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Leeham News and Analysis
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Engineers group supports anti-Russia DOD amendment involving Boeing
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, has written members of Congress supporting an amendment to the FY15 National Defense Authorization bill (HR 4435) that would block Defense spending with Russian companies, including on with which Boeing has a major agreement.
This relates to the situation in Ukraine. The trade group summarizes the amendment below:
DeLarua/Granger/Ellison/Connolly (VA) Huizenga amendment #201 – to prohibit the DoD from entering into a contract or subcontract with Russia’s state-arms dealer Rosoboronexport until Russia pulls out of Crimea and has withdrawn from the eastern border of Ukraine. The fact that American taxpayer monies are being spent to prop up a Russian state run company is disturbing enough. However, what is sometimes lost in the discussion and reporting is that major American aerospace manufactures and Pentagon defense contractors continue to do business in Russia, including with Rosoboronexport. For example, The Boeing Company, which receives billions of dollars in Pentagon defense contracts, and was just granted billions more in tax incentives from Washington State taxpayers, has entered into a multi-billion dollar joint venture with Rosoboronexport, that could include up to $18 billion in contracts for Russian titanium products, and $5 billion on Russian engineering services by 2030. Meanwhile, the company is laying off thousands of US engineers. Not only does IFPTE support this amendment and urge a yes vote on it, we believe that its impact should also be extended to American manufactures doing business in Russia, particularly major American defense contractors such as Boeing.
The West’s sanctions against Russia are having an impact on aerospace. Bombardier was on the cusp of firming up an MOU for up to 100 Q400s and an assembly site in Russia into a contract when Russia entered Ukraine’s Crimea region. Canada is supporting sanctions (there is a large Ukrainian population in Canada). Boeing’s president and COO, Dennis Muilenburg, canceled an appearance at a key Russian conference (though lower level Boeing people reportedly would attend), supposedly at the request of the US government.
European participation in sanctions appears spotty.
It passed the House last night.
Here’s some de-risking at work alright.
Ray Goforth Executive Director SPEEA / IFPTE Local 2001
(Message sent from my phone. Spelling errors courtesy of my fat thumbs. Random words courtesy of auto-spellcheck.)
On May 22, 2014, at 9:16 AM, Leeham News and Comment wrote:
WordPress.com leehamnet posted: “The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, has written members of Congress supporting an amendment to the FY15 National Defense Authorization bill (HR 4435) that would block Defense spending with Rus”
It will be interesting what SPEAA, the technical union at Boeing says, given its promotion the Venezuelan dictator, and Boeing’s out-sourcing engineering work to people in Russian.
(Good technical people in Russia, but a malevolent society.)
This post is a bit unclear, Keith–can you be more precise?
Not too sure what rational keith is referring to but a possibility can be found re May day 2013
http://www.cispes.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/El-Salvador-Watch-Spring-2013.pdf
Page 6
6 SPRING—
2013
EL SALVADOR WATCH
By Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm Seattle CISPES Coordinator
From February 2-5, Alex Gomez, Treasurer of the Federation of Public Service Workers of El Salvador (FES-
TRASPES), was in Seattle for a series of events involving Pacific Northwest labor groups, sponsored by the Seattle chapter
of CISPES
Salvadoran unions have put out a call for cross-border solidarity in their struggle against a US-backed Public-Private
Partnership (P3) Law proposal that threatens to give corporations more power through the privatization of public sectors such
as higher education, sea and air ports, water, and electricity in El Salvador. During his visit, Gómez spent time highlighting
issues Salvadoran workers face as well as providing support to parallel struggles in the Pacific Northwest. On Saturday night,
Gomez arrived at Sea Tac airport and held a speak-out at baggage claim 16, making a statement of solidarity with airport
workers organizing for their rights at Sea Tac. A Sea Tac worker and a crowd of supporters welcomed him with a statement
of worker-to-worker solidarity. Airports could be the first on the chopping block if the P3 law is passed. ********On Monday Feb 4th,
he met with representatives of labor organizations ranging from the Washington State Labor Council, to the Society of
Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace
(SPEEA) to the International Longshore Warehouse
Union Local 19 (ILWU 19) at the Labor Temple and dis-
cussed how unions can pressure the United States and the
Salvadoran Legislative assembly to not push the P3 law
through. SPEEA and others committed to sending letters
to key members of the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly,
and hundreds of signatures were collected for a petition to
the U.S. Ambassador urging her to stop threatening to
withhold aid if El Salvador doesn’t pass the privatization
measure.
Later that day, representatives of labor organiza-
tions and a crowd of supporters gathered in front of the
World Trade Center by the port and held a public speak-
out condemning US support for the P3 Law. Alex concluded his Seattle portion of the tour with a presentation to the public
at Seattle University. This tour has shown that workers in the Pacific Northwest have seen the common thread of corporate
greed cutting corners at the expense of the working and poor majority across the globe and have committed to supporting El
Salvador. “We’re not against trade,” said Stan Sorscher, of SPEEA, “We can still have trade but it can be fair and just.” *****
Salvadorans have a history of successes of defeating privatization attempts – most recently in 2002 when a 9-month
strike fended off privatization of healthcare. But when privatization laws have won, it has been devastating. In 2001, priva-
tization at the Acajutla port saw nearly 1,000 workers laid off, the union dissolved, and longshoremen’s daily wages were cut
by more than 90%. “We’re not going to let it happen behind closed
doors. When workers unite, corporate shortcuts don’t fly,” said Kaeley
Pruitt-Hamm, coordinator of Seattle CISPES.
+++++
After all- the ‘ social justice ‘ bit has been a issue for SPEEA for the last several years- I’m sure Mr Goforth can explain more fully.
http://www.libertynews.com/2013/02/1-union-boss-urging-boeing-strike/
Scott, when you mentioned the Canadian sanctions, did you perhaps mean to write that there are alot of ethnic Ukrainians in Canada, instead of Russia?
You are correct and that’s fixed. Thanks.
Canada seems unlikely to impose sanctions that disrupt Bombardier or other major ongoing business:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-trimmed-russia-sanctions-to-protect-business-interests/article18711431/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/russian-business-elite-excluded-from-canada-s-sanctions-list-1.2645375
Sad that folks use any news to push their protectionist Agenda :p
Are these guys operating under the assumption that the US can just apply sanctions and that will be that?
As if Russia would not respond with counter sanctions of their own, directly affecting IFPTE work and/or disrupting titanium suppliers, hardly replaceable on short notice without disrupting program schedules. Not to get into Russia closing airspace to Europe-Asia traffic, destroying Boeing’s customer base.
I can’t really follow the supposed reason WHY the US/friends want to keep adding more sanctions, it doesn’t seem to be for any specific thing that Russia is doing… I guess it is for what they are NOT doing, i.e. NOT ignoring the Kiev coup’s failure to meet legal requirements for impeaching a President, and thus NOT recognizing the illegal junta’s legitimacy or monopoly on force/sovereignty/etc.
Who knows, maybe if IFPTE think it’s good enough for Maidan, it’s good enough for them, and they can try running the governor of Washington out of the state and take things over themself. Or not.
“Canada is supporting sanctions (there is a large Ukrainian population in RUSSIA).”???
Should that read “Canada is supporting sanctions (there is a large Ukrainian population in Canada)”?
Note: the “large Ukrainian population in Russia” vs. “large Ukrainian population in Canada” issue was not fixed when I opened the post . . . .
The russians are pragmatic. Putin listens to Merkel, she is behind the screens, speaks russian and goes about the big numbers.
http://topforeignstocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Russia-Top-Imports-Exports.jpg