KPLU Local News
(2009-07-08)
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Bellamy Pailthorp photo
Boeing hasn't announced that it's actually going to move any manufacturing jobs out of state. The company says no decision's been made. So what's the big worry?
Deborah Knutson, President of the economic development council for Snohomish County, says it hit home for her when she first saw pictures of the area around the facility Boeing's acquiring in South Carolina.
"Around the Vought site, it's a blank canvas," she says. "It's farmland, green fields. Hangars could be built on there pretty easy."
Knutson is among the chorus of Washington officials now urging legislators to get serious about keeping aerospace jobs here. She says it's true that Washington's workforce is the most experienced in the U.S. and that's a big plus. But she says our state constitution prevents us from giving businesses certain kinds of subsidies that other states can.
"South Carolina could build Boeing a building, they could build Boeing an airstrip," she says. "And we can't do many of those kinds of things."
Knutson says legislators need to find a way to compete against lucrative offers from other states - and quickly. Many of them started ramping up six years ago, when Boeing launched the competition for final assembly of the 787. A study prepared for Snohomish County EDC this spring by Deloitte Consulting found that Washington is not keeping its competitive edge in attracting and retaining the commercial aircraft industry. More subsidies, more training, better labor management relations, cuts to workers comp and unemployment insurance rates all came up as possible improvements. Knutson thinks a package of incentives needs to pass the next legislative session.
As the bad economy continues to gut state coffers and cause unprecedented deficits and cuts, that may be a tough sell. But the governor's newly formed Aerospace Council is working on it. The fear is that the long-term economic consequences would be worse if the region loses too many good Boeing jobs.
(to hear the entire story by Bellamy Pailthorp, click "play" above.)
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