15,000 local jobs on the line as McCaskill, Durbin visit Boeing plant

KMOV
click here for original article

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The future of a combat plane built at Boeing’s St. Louis plant is in question.

Hope for the aircraft is on the horizon thanks to a spending bill that would pump over a billion dollars into its local production.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill spoke at Boeing Friday afternoon in support of the bill.  The bill’s passage is vital to making sure Boeing continues to build growler combat planes in St. Louis.

In May, Boeing rolled 100 new Growlers off the production line. It was a bittersweet milestone because of the uncertain future of the aircrafts production, which is set to end in 2016.

That means 13,000 Missouri jobs, 2,000 Illinois jobs and more than 58,000 nationwide could be lost if the funding bill isn’t approved.

The Growler protects fighter jets and troops on the ground and on ships against radars and remote detonating devices by interfering with their signal.