Posted on 10/28/2009 11:12:18 AM PDT by jazusamo
So Boeing is threatening to jilt us (again). To run out on our nine decades of marriage with someone smarter? Better? More reliable?
Nope. With someone cheaper.
Take away the heat, all the union-bashing or management second-guessing as Boeing now appears ready to move a major piece of its plane-building operations to South Carolina. At the core of this breakup drama is a cold statistic: 14.
As in $14. Per hour.
That's the average pay of the local line workers who are building the fuselage of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner in a Charleston, S.C., plant.
Average pay of a Boeing Machinist around here? $28 an hour. Now, these pay averages aren't directly comparable, say people in the know. Many of Boeing's workers in South Carolina are younger or less experienced (the plant is only 4 years old). So the average pay there tilts lower.
Still, the average pay at Costco stores around Seattle is $17 an hour. According to PayScale, a Seattle company that tracks wages, the average for a hairstylist in Seattle is $18.24 an hour.
So Boeing right now is paying less to build airplanes in South Carolina than we pay for cutting hair or shelving 3-pound jars of olives.
How can we compete with that?
"It's like they have people who used to work at Kmart, trying to build an airplane."
That's Jack Day, a "shaper operator" at Boeing's sheet-metal plant in Auburn. Basically, he cuts parts in exacting detail so they fit into airplanes. Everything from flight decks to door frames.
He's been doing it for 37 years. His dad was a Boeing mechanic, and before that his grandmother was a factory clerk and a Rosie the Riveter.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Of course if they are younger it means they'll be around longer, too.
And, regarding the "how can we compete with that" line - the same can be said of anyone whose job is now done for lower cost at offshore locations.
So, in short ... "Cry me a river."
The author makes a pretty good argument to leave a high cost of living place like Seattle and move elsewhere. Boo hoo.
The author eventually gets it. BTW - And it is not just about wages. It is also about not dealing with militant marxist unions on a daily basis. Productivity goes way up.
“How can we compete with that?”
Typical clueless, narcissistic lib response. The author had the answer, but chose not to see it: “With someone cheaper.”
Arrogant Seattle libtards priced themselves out of the competition. They didn’t think that such a move had any consequences.
I love the move. There are lots of companies moving to the south where wages and cost of living is lower. I see nothing wrong with a company moving from one state to another to escape high costs of manufacturing. There has to be some check on costs in states.
Yep, and he brings out an excellent point about the auto industry in the South.
Let’s see....Joe Wilson (R-SC) or Patty Murray (D-WA) or Maria Cantwell (D-WA)? Sure one is a Congressman, and the others Senators....but WHO would YOU want representing you?
I live in Washington, a 3 hour drive to the west of Seattle.
I am thrilled with the Seattle libs losing their jobs and tax base. This state needs it’s back broken, so that it has a chance to rebuild over the top of the libs.
Yes he does and he's well aware that the union doesn't.
The way anyone, anywhere competes. Deliver more value per dollar than the other guy. Why does locating yourself in a high-cost area mean that you deserve more pay than someone in a low-cost area for the same work?
Believe me when I say I know because those two are my senators tho they don’t represent me.
The same could be said for assembly people in an electronics company. Sounds to me like someone wants socialized pay. The fact remains that if you want to make the big bucks, get a better education, change companies, change professions, work your butt off without complaining.....or start your own company. If you start your own company, you will have to decide what each and every job is worth.
Don’t think the $28 includes taxes and benefits.
The unions can be unsavory in other ways - like their workers taking off during the week so they come in on overtime to do their work. Because of the union they get the idea that they can get away with almost anything and they can - for a while. I know someone who was trying to put a stop to at least some of this in one Boeing location.
Well, that settles it.
I’m not flying anymore unless it’s an emergency. Between the hassles of airports, car rentals, airport traffic, it’s not worth it if I can drive a car to the same destination within a day.
I don’t trust the quality of workmanship from low paid workers.
Next they’ll be making them in China.
3 hours west of Seattle? You live either in Forks or have a houseboat on the pacific ocean.
err...this strategy doesn't always work and a lot of innocent people can get hurt along the way. But I do wish we could get an honest election - those seem to be a thing of the past after the Rossi fiasco.
That’s true, Boeing has had problems here from strikes and the entitlement mindset.
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