But Washington Governor Chris Gregoire Says State Is Fighting To Win It

As Boeing mulls where to put the second production line for the 787 Dreamliner, the Governor of Washington State says she hopes it will be in Everett, but if not, it's not the end of Boeing in Washington.

Governor Chris Gregoire said Tuesday that labor issues remain a primary problem for Boeing in Washington. Boeing hopes for a no-strike agreement with its Machinists union, which staged an 8-week work stoppage in 2008. Boeing and the union are conduction negotiations, which the state is watching closely. Gregoire said she is making every effort to foster a good relationship, but declined to elaborate.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that Boeing has told Gregoire it has all the information it needs about tax breaks and other state incentives, totalling billions of dollars, and that part of the process is "closed". "With regard to the second 787, very clear statement made to me: There's nothing more that you can do. We are on the road to making a decision, everything that is on the table is on the table," Gregoire said.

Boeing recently bought a facility in South Carolina which has been the focus of much speculation about the second production line for the Dreamliner. South Carolina is what's known as a "right to work" state, which lessens the influence of labor unions on workers. Workers at Boeing's new South Carolina facility recently voted to oust the Machinists union.

WA Governor Chris Gregoire

Still, Governor Gregoire said the second production line would account for about 900 jobs in the Seattle area, compared with the 80,000 aerospace jobs that already exist in the state. "If we should, beyond my control, lose that second 787 - I'm not throwing up my hands," Gregoire said. But "I'm taking nothing for granted, and I'm going to work to keep every single job in the Boeing Co. here."

FMI: www.boeing.com