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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 3-7, 2003

Previous weeks' news: Jan. 21-24 -- Jan. 13-17 -- Jan. 6-10

FRIDAY, Feb. 7 -- WSLC Legislative Update: Commerce and Anti-Labor?
..plus President Bender's column: The Politics of the Minimum Wage Are Back
At WashTech.org -- A tale of two technocracies (re: cheaper H1-B workers taking scarce jobs)
— In today's Seattle P-I -- State budget proposal puts people at risk -- Op-ed by doctor and former GOP Senator: Under Locke's proposal, some of Washington's most vulnerable citizens may die.
...plus -- Spending less sooner is better -- Editorial: Make Locke's budget cuts, the sooner the better.
— In today's Olympian -- Senate GOP highway blueprint eases contracting out, prevailing wage laws
— In today's News Tribune -- Sen. Murray wants "much closer look" at Airbus claims
...plus -- Smallpox vaccines: The dilemma of uncertainty -- Editorial: Although the possibility of bioterrorism can't be quantified, it is real enough that the medical professionals most likely to deal with an outbreak ought to be protected against the deadly disease themselves.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Vaagen Bros. mill closing cuts to the heart of Republic
— In today's Yakima H-R -- WIC: Help for the working poor -- Fully 65% of the babies born in Yakima County use the program, which provides food coupons, health checkups and some other necessary items to women and children living off less than 185% of the federal poverty level.
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Child care costs rise for the poor
— In today's Everett Herald -- Judge declines Eyman bid to stop collection of Sound Transit tax
At FreightUnity.org -- Teamsters, freight companies reach tentative agreement
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Teamsters reach tentative master freight agreement providing raises
— In today's L.A. Times -- SAG, AFTRA unveil plan to consolidate
...plus -- Out the window: Bush budget pushes most of its costs outside the plan's five-year scope -- "We will not pass along our problems to other Congresses, to other presidents, and other generations.'' -- George W. Bush, State of the Union address, Jan. 28, 2003.
— In today's Washington Post -- Bush's war budget -- Dionne column: When democratic nations face foreign policy challenges, their leaders usually pursue domestic policies designed to promote social solidarity and national unity. But stealthy wealth redistribution upward is Bush's domestic theme.
— In today's S.F. Chronicle -- Bush targets evildoing Sloppy Joe eaters invading our schools

THURSDAY, Feb. 6 -- Locke calls ergonomics rule a "win-win" as legislative attacks continue
— In today's Olympian -- Gov. Locke seeks backing for capital budget creating 13,000 jobs
...plus -- Business groups take complaints to Capitol; call for end to ergonomics rule
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Minimum wage brings maximum debate in Olympia
— In today's Seattle Times -- State minimum wage doesn't pay, some say
...plus -- Six hospitals in state opt out of smallpox vaccination program
— In today's News Tribune -- Ball is finally rolling for prescription drug bill (editorial)
...plus -- Aide to state Sen. Roach suspended amid inquiry over rumor Senator pulled a gun
...plus -- Laid-off Weyerhaeuser workers eligible for unemployment, retraining benefits
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Superagency for gridlock proposed (Dept. of Homeland Transportation?)
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- State liquor stores outdated (editorial)
— In yesterday's Columbian -- State's job safety record improves
At AFLCIO.org -- Sweeney statement on 10-year anniversary of Family & Medical Leave Act
...plus -- Sen. Patty Murray marks a decade of FMLA, calls for expansion of Act
— In today's L.A. Times -- AFL-CIO's McEntee: Sen. Kerry is "best chance" against Bush
— Today from AP -- Federal mapping agency the latest to ban collective bargaining
— In today's Washington Post -- Liability fears grow on smallpox inoculations
— In today's N.Y. Times -- U.S. economy in worst hiring slump in 20 years
...plus -- Prosecutors call Tyson Foods' immigrant-smuggling trial a case of "corporate greed"
— In today's S.F. Chronicle -- Embattled security officers' union (SEIU 24/7) begins ad campaign
...plus on Sunday -- Unions' losing streak continues: The pains of labor in Bush's time

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 5 -- UW Harry Bridges Center offers labor lecture series on video
...plus -- Graphic Packaging lockout ends in Michigan; "no comment" on Coors boycott
— In today's Seattle Times -- State pension fund must plug huge hole -- During the next six years, the state will likely have to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into public employee-retirement funds to make up for huge losses on Wall Street.
...plus -- Smallpox vaccine ordered for 4,000 health care workers
— In today's Walla Walla U-B -- State must end practice of public employee double dipping (editorial)
— In today's King County Journal -- A smart move to help trim the state budget (editorial)
— In the new Seattle Weekly -- Frank talks: Times publisher intends to declare, win war with Hearst
— In today's Everett Herald -- Mill Creek signs staff contract after three years of talks
Today at AFLCIO.org -- Industrial union members take manufacturing crisis message to D.C.
— In today's L.A. Times -- SAG, AFTRA may act again to consolidate
— In today's N.Y. Times -- States' budget gaps widen 50% in 2 months; worse outlook since WWII
— In today's Washington Post -- 35 Senate Democrats sign letter opposing federal "outsourcing"
...plus -- In "last resort," American Airlines seeks $1.8 billion in annual cuts from workers
...plus -- Bush budget makes huge revenue gambles on cuts, tax windfalls likely not to materialize

