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 February 2-6, 2004

Previous weeks' news: Jan. 26-30 -- Jan. 20-22 -- Jan. 12-16

FRIDAY, February 6 -- WSLC Legislative Update: The politics of workers' comp
...plus -- Our workers' compensation system a model for other states (Rick Bender column)
...plus -- Advocate for union rights, health care resolutions at caucuses
...plus -- Picketers needed again this weekend at Safeways in Seattle
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- Union (UFW) backs plan to aid asparagus industry
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Union (WCIW) says new owner to keep Boise's Yakima mill open
...plus -- Study says tree thinners, their children at greater risk of pesticide exposure
— In today's Olympian -- Judge will review unfair labor practice charges at St. Peter's Hospital
...plus -- Ballot likely spot for $1 billion penny-for-your-schools tax plan
...plus -- Brewery's "for sale" sign still up, for now; All-American, Miller mum on status of deal
— In today's Everett Herald -- 767 tanker deal grounded again; new reviews could take until May
— In yesterday's Longview Daily News -- Schools should not lose with 57% of the vote (editorial)
...plus -- Levy failures don't sway GOP senators blocking attempts to change supermajority rule
— In today's Oregonian -- Bill to drop Washington's supermajority for schools goes to Senate
— In today's Salem S-J -- Oregon's state employees brace for fallout from tax hike's failure
Today at AFLCIO.org -- House passes jobless aid; workers wait for action from Bush, Senate
— In today's L.A. Times -- Formal grocery talks (first in 7 weeks) expected soon with mediator
— In today's Washington Post -- Budget envisions long-term cuts -- Bush's plan to cut the deficit in half envisions an unprecedented long-term spending clampdown that would continue well beyond 2005 for hundreds of popular domestic programs, according to an unpublished White House document.
— Today from Reuters -- U.S. job growth in January disappoints (again)
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Gephardt throws his support to Sen. Kerry

THURSDAY, February 5 -- There's reason for hope at Darigold following silent march
...plus -- Advocate for health care, union rights resolutions at caucuses
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Teamsters, WestFarm hopeful about end to lockout
— In today's Seattle Times -- SEIU targets multiple fronts with political savvy -- The Justice for Janitors campaign has taken a page from the corporate playbook -- attacking foes simultaneously through organized media blitzes, litigation and pressure on a company's customers and suppliers. 
It has been a tremendous success.
— In today's News Tribune -- Tying wages to CPI locks in unintended consequences (op-ed)
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Locke urges 1-cent sales tax hike raising $1 billion for schools (AP)
— In today's Olympian -- Teachers union (WEA) says voters likely won't back plan
— Today from Reuters -- Rumsfeld sees wrongdoing in Boeing tanker talks
— In today's King County Journal -- Employees: Boeing execs sin, we sign -- Boeing workers have been asked to sign an ethics Code of Conduct ("Loyalty Oath"). Some think it's funny, some don't.
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Fircrest gets safety violations, could lose its federal funding
...plus -- Binding arbitration no good for teachers (op-ed by a teacher)
— In today's Everett Herald -- U.S. workers anticipate more cuts in retirement benefits (AP)
Today at AFLCIO.org -- Sweeney: After House vote, now it's up to Bush to extend jobless aid
— In today's Washington Post -- House backs extended jobless benefits -- Senate candidate Rep. George Nethercutt (R-5th) among the 39 Republicans to break ranks with Bush and party leaders.
— In today's L.A. Times -- Supermarkets reject union bid for binding arbitration -- A proposal by union leaders to end the strike and submit their contract dispute to binding arbitration fell flat when grocery companies rejected the offer, crushing the hopes of many striking and locked-out workers.
— In today's S.F. Chronicle -- Arbitration rejected as supermarkets playing hardball on health benefits
— In today's Washington Post -- New York City Council passes anti-Patriot Act measure -- The site of the country's most horrific terrorist attack becomes the latest in a long list of cities that have formally opposed the expanded investigatory powers granted to law enforcement agencies.

