To convince Boeing that the new version of 737 jets should be assembled in King County, local leaders want to show a united front.

County Executive Dow Constantine will announce Wednesday an alliance of local government, business, education and labor officials trying to nab the 737 MAX, a re-engined version of Boeing's workhorse jet.

The company is expected to say next year where it will assemble the planes.

Constantine is bringing together 16 key regional players — from the city of Renton, home of Boeing's 737 plant, to the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce — in the alliance to strengthen the county's competitive position. He's also proposing the county spend $130,000 to fund studies to help the effort.

For him, it's a lesson learned from 2001, when Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago. Constantine wants to make sure the region is united in an effort to land the 737 MAX. He also wants to emphasize the importance of manufacturing jobs to the region's middle class.

We've come a long way in diversifying our economy, especially with the growth of the technology industry, Constantine said, but we shouldn't ignore manufacturing.

"I don't think you should have to have a doctorate in computer science to buy a house and raise a family," he said. "It's a great thing but it shouldn't be the only thing."

Constantine has outlined three main areas for the alliance to focus on: training aerospace workers, identifying industrial lands for Boeing suppliers, and clearing regulatory obstacles.

Beyond that, there's little in the way of specific initiatives.

The county is waiting for the state to complete a $600,000 study expected to highlight the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for different parts of the state in the aerospace industry.

Constantine has asked the County Council to kick in $30,000 toward that study — which should be completed in several weeks — and to spend $100,000 more on a study of King County's competitiveness.

He and others say the county would be complementing the statewide effort, called Project Pegasus.

It's a "holistic" approach to get local "players in sync," said Marlena Sessions, CEO of the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, a nonprofit funded by the federal government to train workers.

Part of Constantine's alliance, the council's board is made up of business leaders and has a private-sector view of training challenges, Sessions said.

Tayloe Washburn, a Seattle attorney directing Project Pegasus for Gov. Chris Gregoire, sees the county's efforts as "sharpening their pencils" for the 737 MAX competition. But Washburn does not view it as hurting other parts of the state; he says it helps the state compete overall.

"If every region in the state doesn't stay on its game, we don't keep the position we presently have in aerospace," Washburn said.

Dave Freiboth, head of another alliance member, the King County Labor Council, agrees.

"This is more a hedge against complacency than an attempt to outmaneuver other regions" in Washington state, Freiboth said.

The stakes are high, said Jeff Marcell, CEO of enterpriseSeattle, formerly the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County.

His organization, also part of Constantine's alliance, was founded during the 1971 "Boeing Bust" when its mission was to let people know the "lights in Seattle were not in fact turned out."

"This is the most significant economic-development opportunity in a generation," Marcell said, "and it's absolutely a critical time for industry in the state of Washington."

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com