Frustration with its union workforce may be prompting the Boeing Co. to play the South Carolina card again.
When the aerospace giant last battled its powerful Machinists at the bargaining table, the firm decided to put a 787 Dreamliner production line in that state.
Few doubted labor s
trife weighed heavy on the minds of corporate execs in choosing a right-to-work state for the plant.
Now, with the union and National Labor Relations Board trying to prove that decision was in retaliation for past walkouts, the company is hinting that work on a re-engined version of Renton-built 737 planes may not be built in Washington.
That has a lot of people, not just employees, scratching their heads. Boeing leaders said they’ll redo the engine rather than reinvent the plane. It’s widely recognized the most efficient way to do that and deliver a big order of planes to American Airlines on time is by keeping production here.
You may hear the firm’s leaders agree privately, but they want the fight with the federal labor board to end.
They’re not saying if they’d keep the 737 work in Washington if it did go away soon.
Does that mean Boeing leaders are already frustrated enough to turn to South Carolina? They are starting to sound like it, again.
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U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., is piling up the dough in preparation for another race in 2012.
He collected $369,000 in contributions between April 1 and June 30, according to the latest federal campaign finance reports. Add in what he already had in the bank, and he started July with a hefty sum of $508,000 on hand.
That’s not surprising given Larsen’s success at fundraising.
What is surprising is Republican John Koster, who dueled Larsen last year, is running third in the race for dollars. He trails first-time Republican candidate Greg Anders of Bellingham.
It means Koster, who worked awfully hard last year to earn the attention and respect of the National Republican Congressional Committee, must prove himself again.
Cash is the commodity of most importance to the NRCC. Koster only took in $15,874 in the last quarter and after paying bills had nothing in the bank, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission.
Meanwhile Anders, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot, hauled in $128,424. That earned him a pat on the back from the political operation. The NRCC named him one of its “On the Radar” candidates, the first of many rungs to becoming a ‘Young Gun’ eligible for financial support.
Koster knows those rungs well. He made it to ‘Young Gun’ in the 2010 election, but that’s history.
“He has to start over,” said Tyler Houlton, NRCC spokesman. “We’re not choosing sides. (Koster) hasn’t started yet.”
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Speaking of getting started, two Snohomish County Democrats apparently want to get in on the never-ending froth and fulmination in Congress.
State Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, and state Rep. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, are both expected this week to announce their candidacies to succeed U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., in 2012.
For Liias, it’s a riskier political move. It means he won’t run for his legislative seat and would wind up out of elected office if he loses the federal race. Hobbs, on the other hand, is midway through his four-year senate term, so he’ll remain in office even if he loses the congressional race.
Once entered, they’ll join three other Democrats already on the trail: state Rep. Roger Goodman and former state lawmaker Laura Ruderman — both of Kirkland — and Darshan Rauniyar of Bothell.
Republican James Watkins, also of Kirkland, who lost to Inslee in 2010, is the only GOP candidate to declare.
More candidates may wind up in this contest once redistricting ends and the boundaries of the 1st Congressional District are known. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is buzzing in the background.
Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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