Gov. Gregoire announces aerospace council members

For Immediate Release: June 4, 2009

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced the names of the members of the Washington Council on Aerospace, which she formed through an executive order signed in May. The council will oversee state efforts to ensure that Washington remains the leading location in the world in which airplanes are designed and built.

Gregoire created the council after the release of the Aerospace Industry Competitiveness Study conducted by Deloitte Consulting. The governor asked for the report to give her a clearer picture of what needs to be done to keep Washington�s edge as the state where the best airplanes in the world are built.

The members of the council are:

� Rogers Weed, director of the state Department of Commerce, chair
� Larry Brown, legislative and political director of IAM #751
� Ann Daley, executive director of the Higher Education Coordinating Board
� Charlie Earl, executive director of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
� Mark Emmert, president of the University of Washington
� Elson Floyd, president of Washington State University
� Sen. Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla
� Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens
� Randall Julin, general manager of Absolute Aviation Services
� Rep. Phyllis Kenney, D-Seattle
� David Schumacher, director of government affairs for The Boeing Company
� Stan Sorscher, legislative director for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA)
� Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake
� Michael Zubovic, vice president of Aviation Technical Services, Inc.

�I am confident we have put together the best team to maintain Washington�s competitiveness in the aerospace industry,� Gregoire said. �Washington is the best place in the world to build airplanes. But in today�s challenging economic times, we need to do more to stay ahead. I look forward to working together with this council to ensure we are doing all we can to be even more competitive.�

The Council on Aerospace will:
� Coordinate and organize the worker-training programs at Washington�s community and technical colleges;
� Coordinate the research and development programs at the research universities;
� Integrate technologies developed at the research institutions into the training programs;
� Manage recruiting and retention of aerospace companies to create jobs and grow the industry; and
� Provide advice to the Legislature and to the governor on how Washington can improve its attractiveness to the aerospace industry.

The council will conduct its first meeting on June 24th.

�The aerospace industry is critical to our state�s economy, and we need to do everything we can to prevent the loss of even one job in this sector,� Hobbs said. �We need to look for ways to make the state more competitive, and give our colleges and universities the tools they need to produce well-qualified workers. I look forward to assisting in this important process.�

�I am very supportive of the council and look forward to our work,� Hewitt said. �We can�t afford to lose a major employer like Boeing and all the related jobs in the aerospace industry � which is 15 percent of our economy. I am hopeful our work will result in recommendations that will improve Washington�s business climate to benefit all employers and workers. The Legislature can be a major player in this, but I am still concerned about labor/management relations over which we have no control.�

�Finding innovative and collaborative solutions to the challenges the aerospace industry faces will be key to Washington continuing to lead the world in building airplanes,� Brown said. �The Machinists are proud to be joining business leaders, government leaders and SPEEA in working to do this through the Washington Council on Aerospace. We applaud the governor for her work to establish the council.�

�Eastern Washington�s growing aerospace industry is already an integral part of the Inland Northwest economy,� Julin said. �Absolute Aviation is proud to be a part of that growth and to be joining other leaders in business, labor and government in working through the Washington Council on Aerospace to make sure we have aerospace jobs throughout the state for years to come.�

�Washington�s aerospace industry is the most diverse and thriving in the world,� said Zubovic. �Our company is a big part of that, and we are pleased to be working with other industry leaders, the governor and others to secure that future. Like many companies, Aviation Technical Services has great needs in training and work force development, and we have high hopes that the Washington Council on Aerosapce will help us meet them for years to come.�


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