Boeing Heads South For Better Business Climate: Washington State Politicians Are Surprised?

On Wednesday, Boeing announced it would put a second 787 assembly line in Charleston, S.C., rather than Everett, WA.

Union leaders and politicians like Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., expressed shock, dismay and outrage at the company’s decision.

Either they are feigning surprise, or they’ve been comatose for the last decade. Your guess is as good as mine.

For years, politicians and labor leaders in Washington have ignored Boeing’s pleas to stay competitive. In 2002, Boeing CEO Alan Mulally told the State House Labor Committee that “the state of Washington is not competitive. . . . meaning it costs us more to operate [here].” He specifically pointed to Washington’s costly workers’ compensation system, which requires employers to purchase insurance coverage from the state or be on the hook to cover all claims costs themselves, rather than allowing them to choose from among competing private providers. As a result, Washington collects some of the highest premiums from employers and injured worker rates are well above the national average.

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Tags: Alan Mulally, Boeing, Boeing 787, Boeing assembly line, Charleston
Posted Oct 31st 2009 at 7:35 am in Big Labor, Economics, News, Politics, State Politics | 23366185 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/agunn/2009/10/31/boeing-heads-south-for-better-business-climate-washington-state-politicians-are-surprised/Boeing+Heads+South+For+Better+Business+Climate%3A+Washington+State+Politicians+Are+Surprised%3F+2009-10-31+14%3A35%3A01Amber+Gunn

Illinois Home Health Care Workers to SEIU, AFSCME: Nope.

Illinois’s home health care workers have rejected an attempt to unionize providers under the auspices of SEIU and AFSCME. From CBS Chicago:

Illinois workers who are paid by the state to care for severely disabled people in their homes have voted down an effort to unionize.

More than 3,000 home health care workers mailed in their ballots this month; the ballots were counted on Monday and most of those workers voted not to join a union, according to Alan Symonette, an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association, which counted the vote.

The workers could have voted to join the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees or the Service Employees International Union, but more than half of them voted to remain non-union.

Michelle Malkin has the vote totals:

SEIU – 293 votes
AFSCME – 220 votes
NO UNION – 1018 votes

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Tags: AFSCME, Evergreen Freedom Foundation, Gov. Pat Quinn, home health care workers, SEIU
Posted Oct 20th 2009 at 6:01 am in Big Labor, News | 1806235 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/krasmussen/2009/10/20/illinois-home-health-care-workers-to-seiu-afscme-nope/Illinois+Home+Health+Care+Workers+to+SEIU%2C+AFSCME%3A+Nope.2009-10-20+13%3A01%3A06Kristina+Rasmussen