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August 09, 2010

Boeing weighs outsourcing Chinook part; union objects

Boeing is considering outsourcing the manufacturing of a part on the Chinook CH-47 in what company officials call a move to streamline operations to meet burgeoning demand. But union representatives say it will block hundreds of jobs from being created at the Delaware County facility.

The company gave notice to the United Aerospace Workers, Local 1069, on July 23 that it intended to outsource the Aft pylon for the Chinook.

The Aft pylon is the tower assembly mounted on the tail section of the aircraft. It houses the rear rotor head for the blades and contains the transmission assembly.

UAW Local 1069 President Michael Patterson said Boeing is also considering contracting the manufacturing of the helicopter’s ramp.

The previous day, the defense manufacturer had hosted a grand celebration with company and military executives and hundreds of employees to laud the rollout of the 100th CH-47F.

Tom Marinucci of Boeing’s Rotorcraft Systems Communications addressed the issue.

“We are always looking for ways to deliver the incredible capability of the Chinook helicopter to our customers in the most efficient and affordable way possible,” his statement read. “With the necessary increase in rates driven by demand for this aircraft, that could mean looking at alternate sources for some sub-assemblies.

“We intend to keep our very talented workforce fully engaged in the assembly, integration and delivery of this aircraft,” he continued.

Patterson said the union perceives the move as an attempt to offload work.

“They keep telling us no one will be laid off but it prevents 200 people from getting a job and with work that we’ve been doing for 50 years,” he said. “They’re booming down there right now. We’re making tons of money at that facility. There’s no reason to farm this work out.”

Patterson said Boeing is allowing the union to bid on the Aft pylon and ramp work.

The union president, however, added that this particular work “is not our expertise, but we’re going to do the best we can to keep that work here. It’s very important to preserve the work that we have in the facility.”

He said he expected that he’d know by mid- to late September if the union will retain the work.

In the meantime, Patterson said union officials plan to build a coalition of elected officials sympathetic to their cause.

“We’re in the process of fighting this and doing the best we can,” he said, adding that Boeing has begun outsourcing work on the Chinook over the last decade.

John Williamson, director of communications for rotorcraft systems at Boeing, said various parts of the Chinook have been produced elsewhere since the mid-1980s but then brought to the Delaware County plant for final assembly, integration and testing.

Part of the issue surrounding the move, he explained, is space.

The company is in the midst of a multi-year contract with the U.S. Army to build 464 Chinooks; 100 have been completed. In order to meet the demand, Boeing must increase production and is investing in a $130 million factory renovation to do so.

“In general, right now our rate is around four per month,” Williamson said of the Chinook manufacturing rate at Ridley Township. “We need to bring that up to six per month.”

Yet, he added, the size of the factory remains the same.

“We don’t have a lot of ability to expand floor space,” Williamson said, adding that the move is also about capitalizing on existing employees’ skills.

“We’re always looking at ways … to keep the really talented workforce that we have,” he said. “How do we use them to their maximum potential and deliver the product to the customer at a price they can afford.”

Williamson said the decision does not impede on the deep commitment Boeing has to the Ridley site. “This is intended to bring more work here,” he said. “We’re actually trying to figure out how to get more aircraft out of here. This is a key program and a key site for Boeing.”

The key question, Williamson said, is, “How can we build 50 percent more aircraft per month?”

In fact, Boeing Military Aircraft’s second quarter earnings, released last week, showed a 4 percent increase to $3.6 billion, driven largely by higher Chinook deliveries and volume.

Dating to 1962, the Chinook entered combat in the Vietnam War and has remained in warfare operations since then, including in Iraq and in Afghanistan.

It is a tandem rotor, medium-lift helicopter that can transport up to 33 combat-ready soldiers and loads up to 24,000 pounds. It can hover up to 20,000 feet in the air. Its main mission is to transport troops, artillery, ammunition, fuel, supplies and water for combat, civil and humanitarian relief operations.

By KATHLEEN E. CAREY, kcarey@delcotimes.com - Published: Friday,
August 06, 2010

http://www.delcotimes.com/

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