Posted: Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Minority Republicans in Washington state are reacting with
dismay to news that Boeing will build its second 787 line in
Charleston, South Carolina. State Senator Mike Hewitt of Walla
Walla sits on the state’s aerospace taskforce. He calls the loss of the
Boeing line a debacle and points blame at majority Democrats.
Hewitt: “I think there’s a fair amount of blame to go around for
everybody. The legislature didn’t move on some of the issues that
came out of the Deloitte report, the Governor walked the
picket-line during her re-election process, labor could have gone for
binding arbitration and probably not gotten too hurt. And I think it
would have sent a message to Boeing that we do want your business
in the state of Washington.”
Hewitt says Washington must now re-double its efforts to keep
future Boeing production lines from leaving the state – starting with
the 737. He says a top priority should be reform of Washington’s
workers’ compensation system. (Austin Jenkins)
Copyright 2009 KUOW