Boeing’s aircraft production in the state has been made more significant in light of the global recession. Airlines have cut capacity and deferred and sometimes canceled aircraft orders.
Aerospace analyst Adam Pilarski told conference participants that this down cycle in aerospace will linger, which will force Boeing and its competitor Airbus to make additional production cuts in the next few years. Boeing has said it will slow 777 production rates but will keep its other lines steady.
“Trust me, Boeing will cut production next year … Airbus will do the same thing,” Pilarski said.
Representatives of other Washington aerospace companies discussed some of their concerns about the industry’s future in the state. Many of those worries — over training, taxes and transportation — have been voiced by Boeing.
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