WEDNESDAY, February 4 -- Charter schools bill resurrected; tell legislators to kill it (again)
— In the Seattle Times -- Charter schools: An underperforming distraction (op-ed by WEA's Hasse)
Don't forget -- March TODAY in Seattle as church leaders call for end of Darigold lockout
— In today's Seattle Times -- Mueller resigns as Darigold president and CEO as lockout continues
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Deccio should resign as chairman; session should move on (editorial)
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Where the state's working poor live: Far from cities
— In today's King County Journal -- County Sheriff Dave Reichart looks to Dunn's seat
— In today's Seattle Times -- John Carlson says he'll skip campaign for Congress in Dunn's 8th
— In today's News Tribune -- Legislators pander to state labor with protectionist rules -- Column by Richard Davis, president of the Washington Research Council, a 2-men-and-a-secretary think tank. Davis would prefer that our state government spend our tax dollars creating outsourced jobs overseas if workers here can't "compete."  Memo to Corporate Washington: maybe your state lobbying dollars would be better spent on a cheaper overseas think tank. (For more on Davis' weak invocation of the P-word, see today's USAToday: Unpopular argument: Sending tech jobs abroad is good.)
— In today's Olympian -- Boeing announces 300 layoffs at San Antonio facility -- Even right-to-work states like Texas and Kansas aren't competitive enough for the Chicago-based company. It plans to contract out the jobs of people like John Graham, a fuel-tank mechanic, who says his layoff will be 19 days before he would have vested in Boeing's pension and benefits plan.
— In today's Oregonian -- Voters trounce tax hike measure despite Oregon's budget woes
At AFLCIO.org -- Industrial Union Council members plan to hold lawmakers accountable
— Today from Reuters -- Democrats, labor rally in D.C. for manufacturing jobs
...plus -- Grocery workers plan Wall Street protest as SoCal strike/lockout drags on
— In today's Washington Post -- Rising anti-Bush sentiment driving democrats to the polls
...plus -- Defense, Homeland Security proceed with pay and personnel reorganizations
...plus -- Bush lists programs it wants cut -- Including $1.58 billion in local law enforcement grants, $800 million from Homeland Security first responders, $350 million in training money for health care professionals and farmworkers, and cutting the $1.49 billion election reform budget to $65 million.
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Sex, lies and Bush on tape -- Op-ed: If Bush were a genuine conservative, he might cut taxes, but he would cut spending to match. If he were an honest liberal, he might increase spending, and taxes as well. Instead, the president is inviting us out for a wild night on the town and leaving us -- and our children -- with the bill.

TUESDAY, February 3 -- At Boeing's urging, Bush poised to take away veterans' OT pay
...plus -- Boeing violates NLRB by promoting non-union bonuses, SPEEA charges
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- SPEEA claims Boeing violated bonus settlement (AP)
— In yesterday's Walla Walla U-B -- Tax breaks should be linked to jobs -- Editorial: Offering tax breaks is an investment... The state needs to be smart about this investment and hold those benefiting from tax breaks accountable. No jobs, no tax breaks.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Enrollments in state's Basic Health Plan questioned -- "Wal-Mart bill" would force big business that don't offer affordable health benefits to help pay for the state's BHP.
...plus -- McDermott calls for rescinding screening promotions at SeaTac -- What has denying union rights and protections to airport screeners in the name of "flexibility" for Homeland Security™ gotten us? Corruption, cronyism, angry workers, high turnover, and ultimately, weaker security.  Discuss.
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Smaller firms seek legislation to allow stripped-down health plans
...plus -- GOP fears it might not be able to keep seat vacated by Rep. Dunn
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Spokane-area firefighters march to protest Millwood layoff
— In today's King County Journal -- Kemper Freeman files roads initiative to pave more, maintain less
Today at AFLCIO.org -- Bush FY 2005 budget shortchanges America's workers
— In today's Washington Post -- Bogus budgeting -- Editorial: The Bush administration's 2005 budget is a masterpiece of disingenuous blame-shifting, dishonest budgeting and irresponsible governing.
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Another bogus budget -- Krugman op-ed: When Bush promises much lower deficits in future years, remember this: two years ago it projected a fiscal 2004 deficit of only $14 billion (not the $521 billion deficit we got). The prime cause of giant budget deficits is a plunge in the federal government's tax take, which fell from 20.9 percent of G.D.P. in fiscal 2000 to a projected 15.7 percent this year, the lowest share since 1950.
...plus -- More companies limiting health coverage of retirees
— In today's L.A. Times -- Gov. Schwarzenegger willing to intervene in grocery strike
— Today from AP -- Dean's labor backers concerned about lack of wins, but sticking with him

