Opinion - northwest_view

POSTED: Sunday, Oct. 04, 2009

Gregoire made state's case with Boeing, but refused to beg

Hey, here's a different way of doing things.

Boeing creates yet another state-vs-state competition and rather than open up the government's checkbook you tell the company they've already got everything we have.

Politely, of course. And you portray it as a "Business Case for Consolidating Boeing 787 Assembly in Washington." But the bottom line - if this decision really will be based on a bottom line - is that Washington outclasses its competitors in the areas that should matter most.

"Boeing can site a second 787 assembly line in Washington with confidence that the world's best airplanes can be built at a competitive cost," wrote Gov. Chris Gregoire in a cover letter to the report.

It might work. It might not. But it takes a healthy helping of chutzpah for a state to get up off its knees and stop begging. Rather than race other states to the bottom by cutting taxes deeper, reducing benefits further and paying for things that should be done with private dollars, she's trying something different.

Essentially Gregoire said, here's what we've got; here's where we stand; here's what we've already done to help you; here's why it makes financial sense. Now, make your choice.

What about Boeing's complaints about the cost of covering injured workers, the cost of unemployment insurance, the hassles of dealing with its unions? Up in Everett, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon was dismissive of Gregoire's approach, telling The Herald of Everett that while "it appears Washington is losing the competition to South Carolina, some in Olympia still seem to think that everything is fine."

Gregoire admitted the state isn't perfect. But it has responded to Boeing's concerns in the past and most certainly will respond to them in the future.

"We are always working on Boeing issues," she said and then reminded everyone of the $3.2 billion package that landed the 787 assembly in the first place. The benefits of the tax cuts that were part of the deal will fall on jetliners built on the existing line as well as any second line - as long as it is in Washington state.

"No one has anything like that in the country," she said. South Carolina may make promises but its Legislature will not even be in session until after Boeing decides within a month.

Perhaps this whole exercise isn't even aimed at the states but at the Machinists and Engineers unions. Of states that could attract a company that is dependent on cutting-edge science and highly trained workers, South Carolina should be at the bottom. Except, that is, in anti-union sentiment and economic desperation.

Boeing doesn't make washing machines. It makes high-tech flying machines that take hundreds of people 30,000 feet in the air. Confidence among airlines and passengers is kind of important.

But the Palmetto State might come in handy as a foil to help wring concessions out of the unions in Washington - especially a no-strike pledge. Maybe that's why the company keeps sending warnings like buying the troubled supplier that screwed up construction of key fuselage sections and taking out building permits for a big plant in Charleston.

A no-strike pledge takes away the only tool a union has in contract negotiations. It is not given up easily, especially to a company that has its own record of playing hardball. But that's what Democratic politicians are urging - behind the scenes, of course - so they can maintain a pro-union reputation.

In the end, Gregoire tried to lower the stakes - either to lessen the blow if Boeing picks South Carolina or change the dynamics of negotiations. The second line represents fewer than 900 jobs while the state has 80,000 aerospace workers, she noted, rejecting the notion that loss of a second line would be the beginning of the end.

"I don't want to lose. I want the second 787 line in Washington," she said. "If not, we're still the home of Boeing."

Which is true. At least until we're not.

Peter Callaghan writes for The News Tribune in Tacoma. E-mail him: peter.Callaghan@thenewstribune.com