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On April 27, the Boeing Company rolled out its first 787 Dreamliner from its North Charleston plant with “Made with Pride in South Carolina” written on its side. It’s the first commercial jet built on the East Coast by a nonunion workforce. South Carolina is a right-to-work state.

Being a right-to-work state means you can’t be forced to join a union as a condition of employment. Boeing management felt this to be worth something—enough to build a South Carolina plant that is basically on the opposite side of the country from the one in Everett, Washington, where Dreamliners are also made.

This is a huge move for Boeing. It wouldn’t have been done had Washington been a right-to-work state. But states are becoming more and more competitive with each other. Boeing seized the opportunity to build jets in a more competitive locale.

Now if you were a union worker in Everett, wouldn’t you demand that union leadership do something about this? The problem, it would appear, is that union leadership has no incentive to make Boeing more competitive in Everett. They are working to keep the union strong—working for the status quo.

But when management moved to build the plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, a direct competitor to the union shop in Everett was created. Competition is the last thing union leadership wants. That’s why they fought this move tooth and nail through the National Labor Relations Board, finally coming to a settlement with management.

It would appear North Charleston is open for business. If you were a union member in Everett, wouldn’t it cross your mind to look into getting work at the South Carolina plant? The weather’s nice, and you could probably get a good job since you know how to build planes. I’d guess this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that may not be available in Everett for long.

Non-right-to-work states, like Washington and Rhode Island, for example, should do whatever it takes to become more competitive. Being a right-to-work state does matter. It sends the message to workers that they’re partners with management—while union leadership has proven to be a wedge. Government needs to let businesses do business.


Keep Your Cash Safe
Keep your money safe. If you have some cash at home, keep it in a safe. But don’t go crazy with spending money to store your money. I recently read about a $30,000 bed with a built-in safe. I wouldn’t sleep well at night if I spent that kind of money on a bed. But do keep your cash locked up. There’s nothing like being up all night upset about losing money.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.
E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.

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