MONDAY, February 2 -- Church leaders call for end of Darigold lockout; march Wednesday
— In Saturday's Seattle Times -- Seattle School Board will not take stand on Darigold after all
...plus -- Tech industry on track for extended R&D tax breaks -- House "compromise" passed Friday takes insufficient baby steps on disclosure and accountability. Firms  that get the tax breaks will have to file reports disclosing how many employees they have, how many are in Washington, and the ranges of their wage and benefits. But those reports will be kept secret as trade secrets. Only the names of companies and the amount of tax breaks they receive will be public.
— In Sunday's Columbian -- High-tech tax break advances in House
— In Sunday's Spokesman-Review -- Lawmakers wrangle over tax breaks; more disclosure sought
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Commerce Committee considers workers' compensation
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Bill would penalize big companies not offering health insurance (AP)
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Small firms want health care but is cure worse than disease? (AP)
— In Saturday's Seattle Times -- Kaiser Aluminum, retired steelworkers reach pact on benefits
— In Saturday's Spokesman-Review -- Staff (AFSCME) protests county no-smoking policy
— In Sunday's Everett Herald -- GOP pays lip service to idea of party rights (Darrell Chapman op-ed)
— In Saturday's Seattle Times -- Dunn says she'll retire ... and Sunday -- GOP abuzz over Dunn exit
...plus -- Grocery strike puts pressure on Safeway CEO to pack it up (AP)
— In Saturday's Oregonian -- Protest against chief executive of Safeway comes to Portland
— In today's Washington Post -- Deficit is $521 billion in new Bush budget
...plus -- Deficit puts brakes on highway spending -- Read: Huge tax breaks for wealthy and $534-and- counting billion Medicare giveaway to drug companies/insurers means no money for fixing roads.

Previous weeks' news: Jan. 26-30 -- Jan. 20-22 -- Jan. 12-16

THURSDAY,  FEBRUARY 5
Picketers needed again this weekend at Safeways in Seattle
Rally and more picketing planned next week on Tuesday

On Wednesday, the hopes of 70,000 striking and locked-out grocery workers in Southern California were crushed when negotiators for Safeway and supermarkets rejected a proposal by union leaders to end the strike and submit their contract dispute to binding arbitration. Now there's no end in sight for the United Food and Commercial Workers union members, many of whom have run through savings and lost cars and homes during the 4-month work stoppage. 

But these workers are still determined to "hold the line on health care" and not give in to management demands that would eventually raise health premiums to $95 per week, making them unaffordable for many grocery workers. The supermarkets also want to institute a two-tier compensation system under which new hires would earn less and receive fewer benefits.

Here in Seattle last weekend, some 90 union members and supporters came out and picketed Safeway stores in the Ballard area to show solidarity with the Southern California workers.  We need more volunteers to picket again this weekend.  We need to demonstrate our solidarity with California UFCW members and send a strong message to Safeway management that they better not bring their aggressive labor strategy up to Washington state, where contracts expires for some 30,000 Puget Sound-area UFCW members in early May.

Please spend an hour or two (or five) picketing between noon and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the following three 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

Next week, there will be a rally on Tuesday, Feb. 10 beginning at 5 p.m. at St. Mark's Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. East, on Seattle's Capitol Hill. It will be followed by more picketing outside two Safeway stores in Capitol Hill until 7 p.m.

Also, we are looking for union locals and community organizations willing to "adopt a store" for future pickets.  If you are interested, please contact Bob Gorman at (206) 448-4888.

THURSDAY,  FEBRUARY 5
There's reason for hope at Darigold following silent march

More than 200 church leaders, community activists and union supporters silently marched holding candles outside the corporate offices of WestFarm Foods/Darigold on Wednesday to call for an end to the 5-month lockout of workers at their Seattle and Issaquah dairy facilities. As negotiations resume today, union and management negotiators are expressing optimism a settlement can be reached.

