Don’t bite the hand that feeds you

Paraphrasing JFK, “Ask not what Boeing can do for you, ask what you can do for Boeing.”

In a stunning move, the National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, a “neutral” government arbiter in labor/management disputes, has sued Boeing. Why? Because Boeing had the audacity to build a second production line in South Carolina, a “right-to-work” state.

So why isn’t the NLRB suing the state of Washington or the unions who, through their actions, have made Washington a hostile business environment?

Why isn’t the government offering tax credits to Boeing for creating more U.S. jobs just like it did to GE for laying off U.S. workers in favor of creating more jobs in China?

Politics simply have to be removed from government’s opinion of business. GE’s favorable tax credits, despite destroying U.S. jobs, may have a lot to do with its donations to particular politicians. So why do politicians, union employees and union management insist on “biting the hand that feeds them?”

Politicians, Boeing employees and all other concerned citizens who depend on a healthy business environment should be begging to speak to Boeing executives about how to keep Boeing jobs in the great Northwest!

Why aren’t these same individuals “shutting down Olympia” in protest to get laws and regulations to help Boeing create new jobs and products here? Wouldn’t that better serve the unions and their employees?

There will be politicians who will claim to have “saved your job today,” but who will not tell you that they “destroyed your job tomorrow” because they support this government intrusion.

Why does Boeing have to spend a dime to defend itself against the tax-supported NLRB lawsuit? What happens to your city, community and “job today” if the company is driven out of Everett, Renton and Seattle? I mean, have you seen Detroit lately?

— Catherine Paxton, Arlington