Executive Branch, General Assembly

Nixon announces construction labor agreement in attempt to entice Boeing

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – As he continues to lay out his case for Boeing to land production of its new 777x commercial airliner in Missouri, Gov. Jay Nixon announced a new pledge from local construction workers to help the company save costs in expanding its St. Louis infrastructure.

Speaking with reporters Tuesday afternoon, Nixon announced the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council, the Eastern Missouri Laborers’ District Council, and the Carpenters District Council of Greater St. Louis had agreed to a 24-hour work schedule without overtime during the construction of Boeing’s facilities if they chose to locate in Missouri.

“This unprecedented commitment offers Boeing another reason to locate the 777x right here in the Show Me State,” Nixon said. “The most highly skilled, hardest working workforce in the world is committed to doing whatever it takes to compete and win in the global economy.”

Nixon’s announcement came on the second day of the special session in Jefferson City he and a coalition of lawmakers are working to pass a tax incentive package with hopes of luring all or part of Boeing’s new production line. Nixon’s plan would expand four existing tax credit programs – including those to help companies to build new infrastructure – by $150 million annually.

Nixon said if Missouri were to get the full project – estimated to create 8,000 jobs – it could cost the state as much as $1.7 billion over 23 years. According to Nixon’s figures, if Missouri were to receive a smaller part of the project – say, the new composite wing – it could create some 2,000 jobs and could cost the state $435 million in incentives by 2040. On the high-end, that could mean $2.9 billion in additional revenue for the state.

The programs Missouri is offering to expand include the Missouri Works, Missouri Works Training, Missouri BUILD, and the Real Property Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act – all including investment and job creation components.

According to numbers provided by Boeing being distributed around the capitol, the company has 684 vendor locations in Missouri, providing over $836 million to the state’s economy and supporting 30,000 jobs.

Lawmakers are set to take up the Boeing incentive legislation in committee later today and hope to have it on the floor of the Senate as early as tomorrow. Responses to Boeing are due by December 10, and Boeing is expected to announce its decision as early as January.