The Rev. Sanford Brown, Executive Director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, presented a representative of WestFarm Foods with more than 1,000 petitions from church and community leaders Wednesday calling for an end to the lockout which began Aug. 30.  WestFarm, a dairy farmers’ cooperative producing products under the brand name Darigold, locked out more than 200 workers represented by Teamsters Local 66, replacing them with scabs to keep the plants open.

The petitions were intended for WestFarm/Darigold CEO John Mueller, who earlier this week announced he will resign his position effective the end of March for what he says are personal reasons unrelated to the dispute. Union negotiators consider that development a hopeful sign.

But there is even more reason for optimism as negotiations resume today under the guidance of a federal mediator. The company now says it sees reason for hope after being presented with a new contract proposal by the union during their last meeting in January.

"There are several issues that we are interested in discussing that have been brought up by the union, and we hope that these discussions will pave the way for an overall agreement," Bill Anderson, WestFarm's vice president for legal affairs, said in a statement.

In the meantime, locked-out workers continue to struggle to meet basic family needs as they collect a $200-a-week strike benefit from the union.

"I hope that tomorrow will be the beginning of the end," the Rev. Brown told a Seattle P-I reporter at Wednesday's march.

Dairgold products are on the AFL-CIO's national boycott list. Until the lockout ends and these union members return to work with a fair contract, the AFL-CIO urges all union members and supporters to continue to avoid all Darigold dairy products. The Greater Church Council of Seattle recently endorsed labor's boycott of Darigold dairy products and has begun promoting the boycott at its 450 member churches.

THURSDAY,  FEBRUARY 5
Advocate for health care, union rights resolutions at caucuses

Although the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is a non-partisan organization and does not officially endorse either party -- and the AFL-CIO has not yet endorsed a candidate -- the WSLC is urging union members as individuals to get involved in the presidential candidate selection process. The Democratic Precinct Caucuses this Saturday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m (visit wa-democrats.org for details on where your caucus is) are an opportunity to do just that, and also to promote platform discussions and policies that shape the direction of the Democratic Party.

That's why the WSLC urges union members and other supporters to attend Saturday's caucuses and seek passage of two important resolutions in support the principles of the Health Care for Washington Workers (HCWW) bill in Washington and the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) before Congress.

The HCWW, HB 2785, would require large businesses that don’t offer affordable health care to pay a fee-per-employee to help fund the state's Basic Health Plan.  It also would provide small businesses with premium assistance and other ways to help them afford health benefits for their employees. (Click here for more information on the bill.)

RESOLUTION ON HEALTH CARE FOR WASHINGTON WORKERS

Whereas, we have a health care financing system that is largely based on employer financing of the cost of health care insurance for their employees and the dependents of their employees, and

Whereas, there are a number of large employers who fail to provide health care coverage for their employees thereby achieving an unfair competitive advantage over employers who do provide health care coverage, and

Whereas, some of these employers encourage the use publicly financed health care programs  by their employees thereby shifting the cost of health care coverage to the general taxpayers, and

Whereas, there are over 140,000 residents of Washington who work for large employers and are uninsured, and

Whereas, the uninsured, by necessity, still receive health care services which in many cases is uncompensated and leads to cost shifting which increases the cost of health care insurance for all residents of Washington, and

Whereas, emergency rooms are becoming primary care facilities for the uninsured causing unnecessary expense and delays in critical care to patients, therefore be it resolved that

The Washington State Democratic Party hereby goes on record supporting efforts to provide health care for Washington workers by requiring employers of 50 or more employees to either provide health care coverage or pay a fee to the Health Care Authority that would amount to 80% of the cost of the BHP. The fees paid by the employer would be used to provide workers of these employers and the dependents of these workers  health care coverage through the BHP, and be it finally resolved that,

The Washington State Democratic Party support using any savings achieved by forcing these large employers to no longer used the taxpayer funded health care programs to help subsidize health care coverage for employees of small employers.

The Employee Free Choice Act articulates the kind of labor law reform necessary to level the playing field for American workers and restore their right to organize unions free from employer intimidation and harassment.  It would allow card check to be the means of union certification, provide for first contract mediation and arbitration, and establish real penalties (treble damages) for failure of employers to bargain in good faith. (Click here for more information on the EFCA.)

