Unlike today, our economy was in the tank and elected officials were in shock from Boeing’s headquarters move to Chicago. Airlines, reeling from the aftermath of 9-11, needed more fuel efficient and less expensive jetliners. Airbus, the heavily subsidized European competitor, was competing toe-to-toe with Boeing.

Boeing officials made it clear they were launching a nationwide search for a site to assemble the 787, and the Seattle-area was no longer the automatic choice. Washington’s high costs would be a deciding factor.

In the end, Boeing decided to assemble the plane in Everett. But it’s important to realize that the 787 line is just ramping up, so state lawmakers shouldn’t add to our state’s reputation for high costs and reneging on its promises.

Unfortunately, that may be what they’re about to do.

This year, union leaders are pushing legislation in Olympia that would bar aerospace companies from getting state tax incentives unless they agree to remain neutral toward union-organizing efforts. Under the proposal, aerospace suppliers would lose their tax incentives if they “choose to encourage or discourage unionization.” In reality, the law is intended to penalize companies that oppose union organizing efforts.

Whistle blowers would report suspected violations to the state Dept. of Revenue and if it found violations, the agency could demand that the company’s tax incentive be repaid. Additionally, DOR could also impose civil penalties and ban the company from applying for the same tax incentive the following year.

If legislators and the governor bend to the unions, they will send the wrong message to Boeing and other companies who are considering whether to locate, expand or upgrade operations in Washington. While the bill targets Boeing suppliers in Washington, its impact is international.

Unfortunately, Washington lawmakers have reneged on their promises before.

For example, after Boeing jettisoned its supersonic transport in the early 1970s and the infamous billboard appeared (“Last one out of Seattle, please turn off the lights”), state lawmakers passed a package of tax incentives to stem the massive layoffs at Boeing and attract new manufacturing jobs.

It worked. Companies invested in plants and equipment and Boeing eventually ramped up to over 100,000 workers in Washington.

In 1979, Crown Zellerbach announced it would spend $400 million to modernize its 100-year old pulp and paper mill at Camas. Crown was promised a sales tax exemption to install pollution control equipment, B&O tax reductions on the entire investment, and a complete sales tax deferral on the new production facilities. The project would take four years to complete.

But in 1981 when the economy tanked and tax revenues plummeted, the Legislature and Gov. Spellman revoked the tax incentives to balance the budget. Crown was too far down the road to stop the project, but the combination of double-digit interest rates, high inflation, and repeal of the tax incentives added $25 million to the project.

While Crown launched an intense lobbying effort to restore most of the promised incentives, the nightmarish experience soured company leaders on Washington.

In 2007, legislators may think that passing the union’s bill will give organized labor a big club, but in effect it may be a bat with no ball to swing at. Employers will look askance at Washington.

State legislators would be wrong to assume that only unions deliver good wages and benefits. With the growing shortage of skilled and educated workers today, companies are offering high wages and good benefits to attract and keep good workers.

The unions are wrong to assume that state tax revenues are solely generated by their members and therefore are theirs to allocate. According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, four out of five workers in Washington are nonunion.

The unions are wrong to leverage Democrats now firmly in control at the State Capitol to force unionization. This fight is not just about Boeing, it is about the future of manufacturing in Washington.

This is a battle that legislators should pass on. Remember, our economy has come back strong in part because of the very tax incentives the unions want to manipulate. Tens of thousands of new jobs have been created, but those jobs could dissipate if lawmakers send the wrong signal.