County Subcontractors Fear Effects of Prolonged Strike By Boeing Union : SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

As the strike by Boeing Co. machinists union enters its third week, some local subcontractors are growing fidgety over the effects a prolonged work stoppage might have on their businesses.

More than 57,000 Boeing workers walked off their jobs Oct. 4. Talks between the machinists union--representing engineers and technical workers mostly in the Seattle area--and Boeing management are scheduled to resume Wednesday.

In the meantime, some Orange County aerospace firms are crossing their fingers in hopes of a speedy resolution to the dispute.

“We’ve been worrying about it,” said Jefferson Z. Amacker, president and chief executive of Leach Corp., a Buena Park aerospace company. “Boeing is a very big customer. . . . We’re very sensitive to what happens there.”

Boeing is Leach’s biggest private customer, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the firm’s annual sales of about $60 million. Leach manufactures power distribution gear for Boeing’s fleet of commercial aircraft.

Despite its reliance on Boeing, Amacker said Leach shouldn’t suffer unless the strike drags on past mid-December. “If it stretches out longer, it will significantly affect us,” he said.

Another local company with a stake in the Boeing strike is Parker Bertea Aerospace in Irvine, which makes flight control, hydraulic and pneumatic equipment used on every Boeing commercial jet.

“We do quite a bit of work for them,” said James E. Sabin, a Parker Bertea group vice president.

“Boeing has told us it will not affect our immediate deliveries,” he said. “For the time being, we’re not affected.”