When presenting the following resolution at your caucus, feel free to note that every Democrat in Washington state's congressional delegation -- both U.S. Senators and six U.S. Representatives -- have signed onto the EFCA as co-sponsors.

RESOLUTION ON THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT

Whereas, In 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which included the right to organize a union and to collectively bargain as a basic human right; and

Whereas, Surveys of workers show that forty-two million nonunion workers would like to join a union, but cite the principal reason that they don’t have a union is employer anti-union activities; and

Whereas, According to the 2000 Human Rights Watch report, workers rights to form and join a unions are increasingly eroded in the United States, by the failure of federal labor laws to provide adequate, timely, and just remedies for violations; and

Whereas, Federal law allows an employers to refuse to recognize a union even when all of its workers have signed union authorization cards; and

Whereas, Even after workers win union certification elections, one-third of the time there is no union contract in place two years after the victory; and

Whereas, Federal law provides no effective remedy for the failure of an employer to bargain in good faith; and

Whereas, the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation before congress, allows card check to be the means of union certification, provides for first contract mediation and arbitration, and establishes real penalties (treble damages) for failure of employers to bargain in good faith; now, therefore be it resolved that

The Washington State Democratic Party hereby go on record to protect worker rights to organize and collectively bargain by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act S. 1925 and H.R. 3619, including this in the state democratic platform and forwarding this resolution to the President and to Congress.

WEDNESDAY,  FEBRUARY 4
Charter schools bill resurrected; tell legislators to kill it (again)

A bill to allow charter schools in Washington state -- which is opposed by the Washington State Labor Council -- was rejected last month in a 4-7 vote of the House Education Committee. But in a stunning abuse of the open-government process, the committee last Thursday resurrected the bill with no notice of public hearing and passed it.

The House Education Committee, when finished with its announced meeting Thursday, moved to another room (without cameras or microphones), convened an executive session, and proceeded to discuss a substitute version of HB 2295, which had been defeated on Jan. 22. Several written amendments were proposed and three passed, including an oral amendment not available in writing to the representatives or the public. The amended bill then passed.

The League of Women Voters released a statement saying: "The LWV believes in an open governmental system that is representative, accountable and responsive; one that assures opportunities for citizen participation in government decision-making. The manner in which this bill passed met neither of those tenants."

Some of the organizations opposed to the measure are so angry about the abuse of process that happened last week that they have threatened to file an initiative to repeal any charter legislation that passes the legislature. Washington voters have repeatedly rejected initiatives authorizing charter schools.

The WSLC opposes charter schools because they are a counterproductive distraction from what should be the state's focus: addressing the K-12 financing crisis and restoring the state's obligation to provide quality public schools. In addition, classified employees of new charter schools are restricted from joining their local school district's bargaining unit, creating unit fragmentation and therefore discouraging the unionization of those employees.

TAKE ACTION:  Please contact your state representatives on the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and leave a message for them to Vote "No" on HB 2295, the charter school bill, not only because the manner in which it passed the Education Committee is bad government, but because it is bad legislation.

TUESDAY,  FEBRUARY 3
At Boeing's urging, Bush poised to take away veterans' OT pay

At the urging of the Boeing Co., among other corporations, America's 26 million veterans are among those who could lose their right to time-and-a-half overtime pay if President Bush follows through with his plan to defy the will of Congress and impose new overtime regulations later this month.

Buried in one paragraph in the middle of the proposed new overtime rules is a change that explicitly mandates "training in the armed forces" could be the basis for an employer to decide some workers shouldn't get overtime pay.

A report in last week's Seattle Times indicated that the Boeing Co. wrote Bush's Labor Department last June saying it "strongly supports" revising the rules to classify employees who had received military training as "learned experts" who could be denied to overtime pay.

Bush's overtime pay plan includes the language: "Exemption [from overtime pay rights] is also available to employees in such professions who have substantially the same knowledge level as the degreed employees, but who attained such knowledge through a combination of work experience, training in the armed forces, attending a technical school, attending a community college or other intellectual instruction." (Federal Register Vol. 68, No. 61. 541.301.d) Even in the technical jargon of employment law, the intention and impact is clear: If you received training in the military (or, really, any training) you could lose your right to earn overtime pay.

