On Friday, in North Charleston, despite all of the naysayers, and all of the attempts to thwart this day by the Federal Government via the NLRB, our very first Boeing 787 was rolled out to much fanfare and ado.
Before I go on, let’s just take a little walk down Memory Lane about what South Carolina, and South Carolinians faced as a result of Boeing moving its business here. First, there was the constant, and rampant, assault by the NLRB, pissed off that Boeing has the audacity to build a plant in a Right-to-work state. The NLRB relented after essentially blackmailing Boeing into accepting a contract with the Machinists’ Union, and agreeing to give them work in Washington State. Apparently, that is how things are now done in the United States of America. Companies can no longer choose where they want to build their businesses without government interference.
A case in point, the former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said that we should close down our plant unless it went union. Wow.
And then there were those who demeaned, belittled, and attacked those who live in South Carolina as a bunch of backwater yahoos who could not POSSIBLY be capable of building a jet. Who could forget this crock of Southernist BS from Chicago attorney, Thomas Geoghegan in the Wall Street Journal, “Boeing’s Threat To American Enterprise“? Here’s a sampling of this crapola:
[snip] We should be aghast that Boeing is sending a big fat market signal that it wants a less-skilled, lower-quality work force. This country is in a debt crisis because we buy abroad much more than we sell. Alas, because of this trade deficit, foreign creditors have the country in their clutches. That’s not because of our labor costs—in that respect, we can undersell most of our high-wage, unionized rivals like Germany. It’s because we have too many poorly educated and low-skilled workers that are simply unable to compete.We depend on Boeing to out-compete Airbus, its European rival. But when major firms move South, it is usually a harbinger of quality decline. Over and over as a labor lawyer in the 1980s and ’90s, I saw companies move away from Chicago, where the pay was $28 an hour, to some place in South Carolina or Louisiana where the pay was about half that. While these moves aggrieved me as a union lawyer, it might have consoled me as an American if those companies went on to thrive globally.[snip] (Click here to read the rest of this drivel.)
Evidently, Mr. Geoghegan is unaware that we dumbass South Carolinians also make BMWs, which I bet he drives. Or that any number of incredibly sophisticated goods are made in the South, from Toyotas to Leer jets.
So, yeah – we have gone through a whole bunch of attacks from the government on down about this plant being built here in SC. Oh, and this massive plant was built under the time deadline (6 months early), and with ZERO injuries while doing so. That, in and of itself, is a major accomplishment.
As our esteemed governor, Nikki Haley said on Friday:
“We build cars, we build tires and now we build dreams — big mack-daddy 787 dreams,” Haley said.
Yes, yes we do, Governor Haley.
And now, without further ado, here is the new Dreamliner 787 in all her glory:
The pride, the justifiable pride, of those who built this incredible, advancement in avionics, is palpable. The excitement, the jubilation, of not just those Boeing employees, is real. As well it should be. This state overcame a tremendous amount of adversity, much of it at the hands of our federal government, for this big day to happen. And now it is here. More jets are on their way out, to be sent all over the world.
If that isn’t cause for celebration, I don’t know what is. Well done, Boeing employees. Well done, South Carolina! You have much for which to be proud. We look forward to many more Dreamliners rolling out for years to come…(Photo credit: seattlepi.com)
What a gorgeous looking plane. Good for South Carolina. Under 6 mos, is an amazing task and undertaking and no injuries is incredible. Congratulations S. carolina and a big f-u to the establuishment that tried to prevent this from happening. Score one for the citizens.
LOL – yes, indeedy, Katmoon – it is a big FU to all those who attacked Boeing, attacked SC, and all Southerners, to boot. The people who work there are so proud of what they have done, as well they should be…
And thanks – it is a great day for the State!
Congratulations!! beautiful Plane Amy.thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Foxy!
But when major firms move South, it is usually a harbinger of quality decline.
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That is a crock of reeking manure. I suppose the Oak Ridge National Lab is full of clodhoppers and The Y-12 National Security Complex is run by hayseeds.
Geoghegan is a moron.
Can you believe the BS he spewed? What a piece of work. As if there aren’t major manufacturers all over the South.
And yes, evidently, they are just a bunch of “clodhoppers!”
I am so sick of the lies being foisted upon the electorate by third-rate progressives who say things they know to be untrue but will be believed by those who lack discernment, apparently the majority of what now passes for the former democratic party. What in the blue blazes happened?
Your guess is as good as mine, Ferd. I can’t believe it, either. I cannot believe this is what passes for the Party I used to support wholeheartedly…
And I’m sick of it, too…
And aren’t we all just hungry for someone who isn’t into doing this to the people they swore when they took office to serve and protect? I know I am.
Amen to that, sister…
What a gorgeous plane, Cuz! How thrilling for all of you fine citizens of South Carolina!
I know that we should feel sorry for ya because y’all are dumb as dirt and aren’t worthy enough to kiss Mr. Geoghagen’s yankee ass, and aren’t fortunate enough to live, like he does, in such a fine dignified city as Chicago, where they hate each other so much that their murder rate is 10 x the number of y’all’s mosquito count on any given summer afternoon….. but good on ya anyway!
Y’all do the entire South proud!
ROTFLMAO – I know, right? That is what makes it such an incredible accomplishment! That we dumb backwoods hicks could build such a beautiful plane, one that will soon be in India.
Ohmygosh, you are just too funny – and so early in the day, too!
Thanks – folks here are pretty proud!
I’ll just bet those planes made in SC will have less trouble, too.
Just sayin’.
LOL – no doubt. They are state of the art, those planes!
It’s crazy how people put ideology before common sense. For example, we want people to have good jobs that pay enough to put a roof over their heads and leave them with some left over. But some people seem to want everybody to be unionized and to heck with what’s good for employees. We have had unions that pay minimum wage and don’t benefit employees at all, but the perception is “at least you’re unionized.” Yes, well some of those people were better off when they weren’t. Speaking of unions that went wrong and harmed workers, here in Wa the food service workers on the state ferry’s went union, lost their benefits, reduced their pay, and a few years later, lost their jobs. The same thing happened to CNA’s aids in some of our nursing homes. The union was supposed to make their lives better and it didn’t. Wages actually declined, dues were collected, and employees were left out in the cold. Some people have good jobs, good benefits, and no union representing them.
Agreed. I much prefer to negotiate my own salary without interference from some useless union that cares even less for me than the company for which I work. Unions no longer serve a useful purpose except perhaps in mining. They’re takers, too.
There was one guy who works for Boeing here who said he used to make $16 an hr, and has a family. He had to work two jobs (if I recall correctly), and said that Boeing pays so well, has such great benefits, encourages people to get education (and I think pays some toward it), that it was the greatest thing.
Which is all to prove your point – why in the hell would the gov’t want to interfere with people having good jobs in this economy?
I used to be solidly behind unions, and I know that they can do some good, but after seeing what they did to the company for which my partner used to work, my eyes were open. Bottom line, because of their demands, and the problems with the products because those who were trained weren’t working, the entire company went bankrupt, so NO ONE had a job any more.
Yep, Ferd, me, too abt the salary.