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Boeing Offers Deal to Keep 777X in Wash., Inslee Calls Special Session

Ashley Gross
This image shows the Boeing 777x assembly line in Everett, Wash.

 

Boeing Co. has proposed an eight-year labor agreement that would guarantee construction of the new 777X in the Puget Sound.

In response, Gov. Jay Inslee said he would call a special legislative session on Thursday in hopes of swiftly approving a package of bills to appease Boeing.

Inslee said Tuesday he wants lawmakers to approve the bills in just one week in hopes of getting Boeing to construct the 777X in Washington. It includes a massive transportation spending bill that lawmakers have spent the better part of a year debating. It would also extend tax breaks all the way to 2040.

Inslee said the jobs are set for Puget Sound if the state acts now.

"The Boeing Company has assured me that if the union approves that contract and the Legislature approves the package that I will propose to them, the 777X and its carbon fiber wing will be built in the state of Washington. This will give us certainty that Washington's aerospace future will be as bright as its incredible past," the governor said. 

Similarly, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said its members will soon vote on an eight-year labor agreement that would guarantee construction of the new 777X in the Puget Sound. 

The union released limited details about the proposed agreement, saying it includes the establishment of a different retirement plan. Members would be paid a $10,000 signing bonus.

 

Correspondent Tom Banse is an Olympia-based reporter with more than three decades of experience covering Washington and Oregon state government, public policy, business and breaking news stories. Most of his career was spent with public radio's Northwest News Network, but now in semi-retirement his work is appearing on other outlets.
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