By Michelle Dunlop
Herald Writer

EVERETT — The Boeing Co.’s tanker will create 10 times as many U.S. jobs as its former competitor’s would have, according to a study paid for by Boeing.

The study, released Wednesday, by consulting firm Sonecon, LLC, was funded by Boeing before its rival, duo Northrop Grumman and EADS, withdrew from a $35 billion contest to supply the Air Force with aerial refueling tankers.

Boeing’s tanker, based on the Everett-built 767 jet, will create 62,606 to 70,706 jobs in the United States over the 20-year life of the contract, according to the study. The job figures in the report refer to direct positions only and do not include jobs created at suppliers or other indirect jobs.

About 12,000 of the jobs will be in Washington state, Boeing reports separately. Boeing also says that 70 suppliers here in the state will work on its KC-767 tanker.

“The great thing about our aerospace industrial base is that it translates into good jobs and long-term employment in Washington state and around the country,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., in a statement.

The Northrop and EADS tanker, which would have been based on an Airbus A330 jet, would create only about 7,080 new jobs in this country, according to the study. The parent company of Airbus, EADS planned to have its and Northrop’s tanker assembled in Mobile, Ala. Leaders from European countries have voiced concerns over the fairness of the Air Force’s contest, after Northrop and EADS said the competition was slanted in Boeing’s favor.

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The Spokesman-Review
Ronald D. White
Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES – Some of the nation’s biggest oil companies are looking at permanently reducing how much gasoline and diesel fuel they make, a move that analysts say would almost certainly trigger higher prices for drivers.

Energy companies are suffering huge losses from refining because of slumping gasoline use – a product of the economic downturn and changing consumer habits and preferences. Energy experts say refining cutbacks have already begun and will accelerate as corporations strive for profits.

Major refiners have been circumspect about their plans, saying they are considering options that could include closing refineries, selling parts of their operations, laying off workers or slashing spending.

“Refineries will have to be closed,” said Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. “Unless this excess capacity is permanently shuttered, a recovery in refining margins is unsustainable.”

This week, Chevron Corp. launched an overhaul of its fuel-making and retailing business with a plan to cut at least 2,000 jobs, put a refinery in Wales up for sale and take a hard look at its Hawaii refinery.

Royal Dutch Shell said it is reviewing its refinery operations with the idea of keeping only those with the best growth potential. Sunoco Inc. has sold one plant and said last month that its previously idled Eagle Point, N.J., refinery was being shut down permanently.

Valero Energy Corp., the nation’s largest refiner, last year closed a Delaware refinery, laying off 500 workers, and mothballed a plant in Aruba.

By The Associated Press 
Posted: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 8:53 pm

OLYMPIA — The state Senate has approved an updated construction budget, a plan that Democrats say will translate to some 4,800 jobs.

The $5.7 billion capital budget passed Wednesday by a 32-16 vote. It represents about $140 million less in bond income, the result of a lower debt ceiling tied to recent drops in state revenue. Another $150 million was transferred to the state's operating budget.

The capital budget also includes $39 million for new construction projects, including campus improvements at the University of Washington and Central Washington University.

The proposal is a 4.8 percent reduction from the 2009-2011 capital budget approved last year. The Senate's version now heads to the House for approval.

The proposed capital budget is Senate Bill 6364.

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka On President’s State of the Union
Address, January 27, 2010:

TUMWATER – The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has launched a Twitter site as its newest “social networking” feature. It also has consolidated its YouTube videos into one easy-to-use listing.

Links to both L&I’s Twitter and YouTube sites are available on the agency’s Web site, www.Lni.wa.gov.

L&I’s Twitter is a Web-based micro-blogging site with a range of information about such things as workers’ compensation, workplace safety and health, H1N1 flu and more. Some “tweets” on the site link to informative articles published in magazines and newspapers. Go to www.Lni.wa.gov/main/contactinfo/twitter/ for more information.

YouTube videos related to workplace safety and health are now listed at www.youtube.com/user/LaborandIndustries1. Topics cover such issues as heat stress, ergonomics, workplace-safety procedures, chainsaw safety and more. Also available on YouTube are winning student-made videos about workplace safety, and L&I’s
“Work Safe. Home Safe” public service campaign.

L&I also shares information through 27 listservs that provide information important to specific groups of people. These listservs can be viewed at www.Lni.wa.gov/Main/Listservs/.