[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Guest Commentary: October 17, 2001
Displaced Airline Workers Deserve Better Treatment The Honorable Maria Cantwell
By the end of 2002, Boeing will have been forced to lay off 20,000 to 30,000 workers - many of them in Washington state. Major U.S. airlines expect to cut more than 100,000 jobs this year alone.
These layoffs will certainly mean hardship for thousands individual families, but they will also create a serious economic ripple effect nationwide - unless we act now.
We can already see the warning signs:
Consumer spending currently accounts for two-thirds of the economy, yet consumer confidence in September fell to its lowest level since January 1996.
The Seattle Times recently reported that the Boeing layoffs alone will take $1.76 billion dollars out of the economy in the regions where they occur. More than 70 percent of those layoffs are expected to happen in Washington state, which means a loss of $1.29 billion dollars to that one region's economy.
We can't allow terrorism to transform our economy from a rising tide that lifts all boats into a rising storm that threatens to capsize American workers.
Our economy works best when people are working. When they lose their jobs, they need help to manage their unemployment, train for new jobs, and make an easy transition to new careers.
Congress is providing the airlines with billions of dollars to keep them flying. The workers who are the heart of that industry deserve equal treatment - and that includes Boeing workers.
Our economy was built by the muscle and minds of American workers. It is a product of their sweat and creativity. Congress must not bail out corporate executives and shareholders, and then leave American workers to fend for themselves.
Time is running out for workers.
Note: The above commentary has been adapted from the prepared statement of Sen. Cantwell at a Senate hearing on the Displaced Workers Assistance Act, October 3, 2001.
