UPDATED DAILY -- M-F by 9 a.m. (Pacific)

Links to commercial press stories are functional at the date of posting. In some cases, links "expire" when the source would like to begin charging you for old news. WSLC Reports Today  links to all stories of interest to organized labor; some positive, some negative. The intention is to inform.  The creation of a link does not constitute an endorsement of that story's content.

Reports for January 26-30, 2004

Previous weeks' news:  Jan. 20-22 -- Jan. 12-16 -- Jan. 5-9

FRIDAY, January 30 -- Health Care for Washington's Workers bill gains support
...plus -- Hold the line for health care: Help picket Safeway this weekend in Seattle
— In today's News Tribune -- GOP aims at union, hits wrong target -- Editorial: If Republican legislators want to argue that the state can't afford to give woefully underpaid home health-care workers a raise and extend benefits to those who don't have them now, let them say so. But to claim that SEIU Local 775 and Democrats were somehow sticking it to non-unionized workers was wrong, and this page shouldn't have suggested it, either.
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Kaiser Aluminum proposal forces agonizing decision -- Inadequate coverage or no insurance at all, is the likely choice for Steelworkers and retirees.
— In today's Everett Herald -- Boeing bullish on the future; they expect 7E7 orders, tanker deal soon
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Boeing CEO admits company has studied selling Wichita plant
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- Walla Walla officials worry about future of Boise's Wallula paper mill
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Hanford jobs to plunge by 2008 (AP)
...plus -- Bush's immigration proposal keeps industry in cheap labor (op-ed)
— In today's Seattle Times -- U.S. vows to get tough on illegal immigrants
...plus -- Medicare drug-cost estimates skyrocket; record deficit also forecast
— Today from Reuters -- U.S. tech companies help workers export their jobs -- Includes mention of Washington legislation sought by Rep. Zack Hudgins re: outsourcing and training replacements.
At AFLCIO.org -- Jobless workers get no help from Republican congressional leaders
— In today's Everett Herald -- Jobless benefits drying up for 2 million -- Learn more.
— In today's Washington Post -- Record number to run out of unemployment benefits
— In today's L.A. Times -- South Carolina primary voters weigh costs of free trade
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Where's the apology? -- Krugman: George Bush promised to bring honor and integrity back to the White House. Instead, he got rid of accountability.
...plus -- Givers and takers -- Op-ed: Democratic candidates have an electability problem due to a significant, but unnoticed, structural divide in American presidential politics. (FYI: Washington is a "giver" state, getting back 87 cents on every dollar we send in taxes to D.C.  That's down from 96 cents 10 years ago and ranks us 37th among states for getting a federal bang for our buck.)

THURSDAY, January 29 -- Boeing backs Bush plan denying OT pay for veterans -- In today's Seattle Times; also see Bush overtime plan a slap in the face of America's veterans at AFLCIO.org.
...plus good news/bad news: House OKs home-care deal, but Senate passes weak R&D bill
— In today's News Tribune -- Home-care contract advances
...plus -- Give all home-care workers the same deal -- Editorial: It was shabby of House Democrats to go along with SEIU Local 776's transparent effort to build its power base. The Senate shouldn't go along with EHB 1777 unless it is amended to apply equally to all. (SEIU 775 responds.)
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Senate votes to renew high-tech tax breaks (AP)
...plus -- Intalco, its employees lobby lawmakers for $3 million tax break
— In today's Everett Herald -- Help wanted: Chambers of commerce give legislators to-do list
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Layoff notices go out to 60 civilian Navy employees; 44 in Kitsap
— In today's News Tribune -- Murray's financial edge over Nethercutt nearly 3-to-1
...plus -- Washington state could be Howard Dean's last stand
— In today's Seattle Times -- Dean shakes up campaign before weekend trip here
— In today's Olympian -- Rossi: Let's give initiatives a "rest" -- Now that an initiative to better fund education is imminent, Republican gubernatorial candidate calls for a break, hoping we will forget that his party consistently endorsed the Eyman initiatives that cut school and higher education budgets.
— In today's Oregonian -- Clark Co. governments may get millions for infrastructure projects
— In today's L.A. Times -- Laid-off programmers sue Labor Dept. over denial of Trade Act aid
...plus -- Grocery workers, supporters are stopped far from Safeway CEO's home
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Senate passes bill saving employers $80 billion on pension plans
...plus -- The dead center -- Reich op-ed: The fight among Democrats is between those who want only to win back the White House and those who want to build a much-needed new political movement.
— In today's Washington Post -- PhRMA follies -- Editorial: Rumors that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has offered Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), who presiding over the passage of a Medicare drug bill, an unusually large sum to become its president are making many queasy this week.

