Comments Came At A Rally Organized By Machinists

A newly-elected member of the Seattle City Council who is a self-described Socialist has told Boeing's machinists that they should "take over the factories" if Boeing moves production of its 777X airplane out of the Puget Sound region.

The councilwoman is Kshama Sawant. She campaigned as the "Socialist Alternative" and is a former "Occupy Seattle" organizer, according to the website The Blaze. She defeated a four-term Democratic incumbent for the seat in elections held November 4.

At a rally in the city's Westlake Park, Sawant said that the workers "should take over factories and shut down Boeing's profit-making machine," accusing the company of "economic terrorism" for looking outside the Seattle area for a place to manufacture its newest widebody airliner.

She said if Boeing tries to move the work elsewhere, workers should take over the manufacturing facility in Everett ... something she referred to as "democratic ownership."

She told television station KIRO that once the workers had control of the factories, they could be "re-tooled" to start building things "everyone can use" like transit buses "instead of, you know, war machines."

She did not say how the capital for such re-tooling would be raised.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.seattle.gov/council