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Senator Mike Hewitt
News & Views
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Sen. Mike Hewitt’s statement on South Carolina Boeing workers’
vote to decertify union
September 10, 2009
Olympia...Today
workers at The Boeing Company’s South Carolina plant voted to
decertify the International Association of Machinists as their
exclusive bargaining representative. In July Boeing announced it
was purchasing a plant in South Carolina, and weeks later the
company applied for permits to expand the plant. Boeing has said
it will announce by the end of the year where it will locate an
expansion of its 787 line.
Sen. Mike
Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, issued this statement in response to the
decertification announcement. Hewitt is the state Senate
Minority Leader and a member of Gov. Gregoire’s Council on
Aerospace.
“This is
a serious blow to our quest to keep the second 787 production
line in Washington. We already know that the relationship
between labor and management is a top concern for Boeing.
Today’s vote puts Washington at a major competitive
disadvantage.
“Still,
despite today’s news, now is not the time to give up. Some have
said ‘there's nothing you can do’ to affect Boeing’s decision.
I disagree. Legislators and state government leaders can still
make a difference.
“This year it’s South Carolina looking to take our 787
jobs. Next year it may be another state going after our 737
jobs. We have to draw a line in the sand and let companies know
that no issue is too hard for us to tackle to make this a
job-friendly state. That means driving down unemployment
insurance costs and saying ‘NO’ once and for all to job-killing
legislation like the ‘employer gag’ bill. It means rejecting
things like the proposed workers’ compensation tax hike we could
see coming down the pike next week. The people of the state of
Washington want their leaders to fight for every family-wage job
we have left.”—30—
For more
information contact Senate Republican Caucus
Communications Director Rebecca Japhet
at (360) 786-7516 or
japhet.rebecca@leg.wa.gov.
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