WEDNESDAY, January 28 -- State lawmakers unanimously urge federal UI benefit extension
...plus, today at WFSE.org -- WFSE/AFSCME says: "No more off shore!"
— In today's King County Journal -- Don't change the state minimum wage -- Editorial: Many people -- employers and employees alike -- are struggling to make ends meet as we work our way out of a recession. Let's not penalize those at the bottom by denying them a chance to get ahead.
— In today's News Tribune -- Charter schools need a House push -- Editorial: Speaker Chopp should lean on members of the House Education Committee, where a much watered-down charter bill stalled in committee last week, to produce an acceptable compromise that will clear the House.
...plus -- Police management union files suit, says Brame investigation violates contract
— In today's Everett Herald -- Four bills on school strikes get a hearing
...plus -- Turmoil at Boeing may have turned Brits toward Airbus tankers
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Boeing's Wichita plant not for sale, Stonecipher says (AP)
— In yesterday's Columbian -- Fire captain Seabrook says he'll take on Sen. Zarelli
— In yesterday's Longview Daily News -- Democrat Seabrook readies Zarelli challenge in 18th
Today at AFLCIO.org -- Bush overtime plan a slap in the face of America's veterans -- Randy Fleming, an engineering technician at the Boeing in Wichita, says the training he received during the five years he served his country in Vietnam qualified him “for a good civilian job. Now they are using this ‘military penalty’ to cancel that bargain.” (Also visit www.saveovertimepay.org.)
— At BusinessWeek Online -- The two faces of Wal-Mart -- Loved for low prices, the retail behemoth could become the object of scorn, thanks to a growing list labor-relations woes. ("Could become"?!)
— In the USAToday -- Employers could save billions with pension relief bill before Senate
— In The Onion -- Bush 2004 campaign pledges to restore honor, dignity to White House

TUESDAY, January 27 -- WSLC Legislative Update: We pay for Wal-Mart greed -- always
...plus -- Special House hearing TONIGHT on right to organize unions
— In today's Seattle Times -- Seattle School Board may weigh in on Darigold dispute -- A draft letter from the board to the two sides implies the district might stop buying Darigold-brand milk if Teamsters workers, locked out since Labor Day, aren't returned to their jobs.
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Still no word from buyer of Boise Cascade mill
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Crowded prison cells don't fit in tight state budget (AP)
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- State Employees Credit Union to begin offering payday loans
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Proposed Seattle school cuts would shed 40 jobs
...plus -- AFSCME spends $1.6M on pro-Dean campaign (AP)
— In today's News Tribune -- Amid ethics woes, Boeing not likely to get British tanker contract
— In today's Wichita (Ks.) Eagle -- SPEEA demands to see any Boeing sale plans
...plus -- Harry Stonecipher's visit today takes on higher profile
Today at AFLCIO.org -- School segregation on the rise, says Harvard report
— In today's Washington Post -- OSHA forum on ergonomics draws fire
...plus -- CBO's 2004 deficit forecast rises to $477 billion; extending tax cuts could double debt
...plus -- Dangerous deficits -- Editorial: It's time for this president and those who would take his place to begin demonstrating that they understand the dangers ahead, and that they have the will to steer the country back on a sounder fiscal course.
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Red ink realities -- Krugman column: The right cleverly blames the deficit on Bush's domestic spending, but tax cuts and tax evasion by the wealthy are the real culprits.
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- SoCal grocery workers struggle as strike, lockout drags on (AP)
— In today's L.A. Times -- UFCW would prefer to bargain with Kroger CEO

