SEATTLE (AP) - Gov. Chris Gregoire said Tuesday that she and state House and Senate leaders will try to add $3 million to this year's budget for aerospace and technology apprenticeship programs.

Speaking at a union hall packed with machinists, Gregoire said that during recent visits to suppliers in Eastern Washington, executives told her they're faced with a troubling shortage of skilled workers.

"Every one of them said we want to add more people," she said. "Some of them said we want to double our work force" but can't find people to fill the jobs.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the nationwide shortage of skilled workers could reach 8 million by 2010 and 14 million by 2020. The aerospace sector is particularly vulnerable because huge numbers of workers are nearing retirement.

Sandra Schroeder, president of the American Federation of Teachers' Washington branch, said the best way to tackle that shortage is with apprenticeship programs, which are expensive because of the equipment and software that has to be updated to keep pace with technological advances.

Gregoire didn't say how many apprenticeships she expects the $3 million to create, but bragged that 14,500 people are now enrolled in such programs - up from 8,500 when she took office in 2005.

The apprenticeship program is a late addition to the Legislature's budget negotiations, but enthusiastic endorsements from Gregoire and the Democratic leadership mean its chances of being paid for are very good.

Despite the plan's relatively small price tag, the fact that it targets job growth is appealing for Gregoire and other Democrats running for re-election this fall.

The apprenticeship program wasn't included in the governor's requested budget, but Gregoire decided to push for it anyway after labor and business interests lobbied her for more training programs, aides said.

Gregoire aides pointed to Boeing Co.'s use of composite materials on its new 787 jetliner - and the skilled work force needed to supply those parts - as a major reason to support more apprenticeship spending.

Robert Roach Jr., general vice president of transportation for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, got a standing ovation when he suggested that work Boeing has outsourced to suppliers might be to blame for a series of delays in the 787 program.

Boeing has blamed the 787's early production problems largely on complicated work that suppliers were supposed to, but did not, complete before sending parts for the first plane to the final assembly plant. The company said it is working with suppliers to get those problems fixed.

The event was billed as a rally to highlight the IAM's nationwide campaign calling attention to a shortage of work force training programs, but gubernatorial and presidential politics also took center stage.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack stumped for Gregoire, calling her "a leader among governors."

"She is absolutely a champion of working folks, and I will tell you, message No. 1 is she needs four more years," Vilsack said.

Gregoire is running for a second term this fall against Republican Dino Rossi, a former state senator who lost to Gregoire in 2004 by just 133 votes after two recounts and a court challenge.

Rossi spokeswoman Jill Strait said the rally's campaign flavor contradicts Gregoire's frequent statements that she won't be an active candidate until after the legislative session.

"Even though the incumbent says she's not a candidate, she is already clearly campaigning," Strait said. "We don't need to give Gregoire four more years so she can increase spending by another 33 percent and add to the projected $600 million deficit."

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who is the former lieutenant governor of Maryland and a daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, later urged the crowd to back New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for president.

Townsend's uncle, Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, and Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, have thrown their support behind Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Prompted by a quip from the audience, she smiled and said: "I love my family. ... Like all families, you can have a disagreement around the dinner table - and we have plenty. But in the morning, we understand that the real challenge is to defeat the Republicans."