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Boeing Machinists Approve Contract To Keep 777X Jetliner Production In Seattle

LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Boeing union members in the Seattle area Friday narrowly approved a contract that will keep production of the 777X jetliner in Washington state.

Thirty-thousand union machinists voted all day on the contract that will cut some pension and health care benefits, but guarantee that Boeing produces its latest passenger jet in the Puget Sound area for the next eight years.

Since the proposal was given the green light, Boeing will no longer build a new factory somewhere else in the country.

Gov. Jerry Brown and top Long Beach officials had lobbied to bring the production line to the Southland, as it would have brought 9,000 jobs to the area.

Robert Garcia, the vice mayor of Long Beach, had previously said that bringing the assembly to the city would have been huge.

"We're working really hard to make sure we're rolling out the red carpet to let people at Boeing know that Long Beach is the right place. We've been building planes for decades. We have incredible infrastructure, the facilities and we also have great weather," he said.

Steve Burke has worked for Boeing in Long Beach since 1979. He and thousands of others could lose their jobs in 2015 when production is stopped for the C-17.

Burke said Boeing will stay in Seattle because it will cost the company too much to relocate.

"There is no way they are ever going to bring all that down here," he said.

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