MONDAY, January 26 -- No more excuses: Tell legislators to fund home-care contract
...plus -- SPEEA ready to fight for employees if Boeing sells Wichita plant
— In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Boeing considers sale of Wichita plant
...plus today -- Pullout from Wichita would reshape Boeing, aviation city
— In today's Wichita Eagle -- Boeing Wichita for sale? ...plus -- Other sales sparked job, salary cuts
— In the P.S. Business Journal -- CEOs upbeat about local economy -- 36% of executives surveyed said transportation is their top priority for state government. Issues such as automatic minimum-wage increases, tort reform and regulatory reform drew less than one-third as many responses.
...plus -- Swedish Providence to outsource lab work to Dynacare; 160 workers affected
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- Sunshine in Sunnyside -- Editorial: Unions probably won't take a shine to the Sunnyside City Council's new practice of discussing labor negotiations in public.
— In Sunday's Everett Herald -- Anti-strike bill for teachers a hard fight
— In Sunday's Daily News -- Alcoa's smelter clean-up may pour jobs, dollars into Longview
Last week at AFLCIO.org -- U.S. Senate bows to Bush; overtime pay at risk
— In today's L.A. Times -- Safeway rewards 11 top execs with stock, options worth millions
...plus -- Grocery workers' leader paid like a corporate boss (column)
— Today at MSNBC.com -- IBM memos detail plan to shift thousands of jobs overseas
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Education is no protection -- Herbert column: We can grapple with the problem (of outsourcing U.S. jobs) now, and try to develop workable solutions. Or we can ignore this fire in the basement of the national economy until it rages out of our control. 

Previous weeks' news: Jan. 20-22 -- Jan. 12-16 -- Jan. 5-9

FRIDAY,  JANUARY 30
Health Care for Washington's Workers bill gains support

Wednesday night's hearing for HB 2785, the Health Care for Washington's Workers bill, was packed with enthusiastic supporters and compelling testimony about the need to address the growing crisis of uninsured workers in this state. And the bill -- based on a simple principle that if you work, you should get health care -- is also garnering support within the business community.

Craig Cole, President/CEO of the Bellingham-based Brown & Cole Stores, has risen in support of the measure, agreeing that it isn't fair that Washington taxpayers and employers who do provide health care must subsidize the large corporations that don't. It places businesses like his at an unfair competitive disadvantage.

Here is Cole's letter to Rep. Eileen Cody (D-Seattle), the prime sponsor of HB 2785 and chair of the House Health Care Committee:

Honorable Eileen Cody, Chair
Health Care Committee
Washington State House of Representatives
Olympia, WA 98504

Re: HB 2785

Dear Chair Cody and Members of the Committee:

I encourage your full consideration of the concepts contemplated by this bill and have asked the UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers) to advise you of my support.

Brown & Cole is the oldest grocery company in Washington, with 33 stores and around 2,000 employees. Our trade names include Cost Cutter, Food Pavilion, Save-On-Foods, and Food Depot.

We have worked hard, together with the representatives of our employees, to provide family-wage jobs with good benefits. But, we find ourselves competing with such huge global enterprises, as Wal-Mart, whose objective seems to be to pay employees as little as possible. Is this the picture that we want to paint for the American worker?

Public policies should encourage employers to be good stewards of their workforces. Requiring significant employers to “play or pay” in providing basic health care benefits is fair, equitable, and the decent thing to do.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Craig Cole, President/CEO
Brown & Cole Stores
P.O. Box 9797
Bellingham, WA 98225

HB 2785 would require large businesses that don’t offer affordable health care to pay a fee-per-employee to help fund the BHP.  It also would provide small businesses with premium assistance and other ways to help them afford health benefits for their employees.

Right now, we as taxpayers are financing health care through the Basic Health Plan for more than 400 Washington workers who work for Wal-Mart, one of the most profitable companies in the world -- even as that company "competes" more and more of the responsible employers right out of business.  Wal-Mart is the poster child for this abuse of the system, but there are other big corporations doing the same thing.

The Washington State Labor Council thanks Mr. Coles for his support of the measure and urges other Washington employers (and workers, of course) concerned about the unfair subsidizing of Wal-Mart and other competitors to contact us and their legislators at 1-800-562-6000.

