Union leader: This Washington can't afford a DC-style mess

Washington state can’t afford the kind of political dysfunction that has paralyzed the nation’s capital if it is to be successful in its campaign to keep the Boeing 777X here, the leader of the aerospace machinists union said.

“I hope our state legislators are learning from the mess in the Other Washington,” said Tom Wroblewski, the president of Machinists Union District Lodge 751. “We have real issues that need to be resolved in real time.”

Wroblewski’s comments are included in the current issue of the AeroMechanic newsletter, which is now available online.

District 751 is working as a full partner to ensure Washington lands the 777X, which will be the next generation of Boeing’s largest twin-engine airliner.

Union Legislative Director Larry Brown has been appointed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to a high-ranking panel that will develop specific legislation to implement the recommendations of a consulting group that has studied the competitive landscape in aerospace. And Machinists Union officers statewide have been outspoken advocates for a comprehensive transportation plan that would benefit aerospace manufacturing in particular and the state as a whole.

Washington’s biggest competitive advantage is its broad and deep pool of aerospace workers, said Wroblewski. “Boeing’s best chance to keep its customers happy and get the 777X delivered on time is to take advantage of your talent, experience and dedication.”

But, he continued, “if our aerospace industry is to remain a world leader for the next generation, we need the Washington Legislature to do its part.”

Specifically, Wroblewski called for:

• Improved roads and public transit;
• Improved education and increases in workforce training; and
• Efficiency in government and common-sense solutions to environmental questions.

“Most of all,” he said, “we can’t allow these efforts to be sidetracked by political gamesmanship or fights overnonsense like ‘Right to Worse’ laws.”

Wroblewski said the most Machinists Union members would agree that the “mess in Washington, D.C., is not in your best interest,” and promised that the union will do “all it can to hold the politicians who caused it accountable.”

Likewise, at the state level, Wroblewski said “we as a union will do our best to hold accountable any legislator who puts their personal political gain ahead of doing what’s right for our state’s working people.”

District 751 is “acting as a partner to move our state forward,” he said. “We will support elected officials — from either party — who will join us in that effort.”

Also in this month’s AeroMechanic, you can read:

• A list of candidates the union is endorsing in the November elections;
• A report on the start of contract talks for workers at AIM Aerospace in Sumner;
• A feature on how a new IAM/Boeing Joint Programs system is cutting the time it takes to train new workers on processes at Boeing’s Auburn plant;
• A round-up of recent union community service activities, including a fundraiser that generated more than $15,000 for Guide Dogs of America; and
• A report on how Machinists across Eastern Washington raised a record $11,500 for Guide Dogs of America this year.