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Machinists denounce F-22 funding cut

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today denounced the decision by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to end funding for the F-22 fighter aircraft.

"Not only is the decision to cut funding for the F-22 shortsighted militarily, but our economy can ill afford to disperse the thousands of aerospace jobs required to design, construct and maintain aircraft of this caliber," said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. "We simply cannot afford to cannibalize our national defense to repair damage caused by reckless financial institutions and greed-crazed corporate executives."

More than 2,000 Lockheed Martin workers, many represented by the IAM, assemble the F-22 Raptor at the company's facility in Cobb County, Georgia. In addition to jobs directly related to production and assembly, as many as 25,000 jobs nationwide are indirectly supported by the program.

"The need for long-term air superiority is no less important than the need for short-term economic stimulus," declared IAM Vice President Rich Michalski, who oversees the union's aerospace operations. "The benefits of the F-22 program extend far beyond the aircraft itself. It creates and supports thousands of good-paying jobs when we need them most, and nearly all technological advances in the commercial aviation sector have their genesis in taxpayer-supported military programs like the F-22."