Despite bipartisan votes in both the U.S. House and Senate, the Bush administration has indicated it plans to implement the overtime pay changes before March 1.

TAKE ACTION:  This may be our last opportunity to urge Bush to abandon this overtime pay proposal. Please "sign" the online petition at www.saveovertimepay.org urging Bush to drop his proposed overtime pay takeaway.  So far, more than 360,000 people have signed the petition opposing this cut in workers' paychecks. Please also forward this message to your friends, family and co-workers asking them to sign the petition.

"The changes that this administration is trying to make in the overtime regulations would break the government's bargain with the men and women in the military and would close down opportunities that working vets and their families thought they could count on," said Randy Fleming of Haysville, Kan., a 23-year Boeing Co. employee and a six-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

"There is nothing in the rule to stop employers from abusing this loophole," wrote Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in a Jan. 29 letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. "Veterans in a range of occupations would be vulnerable to loss of overtime protection, including those who work in engineering, accounting, law enforcement and architecture; and those who work as medical technologists, radiological technicians, nurses, physicians assistants, culinary artists, surveyors, mapping scientists, financial professionals, human resource professionals, scientists, pharmacists, therapists, management analysts, librarians and psychologists."

Cantwell joined Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) -- and every other Democrat in Washington's congressional delegation -- in voting to block President Bush from implementing the overtime takeaway. U.S. Senate candidate Rep. George Nethercutt (R-5th) voted twice in favor of Bush's overtime pay takeaway, as did Rep. Richard "Doc" Hastings (R-4th) and retiring Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-8th).

But at President Bush's urging, Republican congressional leaders refused to include the language blocking the OT takeaway in the recently passed omnibus spending bill -- despite its bipartisan passage in both houses of Congress. That means Bush is free to implement the overtime takeaway at any time.

Learn more about Bush's overtime pay takeaway at www.aflcio.org/yourjobeconomy/overtimepay.

TUESDAY,  FEBRUARY 3
SPEEA: Boeing violates NLRB by promoting nonunion bonuses

The following press release was distributed Monday afternoon by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001:

WICHITA, KS - The Boeing Company violated a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) settlement agreement by promoting a program that awards cash bonuses to non-union employees but not to employees represented by a labor union, according to an unfair labor practice charge filed Friday (Jan. 30) by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001.

The charge is based on a September settlement with Boeing and SPEEA regarding the way the company promotes the Employee Incentive Plan (EIP). Created in January 2001 after technical and professional employees in Wichita organized into a new SPEEA bargaining unit, the EIP is issued only to non-union employees. On Thursday (Jan 29), immediately following the release of Boeing's annual earnings, the company announced the 2004 EIP will pay the equivalent of 8 days pay to non-union employees. The announcement comes just two weeks before 3,500 employees at Boeing's Wichita plant vote on whether to keep or remove SPEEA as their union.

SPEEA filed the Unfair Labor Practice charges with the NLRB Region 19 office in Seattle.

"The timing of this latest announcement is not by accident or coincidence," said Charles Bofferding, executive director of SPEEA. "The ULP charges are filed to hold Boeing accountable to the NLRB and to employees who believed their company would stick to its agreement."

In the settlement, Boeing said that it would not "issue statements that eligibility in our bonus program known as the Employee Incentive Plan ("EIP") is limited to employees who are 'nonunion.'"

Last week's announcement of the EIP said: "More than 85,000 nonunion employees worldwide who participated in the 2003 Employee Incentive Plan will receive 8.0 days of incentive pay for contributing to company performance last year."  The statement described the payment as one that rewards a "key group of stakeholders" for their "tremendous commitment to making this company successful during a very tough year." 

Last year's EIP announcement was tied to an advertising campaign that showed different Boeing employees with large purchases made possible by the bonus. The communications went to nonunion employees and the union employees who did not receive checks.

During recent contract negotiations, Boeing negotiators said they were "prohibited" from talking about the EIP, reaffirming its status as a nonunion employee benefit.

"If the EIP is a reward for employees, than all employees should receive a check," Bofferding said. "The EIP is a very divisive issue in the workplace. It hurts employee morale and it's hurting the long-term success of Boeing."

