Legislature adjourns with Boeing incentives, without transportation $

The state Legislature’s latest special session is over on its third day – and still no transportation-money deal, despite high-profile pleas like the one County Executive Dow Constantine headed south to make after warning again of the major Metro cuts that loom if funding isn’t found (Thursday WSB coverage here). The Legislature did approve breaks for Boeing meant to keep that company from building the 777X elsewhere; asked about transportation at a briefing minutes ago, the governor said he would call legislators back “if we have an agreement [on a transportation bill] by November 21st.” If not? Metro moves closer to setting the wheels in motion for making those cuts next year.

12 Replies to "Legislature adjourns with Boeing incentives, without transportation $"

  • Ray November 9, 2013 (5:37 pm)

    Part of me really wants to see what happens if the unions down vote this.

    I would like to see if Boeing calls their bluff.

  • Twobottles November 9, 2013 (6:10 pm)

    I’ve been with Boeing for over 30 years (engineering, not IAM). I guarantee Boeing is not bluffing; if the union votes this down, the 777X will be built in SC and it won’t be long before a very large building in Everett will be for sale/lease.

  • Twobottles November 9, 2013 (6:18 pm)

    BTW… Boeing has already stated that little or no 777X design work will be done in the Puget Sound area.

  • CandrewB November 9, 2013 (7:18 pm)

    Those buildings in Everett are not really suited for anything other than what they are being used for. Boeing would let them rot.

  • Taco Bill November 9, 2013 (10:05 pm)

    Let us not forget the last time the leg gave Boeing incentives was to build the 787. Boeing in return opened a new line in SC. To ask hard working and skilled employees to give up pensions is nothing less than extortion. The money to pay that extortion is money better spent on education and infrastructure. Boeing and its stockholders need to be responsible citizens in the WA community.

  • dsa November 9, 2013 (10:14 pm)

    Boeing is not bluffing.

  • Mike November 9, 2013 (10:17 pm)

    Taco Bill, Boeing and it’s shareholders could give a damn less about the WA community. They care about the returns on investment, period. If the executive staff at Boeing decided moving all work to India would make better profits, they’d do it. The advantage to SC is taxes, or lack there of. SC is pushing that as a way to get big companies like Boeing to move in. In about 10 years SC will be in worse shape than they are now because of it too. They are running on borrowed time. You can’t operate like that as a government, you NEED taxes to pay for things you promised.
    .
    Boeing had an opportunity to do the right thing many years ago, to move into Moses Lake. They have everything Boeing would need and more, cheapest electricity in the nation, ample supply of water, cheap land, cheap housing, cheap produce, the longest landing strip in the USA. It was the most ideal location for the worlds #1 airplane maker to build and test planes. Instead, they got greedy.

  • VanillaGorilla November 10, 2013 (1:00 am)

    I have numerous friends/ neighbors old and new who work for boeing this is a very suicidal move that boeing is doing to its community and employees!! first of all…the employees didnt ask for this contract and are by no means negotiating one right now!! there current contract does not expire untill sept 2016!!
    boeing is basicly extorting its employees by taking there work and forcing that contract down there throats and then screwing the general public of wa state on there taxes!! there is no reason for them to be neogotiating this right now !!
    alot of locals think the machinist are being greedy but they are more angry that the union and boeing are negotiating there future without there interest in mind!! alot of the machinist dont want the $10000 bonus!! and they now health care is rising and are willing to pay the differences and even know pensions are a thing of the past… but to just have it taken from them after all the years they have put in?? this is screwed and yes boeing will leave this state and they dont give a rats ass about the communitty!! as much as it would hurt the economy of washington it would be better off to just have em gone there basicly economic terrorist lets get some better companys here that actully care and want to invest in the states future instead of robbing us blind

  • EMO November 10, 2013 (8:49 am)

    I find it depressing that 80 people commented on the story about cuts to Metro service, with a good portion of them complaining about how much money managers make and insisting on further cuts to an already bare bones agency. But when Boeing gets a package worth billions, only a small fraction bother to comment.

    To me this is what’s wrong with our society in a nutshell – not only that our legislature will go out of its way to give money to a big corporation instead of schools, transportation, and infrastructure, but that people complain only about public employees and not the Boeing executives who are likely making 10 times the amount of those public employees.

    Sigh.

  • miws November 10, 2013 (10:59 am)

    EMO, I haven’t yet figured out how to make my comments on this in a way that they are not NSFW. ;-)

    .

    I do agree with your “nutshell” thoughts, though.

    .

    Mike

  • boy November 10, 2013 (3:40 pm)

    You would think that now that boeing just got 8 billion in tax breaks it would not have problem maitianing the nice wages for there workers. Also they got the state tax payers to pay to train there newworkers

  • wakeflood November 11, 2013 (1:02 pm)

    We have accepted a framework for 21st Century employment that is a race to the bottom. In that race, there is only one long term winner – and that’s the corporations who pit one American against another and both of us against some other worker in another country. Another country that doesn’t play by the same environmental and economic rules that we find prudent here.

    It doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to accept that paradigm. Germany doesn’t. They have healthy unions and happier people AS WELL as profitable corporations.

    Ask yourself a different question. Why do we begrudge other fellow Americans a decent pension that allows them to live a reasonable life after retirement – one that funds our OWN children’s economic prosperity? Don’t forget that the retiring boomers are going to outnumber the workers soon. If the boomers can’t afford to buy anything, what happens to our economy?

    Our current paradigm isn’t the only one available…

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