Things To Do In SW Florida

Lauren Rosenblatt | (TNS) The Seattle Times

A year after a panel blew off a 737 Max midflight, Boeing says mistakes like those leading up to the near-disaster on Jan. 5, 2024, won’t happen again.

The company has increased inspections, created new procedures to make sure airplane parts and airplane work are documented, and, it says, recommitted itself to the quality and safety of the planes it makes.

Boeing is entering the new year with a new CEO, a new contract with its unionized Machinists workforce and a new plan to focus on quality and safety. But, the company and the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency charged with overseeing Boeing, aren’t out of regulatory hot water as many wonder if Boeing’s factories will see lasting change.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said Friday that Boeing’s changes and the agency’s oversight are “not a one-year project.”

“What’s needed is a fundamental cultural shift,” Whitaker wrote in a blog. “That will require sustained effort and commitment from Boeing, and unwavering scrutiny on our part.” read more

By PAUL WISEMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vowing to stop machines from taking their jobs, 45,000 U.S. longshoremen are threatening to go on a strike that would shut down ports on the East and Gulf coasts and could damage the American economy just as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in November, showing companies are still looking for workers even as the labor market has cooled overall.

Openings rose to 8.1 million in November, the most since February and up from 7.8 million in October, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. They were down from 8.9 million a year earlier and a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 as the economy was roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns. But they still exceed pre-pandemic levels.

Economists had expected job openings to fall slightly in November.

Layoffs rose slightly in November, and the number of people quitting their jobs fell, suggesting that Americans are less confident in their ability to find better jobs elsewhere.

Openings were up in professional and business services, a broad category that includes managerial and technical workers, and in finance and insurance. They fell in the information industry, which includes publishers and telecommunications companies. read more