skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Boeing's Loss Could “Ripple” through OR Economy

play audio
Play

Monday, March 17, 2008   

Gresham, OR – Oregon has a stake in Washington State's tug-of-war to wrestle a $44 billion U.S. Air Force contract away from Airbus and back to Boeing. Recently the Washington-based aerospace giant lost its bid to build refueling tanker planes to its European rival. Boeing is protesting the decision, and the outcome will affect Oregonians. The state is home to a number of Boeing suppliers, and a Boeing parts manufacturing facility is located in Gresham.

The Oregon AFL-CIO estimates the state stands to lose about 1,000 jobs at companies that supply Boeing. More than 200 of those jobs are at the Gresham plant, where workers are members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

Tom Chamberlain, Oregon AFL-CIO president, says losing the contract will have ramifications across the state.

"That equates to about $8 million a year in payroll, and we also know that when you earn a dollar in Oregon, it ripples in our economy five times. So you're talking almost $40 million that Oregonians will lose because we don't have this contract."

Last week, Boeing filed a formal protest of the decision with the federal Government Accountability Office. The Air Force says it made the decision based on performance, and that it's not allowed to consider the economic impact of its procurement decisions.

However, Chamberlain believes the Air Force contract decision was made strictly on price. He points out that the Airbus work to be done in the United States is slated to be done in Alabama, historically one of the lowest-paying states, and that more than half the jobs would move overseas.

At Oregon IAM plants, the Boeing situation is seen as another chapter in what Chamberlain calls an "outsourcing outrage."

"They're very upset -- I mean, this is a growth opportunity for those folks. They're a manufacturing union, and we know that we have seen millions of jobs leave this country in the manufacturing sector because of these out-of-balance trade agreements."

The Oregon AFL-CIO is following the issue; updates will be posted online, at www.oraflcio.org.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021