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We Did It! Machinists celebrate victory following the announcement that
Boeing’s Everett, WA facility will be the final assembly site for the next
generation 7E7 aircraft. The decision means thousands of jobs in the Puget
Sound area.

IAM Members Win Boeing 7E7 Project
When the Boeing Company said it would produce the 7E7 Dreamliner, workers at IAM District 751 resolved that the “E” in 7E7 would stand for Everett, Washington.

Boeing was ready to abandon its historic commitment to Puget Sound and shop the manufacture of the new plane to wherever they could get the best deal.

Aerospace analysts gave Washington state less than a 25 percent chance to land the work after Boeing announced the criteria it would use to make its decision. In the end, hard work by District 751 members, community leaders, state and local politicians and Everett’s record as the most productive and skilled aerospace facility in the world proved a winning combination.

“This is the best news we’ve heard in a long time,” said District 751 President Mark Blondin. “Many people said we couldn’t do it. But we stuck together and worked hard for what was right.”

Airplanes and Puget Sound have been synonymous since Bill Boeing built his first biplane near Seattle’s Lake Union in 1916. Boeing workers made the legendary B-17 bombers of World War II and then pioneered the commercial jet age with the 707.

In 1966, when the company announced plans for the world’s largest airplane, the 747, Boeing built the world’s largest building in Everett, WA to produce it.

Generations of Puget Sound families honed their production skills. They rode the boom and bust cycles of the commercial aviation market. Their skill and determination kept Boeing from abandoning its roots.

To win the 7E7, IAM members put on an impressive display of grassroots activism. They wrote letters, enlisted local businesses, posted thousands of yard signs and called radio talk shows. They rallied in the state capitol and lobbied federal and state legislators to make key infrastructure improvements; reform unemployment; streamline permitting rules and improve education.

In the end, they did what no one believed they could do: make Boeing stay. “People are happy there is a future,” said Steward Ed Shambaugh. “They will be able to raise their kids here.”

“We’re glad Boeing decided to keep its vital manufacturing base in the Puget Sound area,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “The rest of the aerospace industry ought to come to its senses. There won’t be many airline passengers or hefty defense contracts if there aren’t good manufacturing jobs supporting economically healthy communities here in North America.”