Letter: The rest of the Pratt & Whitney story
Posted on December 13, 2021 by Letters
On Nov. 23, WLOS produced a 2.5-minute segment on the progress of the Pratt & Whitney plant. While the information and footage of the plant were welcome, what was missing made the segment little more than a puff piece of promotion for the company.
Unmentioned were:
• The $100 million in subsidies provided by state, county and private sources, including the gift of 100 acres of free land from Biltmore Farms.
• The ownership of the company by Raytheon Technologies, the second-largest war corporation in the world.
• The intended production of engine components for fighter jets like the F-35 to be sold to Israel and Saudi Arabia for their genocidal attacks in Palestine and Yemen.
• The powerful effect on our climate emergency that comes from the aerospace industry that Pratt & Whitney is a part of.
• The threat to the French Broad from an industrial plant of this size and nature right on the river. • The notorious reputation of war corporations to promise jobs that often don’t materialize or are misreported, and are not guaranteed to be for local residents.
• The secret decision-making that brought this plant to Buncombe County without adequate public discussion.
Reject Raytheon AVL is a local citizens group focused on exposing the rest of the story that was neglected by WLOS. Visit our website for more information: rejectraytheonavl.com.
— Ken Jones ,Swannanoa
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