Dear Editor,
In a guest editorial 11-22-13, Don Brunell questions whether Washington state will be big in Boeing’s jumbo jet future. I think, based on recent experience with the 787 Dreamliner, the anti-union, higher level executives should have learned a lesson.
Boeing decided to build the 787 Dreamliner in North Charleston SC, a right-to-work state. Production has been beset with problems and delays for over three years. The SC plant was scheduled to produce three 787s a month, but it can only manage to produce one a month. Some airlines have cancelled their Dreamliner orders.
Boeing gave the Puget Sound machinists' union an ultimatum on the 777X production with one week to decide after the legislature rushed through the $8.7 billion package of tax breaks. The union said "no" to a contract that reduced current and future benefits.
Building the 777X outside of the region with the most highly skilled aerospace workers will be a big challenge in order to save a few bucks for the highly profitable Boeing Company.
Mary Ann Leskie
Tacoma