FRIDAY,  JANUARY 30
Hold the line for health care: Help picket Safeway this weekend

Safeway and its CEO Steve Burd have forced tens of thousands of Southern California working families into the streets in a fight to save affordable health care at work. As that strike/lockout enters its fourth month with no end in sight, Safeway is bracing to bring its demands to eliminate affordable health care into Washington state, where the Puget Sound-area contract expires in May.

We need to support Safeway workers and the labor movement as they Hold the Line for Affordable Health Care!

If you are in the Seattle area, pickets and leafleting are planned outside some Safeway stores from noon to 5 p.m. this weekend -- both Saturday, Jan. 31 and Sunday, Feb. 1 -- and next weekend, Feb. 7-8.  It will happen at the following locations (all within 5 minutes of each other):

• BALLARD at 15th N.W. and Market

• CROWN HILL at 15th N.W. and 83rd

• GREENWOOD at 87th and Greenwood

There will be a picketing "kickoff" at the Ballard store at noon Saturday, but you can show up at any of the locations at any time to participate.  Similar actions are happening in Portland, Northern California, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and in other cities across the country. In addition, a huge rally is happening in Los Angeles this weekend.

Please show your union solidarity by participating in the pickets, and by helping spread the work to your family, friends and co-workers. Download and print a flier (in PDF format) about the Seattle Safeway pickets.

For more information, contact the AFL-CIO's Bob Gorman at (206) 448-4888.

THURSDAY,  JANUARY 29
House OKs home-care contract; Senate passes weak R&D bill

The good news: the State House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 57-40 to pass HB 1777 honoring the scaled-back home-care contract renegotiated by Service Employees International Union Local 775.  The bad news: the Senate voted 35-13 to approve SB 6239, extending a research-and-development tax break for high-tech companies that includes weak accountability language and absolutely no public disclosure of who gets it.

The approval of HB 1777 is welcome news for some 26,000 home care workers who help the elderly and disabled in Washington state live with dignity in their own homes, and save the state millions by keeping them out of more expensive nursing homes.  These home care workers earn only $8.43 an hour with no benefits, so turnover is high and the quality of care suffers.

After last year's home-care contract was rejected, SEIU Local 775 went back to the bargaining table and negotiated a scaled-back contract that addressed the concerns expressed by legislators last year. As a result, unlike last year, full funding of the contract is included in the governor's supplemental budget proposal.

Now the House has taken the first step to honoring that contract, and the Washington State Labor Council calls on the State Senate to take the next step and approve this contract as quickly as possible.

Here is Wednesday's roll-call vote on HB 1777 approving the home-care contract (WSLC urged a "yes" vote):

Voting YEA:  Representatives Benson, Blake, Bush, Cairnes, Campbell, Chase, Clibborn, Cody, Conway, Cooper, Crouse, Darneille, Dickerson, Dunshee, Edwards, Eickmeyer, Flannigan, Fromhold, Grant, Haigh, Hatfield, Hudgins, Hunt, Hunter, Kagi, Kenney, Kessler, Kirby, Lantz, Linville, Lovick, McCoy, McDermott, McIntire, Miloscia, Moeller, Morrell, Morris, Murray, O'Brien, Ormsby, Pettigrew, Quall, Roach, Rockefeller, Romero, Ruderman, Santos, Schual-Berke, Simpson, D., Simpson, G., Sommers, Sullivan, Upthegrove, Veloria, Wallace and Speaker Chopp.

Voting NAY:  Representatives Ahern, Alexander, Anderson, Armstrong, Bailey, Boldt, Buck, Carrell, Chandler, Clements, Condotta, Cox, DeBolt, Delvin, Ericksen, Hankins, Hinkle, Holmquist, Jarrett, Kristiansen, Mastin, McDonald, McMahan, McMorris, Mielke, Newhouse, Nixon, Orcutt, Pearson, Priest, Rodne, Schindler, Schoesler, Sehlin, Shabro, Skinner, Sump, Talcott, Tom and Woods.

Excused:  Representative Wood.

