TAKING JOBS ELSEWHERE? BOEING SPEAKS

State business climate must change, or company will seek greener pastures

Testifying before the House Labor Committee on January 16, 2002, Boeing CEO Alan Mulally repeatedly told legislators that Washington is not competitive in the following six areas: Transportation, taxes, energy, education, unemployment insurance, and regulations/permitting. Mulally's concerns extended far beyond the state's transportation problems. In no uncertain terms, Mulally informed the committee they are free to resolve the state's business climate or maintain the status quo, but he reminded them that Boeing is also free to leave the state if improvements are not made.

Listen to clips:

"...Let me say it again, in every one of these areas the state of Washington is not competitive..."

"...If we can't make progress on this, then we need to just go ahead and take subsequent action..."

"...work on all six of those things, not just on transportation..."

Testimony excerpts:

"It was a phenomenal set of data. And I'm sure that you have this data. . . . In every one of these categories, those top six, the state of Washington was not competitive. So to answer your question, in every one of those areas, the state of Washington is not competitive. Let me say it again. In every one of these areas the state of Washington is not competitive, meaning it costs us more to operate in the State of Washington. In some of the states they're like 27th. We're 27th, 27th or 43rd or whatever. This is not Boeing, these are economists looking at the data, looking at the operation, looking at our structure, looking at how we invest, looking at how we finance the place. So I think that were in denial. I think that we, we, we don't get it, that we have to be competitive to operate in this world. And if we can't produce products and services and we can't be competitive doing it, it's ok, it should go to somewhere else. We believe in market-based economies. We believe in capitalism. We believe that the producer of products and services should go to the people that make products and services that people want around the world and they can do it more efficiently than some one else. So, my thought about your question is, that we, the citizens of the State of Washington have some big decisions to make. Are we going to move up in competitiveness in everyone of these categories, and if we're not we'll know it. You don't have to say anything. We don't have to say anything to each other. We will keep moving to a world where we can operate as a business. That's not personal. It's not personal: this is what we believe in, this is what the United States is based upon. So my answer is, let’s look at the data. What Mark just talked about, about transportation, that's one little piece of transportation. I have the coolest video I want to show you that shows an airplane coming together. And you should see the magic of the State of Washington: the harbor, the trains, the roads, the airport. Four million parts arrive here in Seattle and go together as an airplane and leave to go out and to fly around the world, and all this infrastructure is the essence of our cost structure. And if we don't make this competitive, and if the data sets us free. The data says we're not competitive and we're going to do whatever it takes, will help as a citizen of the State of Washington, will help everywhere we can, but we have a fiduciary responsibility to our employees, to the customers, to the communities in which we operate, and to our shareholders, that we have to be competitive. And every sale that we lose means for some reason we are not competitive. So my answer, representative, is those six categories there, they're in the Washington State Competitiveness Council. We've looked at the data, the economists have looked at it, but we are not competitive. Right?"

"My dream is, if we work these together, I would love to see the headquarters of commercial airplanes and the majority of the Boeing operation leading in this thing done like is today. But again to answer your question, if we can't make progress on this then we need to just go ahead and take subsequent action. But I think it's just talking about it and clarifying and moving forward together."

"But look at the transportation system. Watch every movement and then when you're working next week you're going to feel so good about your work, to find a way to work on all six of those things, not just the transportation, so this is for you, this is what you're about."

Read EFF’s ten-part Business Matters series on resolving Washington’s anti-business climate

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org