Standing over the production line in Renton, Wash., where members of the Machinists (IAM) District 751 build Boeing Co.’s 737s, Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) yesterday announced that the state is investing $3 million to train hundreds of Washington workers to get the skills and certificates they need to work in the aerospace industry.
(Thanks to Kathy Cummings, communications director for the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), for sending along the video.)
The IAM and Boeing worked together, Cummings said, to secure the funding to maintain the high-skilled workforce that makes Washington the best place in the world to build and maintain airplanes. Gregoire said the money will help:
those individuals negatively impacted by the national recession receive training to move toward a stable and good-paying career. And it ensures our aerospace workers have the cutting-edge skills needed to design, build and maintain the aircraft of tomorrow—helping our 650 aerospace companies grow and create new jobs.
IAM District 751 President Tom Wroblewski said:
We at the Machinists union know that workforce training and education are key to maintaining and growing our industry. This complex industry of aerospace requires these kinds of investment.