Meanwhile, the Senate celebrated Wednesday's Lobbying Day for chambers of commerce, organized by the Association of Washington Business, by voting to extend the R&D tax break without any decent accountability language, instead merely requiring recipients to fill out a survey that may include information about job creation and wage levels. But that information would not be public. 

So, in the name of "proprietary information" and "trade secrets," taxpayers can't find out which companies are getting the public subsidy. SB 6239 calls for a legislative report assessing the surveys to determine the tax breaks' effectiveness, but that won't be done until the Washington of Distant Future, in December of 2013.

One amendment was approved in the Senate that underscored another reason why that disclosure language is important. The amendment closed a loophole only just discovered in the 10-year-old tax break that allowed a company to take three times the tax credit they should have been able to take according to their tax rate. That loophole is now closed (supposedly) -- at a projected cost savings this biennium of $3.5 million, we're told. 

There is every reason to believe that some public scrutiny of who gets the tax break and what jobs it helped create/preserve could help identify such a loophole. 

The WSLC again asks, what are State Senators so afraid of?  If they are so confident in the value of tax incentives as a job-creation tool, why are they so reluctant to study their effectiveness?  If they are right, legislators could very well decide to increase these subsidies and create even more jobs.  All this obfuscation and delay suggests Senators aren't really so confident in their talking points.

Here's a roll call for final passage on SB 6239 (the WSLC urged a "No" vote):

Voting Yea:  Senators Benton, Berkey, Brandland, Carlson, Deccio, Doumit, Eide, Esser, Finkbeiner, Hale, Haugen, Hewitt, Honeyford, Horn, Johnson, Kohl-Welles, McAuliffe, McCaslin, Morton, Mulliken, Murray, Oke, Parlette, Pflug, Rasmussen, Roach, Schmidt, Sheahan, B. Sheldon, T. Sheldon, Shin, Stevens, Swecker, Winsley, and Zarelli.

Voting Nay:  Senators Brown, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Hargrove, Jacobsen, Kastama, Keiser, Kline, Poulsen, Prentice, Regala, and Spanel.

Excused:  Senator Thibaudeau.

The House has yet to have floor action on HB 2546, the companion bill extending R&D tax breaks, but that could happen at any time. The House version is much stronger in terms of accountability and disclosure. An amendment by Rep. Jim McIntire (D-Seattle) was passed in committee that requires companies utilizing the tax break to report employment levels and salary ranges, and public disclosure of who took the credit and how much they took.

The WSLC strongly supports this superior version of the bill, but as we reported in our Jan. 27 WSLC Legislative Update, there is reason for concern that high-tech industry lobbyists are going to pressure House Democrats to remove that accountability language.  Therefore...

CALL TO ACTION:  Please call the Legislative Hotline RIGHT NOW at 1-800-562-6000. Leave a message for your State Representatives to keep the McIntire accountability language in HB 2546, or refuse to pass it.

THURSDAY,  JANUARY 29
SEIU 775 responds to editorial criticizing home-care legislation

The following was sent by Service Employees International Union Local 775 to News Tribune editors in response to today's editorial, Give all home-care workers the same deal, which accuses the union of trying to "build its power base" with legislation funding the home-care contract:

Your suggestion that we want independent provider home care workers to have better wages and benefits than agency home care workers is outrageous and based on completely inaccurate information.

1. SEIU Local 775 already represents more than 2,000 of the 8,000 agency home care workers, including workers at the two largest state contracted agencies, CCS and Addus. They are actively advocating for passage of the home care contract AND, as noted below, a parity raise for agency home care workers.
 
2. All home care workers who work for private agencies ALREADY have L&I coverage.
 
3. Because of decisions made by the legislature in previous year, all home care workers who work for private agencies ALREADY have health benefits, in their case funded through the BHP. Below I have copied the appropriate budget language from last year's budget. The health benefits in the independent provider contract obviously won't be exactly the same, because they won't be through the BHP, but it will be a low-end health plan. In fact, the original contract did put the independent providers in the BHP, which would have given them equivalent benefits to the agency home care workers, but legislators REJECTED the original contract, and in fact raised putting these workers on the BHP as a major objection to the original contract.
 
