Opinion in Today's Wichita Eage.

From the Opinion page:

STEVE ROONEY: DON'T SIT BACK AND LET AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY LEAVE
BY STEVE ROONEY

Patriotism is love of country, and it's also love of community. When our community is in danger, we rally together to fight for it.

The Machinists union is sounding the warning -- an early call to gather and fight for the aircraft industry, which is in danger of joining so many other industries in leaving for cheaper labor.

Aircraft has long been the lifeblood of Wichita. Many people can find "Rosie the Riveter" in their family tree, because Wichita churned out bombers during World War II.

When you walk down an assembly line, you can find third- and fourth-generation employees whose grandparents worked in the factories. The institutional knowledge in our work force is invaluable to the industry. Because of that, the industry is very healthy and profitable, and Wichita companies are innovative and put out high-quality products customers want to buy. One would think they wouldn't tinker with that success.

Yet it seems that some corporate leaders, with their eye on the bottom line above all else, don't understand this. An alarming plan, titled "Project Pelican," recently was discovered, detailing a Hawker Beechcraft plan to open a full final aircraft assembly facility in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Although Hawker Beechcraft is attempting to disavow the plan (July 1 Business), indications are it is on track to do that very thing. The company cites competition and being a global company as reasons. But to me, there is far more at stake here. What this is about is the future of the aircraft industry in Wichita.

When NAFTA was passed, the labor movement sounded the warning, which went unheeded. NAFTA proponents said the only jobs lost would be in low-skill industries.

Well, history has proved those predictions untrue, as factory after factory and industry after industry have shut their doors and left for cheap-labor havens such as Mexico and China.

The aviation industry is the last great American industry in which we indisputably lead the world. The good aircraft jobs in Wichita provide the ability to make a good living and raise a strong family. Aviation fuels a tax base that allows the city to be vibrant with good schools and services. In short, it makes Wichita a great city.

The skills that build these airplanes are American, and much of the technology on which these companies rely was developed with government funding. Wichita, in its wholehearted support of the industry, has built an entire infrastructure -- from a research center at Wichita State University to a soon-to-be-built National Center for Aviation Training -- so the city can provide the trained work force the industry needs.

There's no good reason for these companies to leave. The state and community put millions of tax dollars and incentives into these companies.

Some would say there's nothing we can do. I disagree. Americans are tired of the exodus of American industry, and we need to shake the rafters and demand that our legislators work to keep the aviation industry in America and in Wichita.

Steve Rooney is directing business representative for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District Lodge 70, Wichita.

Video from IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger

Here's a new video the IAM International President with comments concerning Hawker Beechcraft and Project Pelican.

New flyer for Hawker Beechcraft

For full distribution - Click on flyer for large, or here's the pdf.

A Loophole you can fly a 747 through

And, being aircraft workers, we know how big that is!

Of course, Hawker Beechcraft has entered full CYA mode. HBC CEO Jim Schuster issued a letter to all employees (available here) trying to tamp down the furor over Project Pelican. The Wichita Eagle wrote about it this morning:

"At this time we do not have plans for full aircraft assembly in Mexico," Hawker Beechcraft chairman and chief executive Jim Schuster said in the letter to employees.

If the company decides to expand further, "we will promptly and fully communicate this to all employees," he said.

Ummm... okay...

Wow. We can rest easy now, eh?

So, TOMORROW, they can have plans for full aircraft assembly in Mexico, right?

The IAM is talking about next year, in five years, in ten years. There's too many shuttered factories in America already!

Also from the article:

The Machinists union is skeptical of the company's plans.

Saying there are no plans for full assembly in Mexico at this time "is a loophole you can fly a 747 through," said Machinists spokesman Bob Wood. "That doesn't mean that their plans won't change tomorrow."

Before the company moved its wire harness work to Mexico, the union was assured the work was staying in Wichita, Wood said.

"One year later, it left," he said. The company will "give us assurances until it's too late."

Wood noted that one of the points in the document says to never mention the potential of full aircraft assembly.

Right now, the company has plenty of orders, and workers can move to other jobs. But it's a cyclical business, Wood said.

"When things slow down, then where will the jobs be?" he said.

As a community, we have too much invested in his industry not to be very worried about Project Pelican. We have every right to expect them to tell the truth - and good reasons to doubt that they are.

Maybe Hawker Beechcraft thinks this will kill the story. It won't. There's more to come, this story won't die. Stay tuned!

New article in Salina Journal

From Reporter Michael Strand:

It has all the elements of a good conspiracy -- a plan with a code name that is at once secretive, descriptive and even alliterative; a plan that includes timelines, flow charts, organizational charts and strategies for keeping the plan under wraps until it's too late.

