JACKSON VISITS ROCKET PLANT.Byline: Phil Davis
The Rev. Jesse Jackson Noun 1. Jesse Jackson - United States civil rights leader who led a national campaign against racial discrimination and ran for presidential nomination (born in 1941) Jesse Louis Jackson, Jackson urged 1,000 Boeing employees and their corporate bosses Wednesday to stop seeing color and gender and think of themselves and subcontractors as the nuts and bolts nuts and bolts pl.n. Slang The basic working components or practical aspects: "[proposing] of a rocket engine - when one distinct piece is left out, the whole thing falls apart. Jackson drew cheers from Boeing's Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power Plant workers, even as he pressed corporate leaders in private to make executive ranks more diverse and to seek out minority contractors to supply the raw materials for the aerospace giant's multibillion dollar aerospace ventures. ``If we leave out even one of us, if we leave out a bolt, a rivet rivet, headed metal pin or bolt whose shaft is passed through holes in two or more pieces of metal, wood, plastic, or other material in order to unite them by forming the plain end into a second head. or a screw, it destroys all of our work,'' Jackson told the crowd. ``The challenge is to have all of us work together and find security in each other, not threats. Jackson toured the Canoga Park facility, which builds main engines for the Space Shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. and the Atlas and Delta Rockets. Later, he toured Boeing plants in Long Beach and Seal Beach Seal Beach, city (1990 pop. 25,098), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast; inc. 1915. It is a beach city with an active art colony. Transportation equipment and concrete are among the city's manufactures. U.S. naval stations are nearby. . The company employs about 4,600 people in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . Both workers and executives were pleased with the visit. ``This is the first time I've heard him speak, he's very dynamic,'' said Charles Taylor, a quality engineer on Rocketdyne's Delta IV rocket The Delta IV is a family of Delta rockets designed by Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems division and built in United Launch Alliance's facility in Decatur, Alabama with final assembly at the launch site by United Launch Alliance. team. ``That was a good analogy about the nuts and bolts. I see a very diverse workplace, especially here in Canoga Park. This is a better, more diverse mix of people than I've seen at other companies.'' Jackson began pushing Boeing to be more diverse after African-American workers - in Seattle, Wichita and Philadelphia - filed two class-action suits against the Seattle-based company alleging discrimination. The lawsuits were settled for $15 million in late January, but Jackson has continued to press Boeing leaders to diversify - and succeeded in forcing them to search for a minority member of the Board of Directors. Rocket mechanic Joseph Harkness said he's seen major changes for the better in 25 years working on propulsion systems. But, as Jackson left, Harkness called on Jackson to ``come back and check on us - so they don't forget.'' CAPTION(S): photo PHOTO The Rev. Jesse Jackson jokes with a group of Boeing employees while touring the Canoga Park facility Wednesday. Andy Holzman/Daily News |
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