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April 17, 2008
Norm Participates in News Conference on Air Refueling Tanker
"Last updated April 17, 2008 7:54 p.m. PT
Labor leaders seek reversal of tanker contract decision
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
By ERIC ROSENBERG
P-I WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON - Labor leaders who want The Boeing Co. to build aerial tankers for the Air Force asked Congress on Thursday to reverse a Pentagon decision awarding a lucrative tanker contract to Northrop Grumman and Airbus parent EADS.
"We will not allow this to stand," said Gregory Junemann, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.
"Boeing has been the proven supplier of the tanker fleet to our Air Force -- and it needs to remain that way," Junemann said at a news conference flanked by labor leaders and congressional members from Washington and Kansas, where Boeing jets are manufactured.
Cynthia Cole, president of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, said her organization wanted Congress "to overturn this decision."
Cole's union represents Boeing employees in Washington state and Kansas.
Debbie Logsdon, SPEEA's Midwest chief, voiced similar sentiments.
Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., said the House defense appropriations subcommittee will try to eliminate money to build the tanker.
Boeing supporters in Congress will push to "start this thing over again," said Dicks, vice chairman of the panel.
The Air Force stunned the aerospace industry Feb. 29 by choosing a team of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. and Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman to build a fleet of refueling tankers.
The initial program is valued at around $35 billion, but could grow to $100 billion if the consortium wins future Air Force orders.
Boeing has formally protested the decision to the Government Accountability Office -- the investigative arm of Congress -- which is due to report back by mid-June on the results of its investigation into the Air Force decision.
Boeing's protest centers on its claim that the Air Force switched airplane size requirements, initially seeking bids for a medium-sized tanker but later selecting a much larger aircraft."
 Congressman Norm Dicks making remarks at the news conference on April 17, 2008 regarding the US aerospace defense industry. The news conference was attended by U.S. Senators Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, and Pat Roberts; U.S. Congressman Norm Dicks, Jay Inslee, and Todd Tiahrt; and union representatives from SPEEA and IFPTE.
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