With the release by IAM 751 of the summary of the contract terms to be voted on next week by the membership as one step required for Boeing to select Everett as the assembly site for the 777X, the cover letter reveals Boeing will build “buildings” totaling 1.5m sf–to “house 777X final assembly and wing production.”
The total square footage equals one-third the size of the 4.5m sf of the entire Everett Boeing plant.
A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on the IAM 751 facilities statement, saying the company isn’t commenting on the “specifics” of the contract. We learned separately that a wetland assessment has been underway at Paine Field at the prospective site; Snohomish County (where Paine Field is located) undertook the study.
I hardly see what the employees are gaining from this. Sure this is better to be unemployed but where Boeing would get his staff if they were to close Puget?
I predicted this exact outcome, not that I’m happy about it. A giant manufactured crisis and now we’re back in the same exact place we were months ago before this “we’re moving to Charleston!” psyop started. And the leadership of all three parties (Boeing, Govt, the Unions) can take credit for “saving the day” (and they will).
The union gets to keep jobs in a union state. Look at the downsizing in the military side of the company not to mention the pull towards the South. The company gets labor and financial certainty for a prolonged period of time. The state maintains its tax rolls.
Nobody gets everything in a negotiation.
I think Boeing itself is the big winner in this situation. Not to say that the others are losers, but Boeing pretty well is getting everything it wants without really giving up anything. The unions and the state still come out well but they have had to make some concessions.
I am curious if Snohomish county is going to play along or if they are going to play the “environmental” card with this wetlands assessment. As I recall, Boeing’s biggest complaint 12 years ago was not the unions but rather all of the levels of government that they had to deal with everytime they wanted to build and/or expand.
As Boeing has to compete in the market place so does labor.
Labor abused its monopoly status in Puget Sound. As a result, that monopoly has been broken.
Ditto plant locations.
And labor is not fixed to a particular site. Puget Sound labor will move where to jobs are. Just like any other kind of labor. The US has a mobile work force. Puget Sound has been protected from that reality.