*snip*

"There's no reason to move this work -- these companies are highly successful," Wood said, adding that there are differences between the modern American aerospace industry and the moribund auto industry of the 1970s.

"We're the innovators, at the top of our game," he said. "Aerospace is the last great American industry."

Over the next few months, he said, the union plans to take the issue of outsourcing to lawmakers and the community -- and to make it an issue during contract negotiations in October.

"I hear them say, 'It was nothing, it was nothing,' " he said. "But what I also hear is that they won't rule it out. My question is, are Wichitans, and Salinans, willing to make the noise to stop this?"

Click the link to read the rest of the article; it's a good one.

Make no mistake: This story will not die, it's just beginning.

Think about it...

There are those who say we can't do anything - Hawker Beechcraft will do what they want, and we can't stop them. We disagree. They also said we couldn't do anything about the Air Force giving the Tanker contract to France. We fought tooth and nail, and lobbied hard in Washington.

We have reversed that decision, and we now have a damn good chance of keeping that work in America. The views of our country are changing, and people are starting to understand how important good jobs are. So, yes, we CAN stop this. But it takes YOU on the shop floor to let management know that you won't take it lying down. We are proud, hard-working Americans, and we will fight for our jobs.

"Increasing Hawker Beechcraft Capacity... Not Outsourcing"

That's on slide 44 of the presentation.

Isn't it interesting how they seem to have paid PR flacks to tell them how to say things so as not to alarm anyone as to their real intentions?

Why should ANYTHING they say at this point be believed? They've obviously planned this deception for some time.

New Flyer for Hawker Beechcraft

Click on the flyer for full size, and here's a .pdf of the flyer too. Let's get these distributed!

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Join the discussion - it's only the future of Wichita we're talking about, after all!

Spinning faster and harder than a Kansas tornado...

Okay, let's look at what Hawker Beechcraft had to say about the story. First off, they certainly don't deny it's authentic. They try to say it's old, although it's got a date of May 19th, 2008 on every page.

So, point number one, it's REAL. And it shows they planned to deceive EVERYONE.

Why should ANYTHING they say hold water?

If they've been VERY OPEN ABOUT THEIR PLANS, why didn't they announce THIS plan last May?

Well, here's their statements from yesterday's Eagle story, and this is part one, about the story:

Hawker Beechcraft spokesman Andrew Broom said the company would not confirm the strategy outlined in the document.

"We have internal documents that are plans and analysis, and we don't always go forward on all of those," Broom said.

The company has been "very open about our plans in Mexico," he said.

And here's part two, the spin:

"The real story is what's going on in Wichita," Broom said.

In the past 12 months, Hawker Beechcraft has added 1,287 employees, he said. There are currently 700 open positions.

"So regardless of any plans in Mexico, we are growing like crazy here," Broom said.

And...

Hawker Beechcraft lags other planemakers in opening facilities in Mexico, Broom said.

"We are well behind the times," he said.

The "everyone else is jumping off the ledge" argument.

Now, remember that HBC was approached about this Monday evening, before the story broke. By Tuesday, they had the lawyers and spin doctors huddled, and the smooth "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" spin emerged.

Here's their spin from the KAKE article/video:

Company spokesman Andrew Broom said that it's a non-story and the proposal is from over a year ago that didn't come to fruition.

The fact that it was even considered internally, while telling the public that only low-skilled work was being outsourced is upsetting to the union.

Broom said the company is growing in Wichita with 700 job openings now, after adding 1,200 locally last year.

He also said the company will always look for ways to save money.

And last, here's the spin from the KSN article/video:

Instead, Broom says the company opened a small facility in Mexico in October. Initially it would have 250 jobs with the possibility to grow to 650 positions. He says the company has been very open about that move.

Broom claims the new plant south of the border has had no impact on Wichita. He points to the fact that the company has hired more than 1,200 people over the past year in Wichita and says they are hiring to fill 700 positions.

It's great they've been open about the move. If you look at slide 44 of the presentation, it's according to plan:

Announce Decision to Establish a Small HBC Facility in Mexico To Expand Our Manufacturing Capacity

• Our Increasing Business Local Labor Constraints Necessitate Additional Capacity Other Than Wichita
• Part of Our Aggressive New Investment & Growth Plans to Meet Future Demands (22$M in ICT, $12M in Little Rock, India Service Center ect)
• We Will Establish a Small Low Technology HBC Owned and Managed Manufacturing Facility in Mexico
• With Increased Assembly Manpower Demands We Do Not Anticipate any Impact to Existing Wichita Workforce
• Never mention the potential of Full Aircraft Assembly
• Caveat Announcement with Longer Range Plans To Grow Work Content To More Complex Parts and Assemblies Based On Market Conditions - Let's Only Announce this once!
• Growth Plans Also Include In-sourcing Work to HBC Mexico From Other Existing Suppliers.
  

