Good news at Boeing

Boeing's wage offer to SPEEA, the engineers' and technical workers' union, is a good omen for greater Seattle. The company has a winner in the 787, and needs to get busy building it.

The offer for technical workers is 5.5 percent in the first year; for professional engineers, it is 7 percent. For both it is 4.5 percent-plus in the two following years. The generous explanation for this offer is that Boeing needs to attract and retain talent in the marketplace. The cynical one is that the strike by Aerospace Machinists convinced Boeing to buy labor peace.

Between these explanations we make no choice.

Either way, this offer is a sign of strength — of a company that needs talent and is able to pay for it.

For years now, we have been hearing that the American worker was being priced out of a job, and that his work was being moved overseas. In some cases, it was true. But for this core of highly skilled workers, it is not — at least, not this time.

The SPEEA offer will prompt some quiet grumbles among other Puget Sound employers, who may not be able to match it. That is the price of living next to a world-class company.

Boeing's business runs in a great cycle — and it now moves strongly upward. For most of us, that is very good news.