4. SEIU local 775 has consistently advocated for giving agency home care workers the SAME 50-cent raise as the independent provider home care workers. We've done so for the last ten years. And, in fact, that has been what the legislature has done -- given identical raises to both groups of home care workers (i.e. 25-cents (vetoed) in 2002; 75-cents in 2003;) If you go to this link: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/nomoreexcuses you'll find the letter we ask members and other supporters to email to their legislators. You'll notice that in the first paragraph, we call for "wage parity" for agency home care workers. Similar language is on our postcards. And we make a similar ask in the letter from David Rolf to legislators, which I have attached to this message even though we also gave it to you at the editorial board meeting.
 
5. The reality is that agency home care workers actually will continue to have better benefits in many cases than independent provider home care workers even when the independent provider contract is approved. You specifically reference CCS. CCS home care workers have a pension. CCS home care workers have sick days and vacation days. CCS home care workers have a wage scale that guarantees them regular wage increases based on experience (i.e. a wage increase after a certain number of hours worked). CCS home care workers have their taxes withheld by their employer, unlike the independent providers. These are benefits that independent providers do not and will not have under the contract before the legislature.
 
--
 
Existing budget language appropriating funds to home care agencies to provide health insurance to their employees. Note that IPs only get health benefits under this section IF they are under 200% of poverty, while that restriction DOES NOT APPLY to agency home care workers. All agency home care workers receive this benefit.
 
Section 206
 
1 (1) The entire health services account appropriation, $1,476,000 of

2 the general fund--state appropriation for fiscal year 2004, $1,476,000

3 of the general fund--state appropriation for fiscal year 2005, and

4 $7,284,000 of the general fund--federal appropriation are provided

5 solely for health care benefits for home care workers who are employed

6 through state contracts for at least twenty hours per week. Premium

7 payments for individual provider home care workers shall be made only

8 to the subsidized basic health plan, and only for persons with incomes

9 below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Home care agencies may

10 obtain coverage either through the basic health plan or through an

11 alternative plan with substantially equivalent benefits.

WEDNESDAY,  JANUARY 28
State lawmakers unanimously urge federal UI benefit extension

The State House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution this week urging President Bush and Congress to extend and make retroactive the federal temporary unemployment compensation program they have allowed to lapse. The vote was a noteworthy rebuke from state Republican legislators of their president and congressional leaders who let the program lapse Dec. 21, saying it is unnecessary at a time when they insist the economy is improving.

HJM 4031, passed on a 95-0 vote Monday, cites the more than 1 million unemployed workers expected to exhaust their regular unemployment benefits in the first quarter of 2004, including more than 25,000 in Washington state.

"Federal temporary extended unemployment compensation benefits helped these hard-working people and their families put food on the table and pay their bills while they looked for work... (and) injected cash into troubled economies throughout the nation and in Washington," reads HJM 4031. "If (benefits) are not extended, workers and their families will suffer severe economic hardships and states such as Washington will be deprived of this crucial economic boost."

But President Bush's State of the Union address last week conspicuously failed to call on Congress to restore the program of federal jobless benefits.  Instead, the White House and congressional leaders remain strictly opposed to the extension program, despite record long-term joblessness and last month's meager job growth.

The opposition of congressional leaders was again on display last week as Congress reconvened following the holiday recess.  Republican leaders of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate rejected efforts on the part of Democratic lawmakers to take up the extension legislation.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has helped lead the fight in the U.S. Senate to extend the benefits.

"Despite the rosy projections of economic growth and recovery from the Administration, too many Americans are continuing to suffer in this economy," Murray said. "Since January 2001, 75,000 manufacturing workers in our state have lost their jobs and their health benefits. And three out of four workers are exhausting their benefits before they find a job. Hopeful predictions for the future do not help those who are hurting today."

In the U.S. House of Representatives, 200 members have signed a "discharge petition" requiring a simple up or down vote on both the Democratic and Republican-sponsored House bills (218 signatures are required to mandate a House vote). But House Republican Leader Tom DeLay (D-Texas) rejected efforts to force a vote last week, stating "it is clear to the majority that the best employment program is to keep growing jobs and paychecks instead of extending and expanding federal programs."