Looks to us like it's right on track. How is it not?

Bottom line: This is nothing but dishonest spin.

Hawker Beechcraft owes the Legislators, taxpayers and employees the TRUTH.

The news

Well, besides the Eagle article, last night both KAKE and KNS featured the story. Both had videos, however they aren't postable here. But, here is the KAKE article, and you can go there to see the video. Reporter Chris Frank goes more into depth about what the presentation actually says than anyone else has done so far.

Here is the KSN video, they seem to be less sceptical of Hawker's spin.

We ARE talking about the future of Wichita's main industry. Let's hope they perform due diligence and don't just buy the Hawker spin.

Because, if you read the document, you can see they weren't kidding!

Flyer for all Wichita aircraft employees

Here's the new flyer for full distribution. Please print and post it wherever you can! Click on the pic for large size, and here's the pdf if that's what you prefer!

IAM Press Release

Hawker Beechcraft Plans Mexican Assembly Plant

Wichita, KS, June 24, 2008 - In a move that will send economic shock waves across Kansas for generations, Hawker Beechcraft is planning to build a tip-to-tail aircraft assembly plant in Chihuahua, Mexico. The company plans to move from manufacturing small parts to full aircraft assembly after.

The five-year plan, code named Project Pelican, is outlined in documents containing detailed instructions on how the company planned to conceal the scope of the plan from the public, the press and employees at Hawker Beechcraft's Wichita assembly plant.

“Never mention the potential of full aircraft assembly,” is among the covert marching orders for Hawker Beechcraft managers tasked with purchasing land, negotiating tax breaks with the Mexican government and hiring a workforce for as little as $3 an hour.

Instead, managers are instructed to frequently cite global competition and the need for “additional capacity other than Wichita.”

“Hawker Beechcraft shows no recognition of the damage they do to our economy, our industrial base or our national security when they transfer sophisticated technology and production to countries that turn around and compete with U.S.-based companies,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “Thanks to NAFTA and other job-killing trade deals, we’re encountering this phenomenon at every bargaining table in the aerospace industry.”

“The real story is what’s going on in Wichita,” said Hawker Beechcraft spokesperson Andrew Broom, in an article published in the Wichita Eagle. Broom did not deny the company’s outsourcing plans.

“Never before did Hawker Beechcraft disclose their intent to build a final assembly line in Mexico,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator Ron Eldridge, who is engaged in contract negotiations for 4,300 IAM members at Hawker Beechcraft. “This is deceit on a grand scale and will be a huge issue in the workplace and at the bargaining table.”

The IAM represents nearly 20,000 workers at Kansas aerospace and aircraft companies, including Hawker Beechcraft, Cessna, Bombardier, Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing. For more information about the IAM, visit www.goiam.org. For additional information about Project Pelican, visit projectpelican.blogspot.com.

We're WAAAAY beyond "irked"!

The title of today's Eagle article is "Job-move document irks union at Hawker".

"Irk" is not the right word. "Irk" is somewhere between "peeved" and "miffed"

We're WAAAAAAY beyond irked, and somewhere passed "Mad as Hell" and going right into "unprintable".

Now, we understand that the headline is written by a copy editor, not the person who wrote the article. It's too bad the copy editor didn't understand the gravity of what this article means for the people of our community.

Everyone who loves our community should be right with us. We have to fight to keep these industries in Kansas.

Wichita Eagle outs HBC plan

From this morning's newspaper:

"There seems to be no loyalty left to the American worker," said Machinists aerospace coordinator Ron Eldridge, who is based in Wichita.

Hawker Beechcraft spokesman Andrew Broom said the company would not confirm the strategy outlined in the document.

"We have internal documents that are plans and analysis, and we don't always go forward on all of those," Broom said.

The company has been "very open about our plans in Mexico," he said.

Of course, this document lays out how they are NOT open about their plans at all.

This story is just beginning.

Fight for our jobs!

To the members of Local Lodge 733, and all employees of Hawker Beechcraft –

The IAM obtained illicit secret plans from Hawker Beechcraft to build a full assembly plant in Mexico, plans they never meant to see the light of day.

The Machinists WILL NOT let this happen without a fight – we are fighting for the very future of the aircraft industry in Wichita, and the jobs of each and every person at every aircraft plant in Wichita.

This is information that cannot be held back – everyone in America should see the plans. So, for full disclosure, here is the .pdf of the presentation you were NEVER meant to see.

We the people of Kansas built this company and we built this industry. We WON’T let it be spirited out of town under cover of darkness. Join us in fighting back!