Seattle’s newest councilmember urges Boeing workers to seize factories

Seattle’s newest councilmember urges Boeing workers to seize factories

As if Boeing doesn't have enough problems.

Now they have a local politician calling for workers to take over factories !!

The politician is Kshama Sawant, who was recently elected to the Seattle city council.

Sounds she literally wants the workers to own the means of production.

Seattle City Councilmember-elect Kshama Sawant told Boeing machinists her idea of a radical option, should their jobs be moved out of state

“The workers should take over the factories, and shut down Boeing’s profit-making machine,” Sawant announced to a cheering crowd of union supporters in Seattle’s Westlake Park Monday night. …

On Monday night, she spoke to supporters of Boeing Machinists, six days after they rejected a contract guaranteeing jobs in Everett building the new 777X airliner for eight years, in exchange for new workers giving up their guaranteed company pensions.

Now Boeing is threatening to take those jobs to other states. “That will be nothing short of economic terrorism because it’s going to devastate the state’s economy,” she said.

Read the whole article;
Seattle’s newest councilmember urges Boeing workers to seize factories

LOL yea, I'm not so sure that's "economic terrorism."

That might be a great opportunity for ex boeing workers to create a new company though. skies the limit, you decide.

She's an idiot. And anyone who follows that rhetoric should be jailed.
Boeing has every right to run it's company where ever it wants.
If she wants Boeing to stay in Seattle, then she needs to treat them right.
Make them WANT to stay.
Otherwise my advice to Boeing ... pull a Rearden Steel ...

reply to post by Nephalim


She also said the Boeing machinists could re-tool their machines and start producing mass transit and things that everyone could use instead of our "war machines." As far as I know us Americans have never used passenger jets as "war machines." Oh and I thought passenger jets that move hundreds of people were already considered mass transit.

The ignorance of this statement is profound and this woman will never live this statement down. The radio talk show hosts will have lots of good sound bites by the end of this woman's term I think.

This woman ran as a socialist, and won her seat on that platform. SO, at least she is not flopping on her position now that she is in the office. Do I agree with her politics, heck no boy. I think her ideas are poison to this country. However, I applaud her for staying the course so far, and respect her for that.

Even though I do not agree, I can still respect her as a person.

Boeing is welcome in California if they decide to leave. Not sure California's much better than Washington but we could use the extra jobs around here.

reply to post by xuenchen


They could sen alot of jobs to Wichita Ks. We build the wing sections and main sections and Seattle assembles them. They could build new biger hangers to assemble the planes and Kansas is a right to work state.

reply to post by xuenchen


Sounds like Boeing needs to utilize the long Thanksgiving holiday to start packing up manufacturing equipment and get a convoy of moving vans heading towards South Carolina. Part of this is their own fault... after the 2008 strike the company should have kicked the western Washington dirt from their feet and made this move then. The idea that they wouldn't be impacted by a new strike when that contract was up is shortsighted to say the least.

Obviously they enjoy their minor WA tax breaks, but I have to believe it would be far more profitable and certainly more stable to totally manufacture in a right to work state rather than stay in a state that retains union power over employers' heads.

What a great idea! Get rid of the war machines and the war profiteers. They are a huge part of the military industrial complex Eisenhower warned us about.And a HUGE part of the problem. They love war, but mostly they love the enormous profits they are raking in....my hard earned money and yours. Then send those evil bastards to prison where they belong. Let them make their weapons in prison. Maybe they will blow themselves up.

Wow! You can star any comment on this thread ...except mine. Isn't that special?

reply to post by Nephalim

That might be a great opportunity for ex boeing workers to create a new company though. skies the limit, you decide.

If the ex workers want to flip the bill of buying the plant an pay to have it re tooled. I say go for it.

reply to post by orbitbaby

Wow! You can star any comment on this thread ...except mine. Isn't that special

I dont think you can star your own in any thread.

hillbilly4rent
reply to post by Nephalim

 

That might be a great opportunity for ex boeing workers to create a new company though. skies the limit, you decide.

If the ex workers want to flip the bill of buying the plant an pay to have it re tooled. I say go for it.

Might as well. Maybe even consider building new trains or busses, who knows.

reply to post by xuenchen


Inciting to riot is criminal and criminally actionable. Calling for a mob to take over the property of another sounds like communism and it's as illegal as hell. The council person would be better off invoking eminent domain and, truly, I'd like to see that invoked on a corporation for a change. That would be a good story.

I have read the labor side of the Boeing in Seattle dispute and, from what I understand, these employees are not being offered a deal - they are rather being offered a major cut in pay/benefits for the privilege of continuing with Boeing.

New hires would take a substantial cut compared to old employees.

There is something that labor might consider with this plant and that is that they will be working with advanced composites. The dangers to workers around these materials are immense. This would be so wherever Boeing sets up their plant but it's something to consider in a location where entire generations of families work in the same place. Best to know the dangers before wishing for something.

Boeings deal was that they would guarantee a 7 year contract if the union would agree not to strike during that time AND give up their pensions... their full pensions. Boeing is one of the richest corporations around thanks to the DOD, there is absolutely no need for them to ask that.

Many unions own their own equipment (machines, tools, vehicles)... I don't know if this union does but, it is the norm. Once upon a time and as the founding fathers (I believe) intended that a corporation could not exist if the area it was in didn't want it any longer etc... in other words revoke their charter.