Wroblewski: Puget Sound 'only logical choice' for 777-X

Major milestones achieved by Machinists Union members in August show once again why Puget Sound is the only logical place for the Boeing Co. to locate its 777-X program, the union’s district president said.

Boeing “can’t afford another setback like we’ve seen with the 787,” said Tom Wroblewski, the president of Machinists Union District Lodge 751. “Neither its customers nor Wall Street investors will stand for it.”

Wroblewski’s comments are in his monthly message to union members in the AeroMechanic newsletter, which is now available online.

Wroblewski cited three major achievements in August as proof of his contention that “the Machinists of Puget Sound are Boeing’s best option for the future.”

In Renton, he noted, Machinists successfully moved the wings installation work for 737s between buildings.

The move, which was completed in one morning, helps Machinists build the wing sets faster to meet future rate increases, and frees up space in the Renton final assembly building for the upcoming 737 MAX program.

In Everett, Machinists have begun work on the second KC-46 tanker for the U.S. Air Force, Wroblewski noted. Machinists lobbied for most of a decade to ensure that Boeing would build the aerial refueling jet, which Boeing will build in Everett through at least 2027 under the current contract to provide the Pentagon with 179 of them.

Finally, Machinists Union members rolled out the first Boeing 787-9 in August, Wroblewski said. That plane is expected to be more profitable for Boeing than the original 787-8 and thus will be key to whether or not the 787 program is a success.

“I think it’s significant,” he wrote, “that Boeing’s 787 management team has decided to entrust the final assembly and flight testing of the first batch of Dash Nines to the most highly skilled workers it has — the Machinists of District 751.

“Boeing’s top brass knows that if something needs to difficult needs to be done on schedule and done right the first time, its best bet is to turn to us,” Wroblewski continued. “Time and again — over the past 75 years and again in the past month — the members of this union who work at Boeing have proven their abilities.

“That’s why I think Boeing’s only logical solution for the 777-X is to locate final assembly and wing fabrication here in Puget Sound,” he concluded.

Also in this month’s AeroMechanic, you can read:

• A report on the meeting between Everett union stewards and consultants working on Gov. Jay Inslee‘s plan for Washington’s aerospace industry;
• Reports on contract ratification votes involving Machinists who work for Delaware Resources Groupand BAE Systems;
• A story about Auburn union steward Joe Perry, who attended Martin Luther King’s March on Washington in 1963, and was back on the Capitol Mall in August for the 50th anniversary mach;
• Reports on union community service activities, including fundraisers for Guide Dogs of America and a local charity on Whidbey Island.

Originally formed in 1935 to represent hourly workers at Boeing, District Lodge 751 of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers now represents some 33,000 working men and women at 49 employers across Washington, Oregon and California.

To learn more about District 751, follow the Machinists News.