Daniele Cagnatel, CEO of Renton, Washington-based Sekisui Aerospace, called Wednesday for a transformation of the low-wage, old-technology model common among Washington state's aerospace manufacturers.
"When we are competing with retail, when we are competing with, frankly, the Starbucks around the corner or with Walmart, you got to ask yourself the question, why?" Cagnatel said, speaking at an annual conference of aerospace suppliers in Lynnwood. "We are in manufacturing and we are in aerospace. We should be at the top end of the pay scale and we are fighting at the bottom."
"Forget about $18 or $20 an hour," he added. "Why can't we pay $27, $28, $29, $30 an hour to do jobs in aerospace manufacturing?"
