Break-Up Letter to Boeing

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Dear Boeing,

 By the time you read this letter, our relationship will be over.

 We’ve been together since 2001, and even though we had misgivings about your behavior and intentions, we allowed you into our city with open arms.

 Since then, you’ve broken our hearts in more ways then we can tell you. Just a small sampling includes:

 ♥ You’ve been given over $54 million in tax breaks since you moved to our city, money that could have gone to improving education, healthcare, or public transportation.

 ♥ You’re the world’s second leading weapons manufacturer, profiting off the deaths of thousands and the destruction of homes and cities.

♥ You’ve gambled with the lives of our military men and women, paying tens of millions in fines for selling flawed parts for Apache helicopters.

♥ Your “smart bombs” (joint direct attack munitions) have proven to be rather dumb, and have taken the lives of countless innocent Iraqis and several US servicemen.

♥ You attempted to have the Air Force lease 100 Boeing 767 aircraft for $21.5 billion, when buying them outright would have cost $15.9 billion, giving you $6 billion in profit.  This deal was so egregious that even Senator John McCain declared, “This is war profiteering” and your CEO Philip Condit was forced to resign.

♥ You mistreat your employees. On the factory floor, you exposed its workers to toxic chemicals and then denied that it even happened. After 80 years in the Seattle area, you began outsourcing jobs, outraging unions. Some suspect you moved to Chicago to get the support of Illinois politicians to push weapons contracts and corporate welfare, and to threaten unions with “take it or leave it” contracts.

Clearly, for years you have been lying, cheating and refusing to listen to our needs.  For these reasons and more, we have no other choice than to end this relationship immediately.

Signed,
The People of Chicago

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