So are Washington's congressional Republicans unable -- or just unwilling -- to convince their leaders to allow a fair vote on the benefit extension?  All of Washington's Democratic congressional delegation have signed the discharge petition to force a vote on the issue, but none of the Republicans -- including Senate candidate Rep. George Nethercutt (R-5th) -- have signed the petition.

TUESDAY,  JANUARY 27
Special House hearing TONIGHT on right to organize unions

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, includes the right to join a union. Likewise, U.S. law says Americans have the right to join a union, free from threat, intimidation and coercion by their employer. But that law and that human right are routinely denied across the nation, and in Washington state.

At a special hearing Tuesday night, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. in JLOB Hearing Room C, the House Commerce and Labor Committee will hear testimony from Washington workers who say their human rights were violated when their employer illegally interfered with their right to join a union. The committee will consider acting on HB 2926, which would allow the state Human Rights Commission to investigate employers accused of denying workers the basic human right to join a union, and HJM 4037, which would petition Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

Union members and supporters are encouraged to attend this public hearing and support the right to organize.

The EFCA, introduced in November, articulates the kind of labor law reform necessary to restore the right to join unions. It would allow employees to freely choose whether to form unions by signing cards authorizing representation; provide mediation and arbitration for first contract disputes; and establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union. The EFCA currently has 26 co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate (S. 1925), including U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and 134 co-sponsors in the House (H.R. 3619), including every Democratic member of Washington's delegation.

Among the speakers at Tuesday night's hearing will be:

Woody Bebout was an employee of Skagit Harley-Davidson when he and his co-workers decided to organize a union. In a single day, they obtained all the signatures necessary. As soon at the NLRB notified the employer of their petition, the company hired a union-busting attorney from Vermont and began a 5-week campaign of anti-union propaganda, forced one-on-one meetings and intimidation. But on Oct. 7 when all 21 employees voted, the union won, 11-10. It turned out to be a Pyrrhic victory. On Oct. 8, a lot worker was laid off. On Oct. 9, a clerk was fired allegedly because her hair was wet and another clerk's hours were cut in half. On Oct. 11, at the end of the workday, Woody was told his job had been eliminated. All of the laid-off workers were union supporters. Other union supporters have been laid off in the weeks since, including a mechanic who was told he was not qualified after already working on Harleys for several months. Today, only 2 or 3 of the original 11 who voted for the union are left, and Woody believes their days are numbered.

Linda Wolfe, an X-ray technician at Providence St. Peter’s Hospital in Olympia for 13 years, decided to support organizing a union at her workplace because of concerns over short-staffing. In response, she says the hospital created an atmosphere of fear and distrust by circulating anti-union literature and conducting one-on-one meetings with supervisors, where some reported threats of wage cuts if workers voted for the union. Break rooms were designated "work areas" so employees couldn't talk in favor of the union or distribute its literature. A few days before the election, the hospital shut down an entire department to hold a captive-audience meeting opposing the union. The union has since filed NLRB Unfair Labor Practice charges, delaying the election.

Eric Nicholson of the United Farm Workers will describe unionization efforts at Threemile Canyon Farms (TCF) in Boardman, Ore., the largest dairy in the Northwest. Since February 2003, TCF workers have been seeking to improve their working conditions. In June 2003, Oregon Occupational Health and Safety Administration cited the dairies for 12 violations, 11 of which were classified as serious. The workers have chosen the UFW as their union, but their efforts and choices have been met by coercion and intimidation.

Linda Gruen worked for Wal-Mart and experienced first-hand the notorious tactics used by that corporation to prevent its employees from organizing unions.

Unfortunately, these workers' stories are common. Employers and the multi-billion dollar union avoidance consulting industry routinely threaten, harass and fire workers who express their interest in organizing a union at their workplace. Though the law is supposed to protect them, employers have discovered that the wheels of justice turn so slowly and NLRB elections and decisions can be delayed for so long, that these laws can be violated with relative impunity.

That's why the Washington State Labor Council urges passage of both HB 2926 and HJM 4037.

MONDAY,  JANUARY 26
No more excuses: Tell legislators to fund home-care contract

Some 26,000 home care workers help the elderly and disabled in Washington state live with dignity in their own homes. They also save taxpayers millions by keeping our elderly out of more expensive nursing homes. 

But home care workers earn only $8.43 an hour with no benefits. Turnover is high, and the quality of care suffers. And that's why Washington voters in 2001 overwhelmingly passed Initiative 775 granting these workers the right to collectively bargain with the state. Home-care workers subsequently voted to do just that, organize a union: Service Employees International Union Local 775.

Last year, after home-care workers successfully negotiated a first contract with the Home Care Quality Authority, the legislature rejected funding for the contract as they dealt with a dramatic revenue shortfall.  Some legislators argued that we can't afford it -- even as they continued to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in business tax breaks.  They ignored the fact that improving home care quality will save them money on costly nursing home care.

But other legislators cited specific contract provisions that led to their opposition last year. So, in good faith, the home care workers went back to the bargaining table and renegotiated their contract.  The cost has been cut in half -- while still providing home-care workers with health care and workers' compensation coverage for the first time -- and concerns raised by critics last year have been addressed.  As a result, unlike last year, full funding of the contract is included in the governor's supplemental budget proposal.

TAKE ACTION:  It's time to stop making excuses and stop forcing tens of thousands of caregivers to live in dire poverty because they care for the most vulnerable people in our society.  Please visit SEIU 775's GetActive campaign to send an e-mail -- which you are encouraged to edit and personalize -- to your legislators with the click of a button.  The e-mail urges them to honor and fully fund the home care workers union contract.

Please also urge your family, friends and co-workers to send this important message to their legislators. Thank you for taking a moment to help home-care workers get a fair contract.

MONDAY,  JANUARY 26
SPEEA ready to fight for employees if Boeing sells Wichita plant

The following press release was distributed Sunday by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, IFPTE Local 2001:

WICHITA, KS - Plans by The Boeing Company to sell its Wichita plant underscores the benefit of union representation and the power of collective bargaining to ensure shareholder concerns are balanced by employee and community interests when plants are sold or work and employees are outsourced.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001, is preparing a formal request for copies of the internal, management document cited in a copyrighted story in the Sunday (Jan. 25) edition of The Seattle Times. According to the Times, the document outlines plans to sell the Wichita plant and others as Boeing strives to become "leaner."

While Boeing has not talked with SPEEA officials about the plan, rumors of sales are commonplace among employees. In recent weeks, rumors of possible plans to sell the Wichita plant surfaced again.

"Boeing must acknowledge and negotiate the effects any sale would have on represented employees in Wichita or anywhere else," said Charles Bofferding, executive director of SPEEA. "SPEEA will be involved in the process to ensure that employees' and the community's interests are represented and protected."

Boeing sold its Spokane, Washington plant to Triumph Composite Systems, Inc. in 2002. The aerospace giant is currently negotiating the sale of a plant in Irving, Texas. In both cases, SPEEA pursued "effects" bargaining for employees - meaning that, for union represented employees, Boeing must negotiate the impact of a sale on employees and their jobs and careers. Without union protection the experience for workers has been harsh. The day Boeing announced the sale of its electronics plant in Corinth, Texas, 86 employees were dismissed immediately.

"The law also requires any new employer to negotiate a contract with the unions," Bofferding said. "We will make sure the law is followed to protect the interests of employees and the communities where they live."

SPEEA and Boeing were scheduled to open main table talks Monday (Jan. 26) to negotiate a new three-year contract for 3,500 employees in the Wichita Technical and Professional Unit (WTPU). Union officials informed Boeing on Friday (Jan. 24) that the talks will open Feb. 13, the day following a recertification vote for the bargaining unit.

"Our governing council and our WTPU Negotiation Team voted unanimously to postpone main table negotiations until Feb. 13 and that's what we are doing." said Bob Brewer, SPEEA's Midwest director. The contract expires Feb. 19.

Employees at Boeing Wichita organized the WTPU bargaining unit in 2000. At the time, it was the largest employee organizing effort in the United States in more than a decade.

SPEEA, IFPTE Local 2001, AFL-CIO, represents 20,000 technical and professional workers at Boeing in seven states.