Boeing's contract with SPEEA for the Wichita Technical and Professional Unit (WTPU) expires Feb. 19. The two sides start main table talks on Feb. 13 to negotiate a new three-year agreement for 3,500 employees in the WTPU.

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

MONDAY,  FEBRUARY 2
Church leaders call for end of Darigold/WestFarm lockout
Attend silent march In Seattle Wednesday outside the company's corporate offices

All union members, community supporters and people of faith are invited to join the Rev. Sanford Brown, Executive Director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, and several other Puget Sound-area church leaders for a silent march beginning at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, in front of the Darigold/WestFarm Foods corporate offices, 635 Elliott Ave. West, in Seattle.

Since Aug. 30, some 200 workers in Issaquah and Seattle represented by Teamsters Local 66 have been locked out of their jobs by WestFarm Foods, a dairy farmers’ cooperative that produces dairy products under the brand name Darigold. The company has fired drivers, subcontracted union jobs and hired scab replacement workers to keep the plants open. The AFL-CIO has added Darigold to the national boycott list and urges all union members and supporters to avoid all Darigold dairy products.

At Wednesday's silent march, the Rev. Brown will personally deliver to Darigold CEO John Mueller a thousand signed petitions from local church and civic leaders calling for Darigold to return to the negotiating table and lift the lockout now in its 5th month.

The Greater Church Council of Seattle recently endorsed labor's boycott of Darigold dairy products and has begun promoting the boycott at its 450 member churches. Following is a press release distributed by the Church Council of Greater Seattle:

The Church Council of Greater Seattle has joined in the growing groundswell of public opinion against the lockout of union workers from the local Darigold plants and has endorsed the boycott of Darigold products.  As well as giving its unanimous endorsement to the boycott, the board of the Church Council urged WestFarm foods,  Darigold’s parent corporation, to return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith toward a fair settlement.  The council’s executive director, the Rev. Dr. Sanford Brown, will immediately begin promoting the boycott among the 450 member churches of the local ecumenical body.

In the words of Dr. Brown, “Darigold has been a trusted local brand for many years, but I’m sad to see it turn against its workers lately.  Since Darigold refuses to negotiate in good faith with its workers, we have no alternative but to encourage people to purchase other brands.  Companies must earn the public trust by treating their workers in a responsible and respectful fashion. We cannot support a company that seeks to eliminate the duly constituted collective bargaining rights of its workers.”  Brown noted that many of the locked out Darigold workers have been with the company for over 20 years.

Churches have long supported collective bargaining rights for workers.  For instance, the United Methodist Social Principles (Book of Discipline, 2000, p. 113-4) state, “We support the right of public and private employees to organize for collective bargaining. . . . . Further, we support the right of both parties to protection in so doing and their responsibility to bargain in good faith within the framework of the public interest. . . . .  .We reject the permanent replacement of a worker who engages in a lawful strike.”

This opinion is shared by other denominations as well.  The U.S. Roman Catholic bishops wrote in 1996 (“A Catholic Framework of Economic Life,” 1996), "All people have the right to economic initiative, to productive work, to just wages and benefits to decent working conditions, as well as to organize and join unions or other associations."  These rights are also affirmed by the American Baptist Church (American Baptist Churches Resolution, 1981), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Resolution of the ELCA Church-wide Assembly, 1991), the Episcopal Church (A pastoral message from the Urban Bishops Coalition of the Episcopal Church, Labor Day 1982), the Christian Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (Discipline of the CME Church, 1982), the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (Resolution on the Church and Labor, Disciples of Christ, 1938), the Presbyterian Church (USA) (Principles of Vocation and Work, General Assembly Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 1995), and the United Church of Christ (Resolution Affirming Democratic Principles in an Emerging Global Economy, 1997). 

The Church Council encourages members of its affiliated churches to boycott all products manufactured and sold by WestFarm Foods, specifically the Darigold brand, until it returns to the bargaining table and negotiates in good faith with its workers.  The Church Council further encourages its member churches to pray for the Darigold workers who have been locked out of their jobs since September 1^st, 2003, and to pray that WestFarm foods will return to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith.