Boeing Workers Rally to Stop Bad Tanker Deal

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/03/20/boeing-workers-rally-to-stop-bad-tanker-deal/

by James Parks, Mar 20, 2008

Thanks to Kathy Cummings of the Washington State Labor Council for this blog on a rally in Everett, Wash., to protest the U.S. Air Force’s decision to award one of our nation’s largest military contracts to a foreign company.

More than 300 Boeing workers joined with the Washington state congressional delegation, Gov. Christine Gregoire and other elected officials yesterday in Everett to call on the Air Force to get a reality check on its decision to send American jobs and national security and trade secrets to a foreign competitor in the form of the $40 billion refueling tanker contract.



The “Tanker Travesty,” as the deal has come to be known, refers to the decision by the Air Force to award to EADS/Airbus and its minority partner, Northrop Grumman, a contract to replace the U.S. fleet of refueling tankers. Boeing, the American company that has been producing defense aircraft including the original fleet of air refueling tankers for the past 75 years, has appealed to the Government Accountability Office on the grounds that the proposal was altered, after the bids were in, to favor the foreign competitor.

At a time when American jobs are disappearing and our manufacturing base is being decimated, the Air Force passed over Boeing’s proposal, which would have supported at least 44,000 new and existing jobs in the United States, many of them good union jobs, and more than 300 suppliers in 40 states. But now only a few thousand lower-paying nonunion jobs will be created. (Click here to send a message to your representatives in Congress, urging them to overturn this decision.)

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) says the decision must be reversed in order to ensure America’s national security, to keep 44,000 high-skill jobs here in the United States and to preserve our country’s aerospace industry.

We have a reputation for delivering for our military. We have a workforce that is ready to build an airplane on day one—they have a paper airplane.

Murray pointed out that EADS/Airbus has never built a tanker. EADS has not even begun to build the facility, which they plan to place in Alabama, a “right to work” state, where they can get the cheapest labor possible.

FULL story at link.

[Clear Blue Sky]

1. Like the Dubai ports deal.

Maybe they back down if there is enough of an outcry.

[Hugabear]

2. Leave it to McCain to fuck over his own country.

n/t

[muntrv]

3. The Democrats better use this against McSame.

[MaryCeleste]

4. I am gong to defend the acquisition process

- Its staffed by career civil servants (not political appointees)
- The process is set up to avoid influence
- Due to prior bad acts by Boeing it was probably the best documented major procurement ever
- The earlier deal was an absolute shafting of the USAF in favor of Boeing.

I am avoiding the technical pros and cons, since much of the data is not public and each side is only releasing what they want the rest of us to know. They were also hashed out in prior threads here on DU. To counter false information in the OP I will point out the NGC is unionized and its proposal was 60% domestic.

Right now there is a 100 day window where the GAO will review the proposals and the process since Boeing filed a protest. Lets see how that goes before be jump off. The Hill is all over the map, which is to be expected from politicians. A rational person would wait until the GAO reports out.

[Omaha Steve]

5. Thank you for providing some good analysis

I'm willing to wait the 100 days.