Boeing and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001, announced the 2019 Salary Adjustment Funds for employees in the union’s Professional and Technical bargaining units. Read more

Mark Beasley, a Boeing engineer in Huntsville, Ala., is a U.S. Air Force veteran and amputee. He met and received his service dog, Cruiser, at Southeastern Guide Dogs in Florida. Realizing the center lacked an airplane mockup to help dogs learn about boarding airplanes, Beasley solicited surplus seats from Boeing. The SPEEA Executive Board recently paid to transport two rows of seats to the training center. Now, to build an airplane set and provide other help for the center, the SPEEA Veterans Committee started a “GoFundMe” page.
Read more about Mark and the airplane seat effort in the January edition of SPEEA Spotlite.

OLYMPIA – Investments in education and workforce training programs suggested by Choose Washington, NMA are included in the state budget proposed by Gov. Jay Inslee.
The proposals, announced in mid-December, includes:

• $22 million to increase enrollment in K-12 and Community and Technical College programs.
• $18 million for facility and equipment upgrades.
• $16 million for incumbent worker training including the Washington Aerospace Training & Research (WATR) Center.
• $7 million for system implementation to help ensure higher education credits transfer across institutions, as well as expanding aerospace programs.

“We have the best trained aerospace workforce in the country, and to maintain that, we must have strong programs for both youth and adults,” said NMA Council Co-chair Rick Bender. “This budget opens the door to high-skilled jobs and keeps our aerospace sector strong.”

SPEEA advocates that placing design and engineering with our members – wherever they are located – offers the best chance for a successful launch of the NMA. During a recent meeting with Spirit President and CEO Tom Gentile in Wichita, members inquired about Spirit’s efforts to secure some of the work and were assured the company will work to win and secure work going to suppliers.
The Choose Washington Workforce Development Strategy is the most comprehensive assessment of current investments in the state’s aerospace workforce. It includes strategies for ensuring Washington’s education and workforce training is scaled to meet the need, and is coordinated, integrated and accountable.

Work continues with the Council in multiple areas with SPEEA staff members Stan Sorscher on the Executive Council and Bill Dugovich on the communications work group. Dugovich recently was part of a Choose Washington panel that appeared on KBTC public television’s Northwest Now.

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Visit the Choose Washington, NMA website.