Published May 2003

Boeing 7E7: challenge
and opportunity

This time it’s our turn.

In a few short weeks, Boeing will let the state of Washington know what it needs to do if it wants to compete for assembly of the new Boeing 7E7 commercial jetliner. That’s an unfamiliar position for Snohomish County to be in. We’re not used to competing for Boeing work. Since the mid-1960s, when Boeing selected Snohomish County as the site for production of the 747, Snohomish County has been where Boeing builds its wide-body jetliners. Period.

Sometimes we’ve taken Boeing’s presence in our county for granted. Now we’ll be asked to assess how much we want Boeing to base assembly and design of its new jetliner here. And we’ll need to come up with an answer quickly.

There’s no doubt that Boeing’s presence in the Puget Sound has been large and beneficial. Boeing, directly and indirectly, infuses billions of dollars each year into our state economy.

According to the latest statistics, Boeing brings about $16 billion into the Washington state economy each year. A good slice of that is the result of work accomplished right here in Snohomish County. Ours has been a mutually beneficial partnership. Boeing provides well-paying employment for thousands of us. We spend our wages here, which supplies more jobs for our friends and neighbors and helps pay for our schools and local governments through various local and state taxes.

The company’s economic impact reaches even further into the well-being of our communities. Boeing and its employees contribute millions of dollars each year to charitable and nonprofit organizations throughout the Northwest.

Today, Boeing is being pushed on one side by a fierce competitor that is threatening its market dominance and on the other by the worst aerospace economy in decades. Boeing has to rethink everything about its business operations. It is looking closely at how to open new markets, win new customers and cut costs. Part of that analysis is to determine where it can most cost-effectively assemble its planes.

Washington state doesn’t yet know specifically what it will be asked to do to be considered, but Boeing has openly discussed the changes in the state’s business climate it believes are critical. Much of that work has been captured in the report to the state Legislature by the Washington State Competitiveness Council, which was co-chaired by Alan Mulally, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The Snohomish County EDC already has made the recommendations in that report the focus of its efforts. Changes in education, transportation, tax structure and fees, and business regulation are critical to fostering a prosperous future that preserves our jobs, our environment and our quality of life.

But we as a state have been late to respond. County Executive Bob Drewel has been an early leader in the work to engage Boeing in a discussion about its future presence here. County Executive Drewel and the EDC have created a consortium of government and business leaders to work on this issue, and we are active participants of the Regional Partnership, a new consortium of groups across Puget Sound being formed to help Central Puget Sound convince Boeing to build its planes in Washington state, as well as addressing other longstanding business issues.

But it is essential that we broaden our efforts rapidly. We need to move beyond debate to action if we are to convince Boeing to build the 7E7 here instead of in some other part of the world. Holding meetings won’t help. To be successful, we must pull together today to consider two key initiatives:

• We must demand that our Legislature stand ready to consider and respond sincerely to the information we receive from Boeing. Boeing has asked Kansas for $500 million in various programs and incentives. We can anticipate that we will receive a similar proposal. While decisions of this magnitude will require careful consideration and lively debate, inaction is not an option. We must clearly understand the consequences of our decisions, whatever they turn out to be. On them rests a new generation of Boeing jobs.
• Our governmental leaders, however, cannot do it all. We each must become involved. We must individually and collectively demonstrate how much we want Boeing to design and assemble its next-generation commercial jetliner here. We know how to. We fought to win production of the 747, 767 and 777 jetliners. We convinced the U.S. Navy that Everett was the best place for Naval Station Everett. Our neighbors on Whidbey Island waged a very effective campaign some years back to save the Naval Station there after it was slated for base closure. Working together we can put together a grass-roots campaign that will complement the work of our legislators.

We can do it. We can help our government leaders thoughtfully consider legislation and incentives that make solid business sense, not as a giveaway to one company but as creative routes to prosperity for all our state’s residents. We can convince Boeing that we understand and support its efforts to create a company capable of competing in world markets throughout the 21st century.

We don’t come to this effort unarmed. We have the most highly skilled and experienced aerospace work force in the world. We have a deep respect for and pride in the history of Boeing aerospace. Boeing’s facilities in Snohomish County are state-of-the-art, with room to grow if needed. The people, tools and brain trust to make the 7E7 an economic success are already here. Together we can convince Boeing to continue to put them to work.

Deborah Knutson is president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council. She can be reached at 425-743-4567 or by e-mail to dknutson@snoedc.org.

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