TUESDAY, Feb. 4 -- ACTION ALERT: Tell your State Senator to "Leggo My Ergo"
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Providence Health System to stay clear of smallpox vaccinations
— In today's Seattle P-I -- State health plan at risk; critics say Locke's "bad math" could spell doom
...plus -- King County Executive Ron Sims says he might oppose Locke in 2004
— In today's Olympian -- Rep. George "3-Term" Nethercutt eyes Senate seat, Governor's mansion
— In today's King County Journal -- Associated Grocers lays off 175 (IBT 174)
— In today's Everett Herald -- Mill Creek to vote on staff contract after nearly three years of talks
...plus -- At teachers' request, bus drivers (IBT) drop campaign against levy, bond measures
— In today's News Tribune - Tim Eyman's claims for I-807 don't bolster his credibility (column)
— In today's Salem S-J -- Recent retirees fume over PERS plan that would cost them thousands
...plus -- Teachers unions take Sizemore back to court, ask judge to dissolve his foundation
At AFLCIO.org -- Bush skimping on states, education and jobs, but not on tax cuts to the rich
— In today's N.Y. Times -- The imbalanced budget -- Editorial: It shifts taxes from today's citizens to those of the future. Rather than giving state governments the power to be flexible, it sticks them with the responsibility for delivering the bad news to poor people who'll be denied a health care safety net.
— In today's Washington Post -- Reagan redux: Bush abandons "compassionate conservatism"
...plus -- Business sore about Family Medical Leave Act; want workers to be sicker to use it
— In today's L.A. Times -- Study finds Wal-Mart pay gap; women earn less than men in all pay ranks

MONDAY, Feb. 3 -- WSLC Legislative Update: Now is the time... to pay less?
— In today's Olympian -- Report: State tax codes defective
...plus on Saturday -- Ban on teacher strikes considered
...plus on Thursday -- Teamsters union blasts initial Miller offer on severance pay
— In today's Yakima H-R -- "Retire-rehire" law needs fine-tuning -- Editorial regarding last week's Seattle Times story: State's retire-rehire rules being stretched
— In today's Seattle Times -- Pleasing everyone, prescription drug bill falls short (editorial)
...plus on Saturday -- Ryanair's big 737 order comes at critical time for Boeing
— In Thursday's King County Journal -- Boeing puts a name and face on new jet: "7E7"
...plus today -- Olympia takes on charter schools; supporters say now's the time
— In Sunday's Everett Herald -- Changing how DOT does its business (op-ed by Rep. Mike Cooper)
— In today's News Tribune -- Ideas being floated to save passenger-only ferries
...plus -- Tacoma city employee wages jump 6.4 percent
— In Sunday's Columbian -- BPA brings 380 new jobs to Clark County to upgrade power grid
— In the Seattle Weekly -- A port of no call: Innocent seamen confined aboard visiting cargo ships
At AFLCIO.org -- Sweeney: Pension agency shortfall "bears watching," but protections solid
— At CNN.com -- Bush revamping labor law to deny OT pay to higher wage Americans 
— In today's New York Times -- Bush sends Congress a budget plan with record deficits
— In today's Christian Science Monitor -- Deadly N.C. factory fire raises safety questions in South
— In the American Prospect -- Trading with the low-wage tiger -- What happens to everyone else when China -- with its "inexhaustible reservoir of good, trainable labor," according to one CEO -- sucks up so much of the world's economic growth?

Previous weeks' news: Jan. 21-24 -- Jan. 13-17 -- Jan. 6-10

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Locke calls ergonomics rule a "win-win" as attacks continue

Even as Governor Gary Locke offered a strong vote of confidence Wednesday in the ergonomics rule to protect Washington's workers from musculoskeletal injuries, another Democrat in Olympia was drafting a measure to make the standard merely voluntary just as President Bush and the Republican Congress did with the federal rule.

Senate floor action had been expected Wednesday on SB 5161, a bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla) to repeal the Department of Labor and Industries rule. But the vote has been delayed until next week apparently because Sen. Mark Doumit (D-Cathlamet) says he will offer an amendment to SB 5161 that would make the rule voluntary by removing enforcement mechanisms and offering "employer incentives" to protect their workers from ergonomics-related injury.

Locke made clear that the incentive for employers to comply with the rule already exists: to save money.

"(The ergonomics rule) reduces the cost of business," Locke said at a press conference Wednesday regarding the capital budget portion of his economic recovery plan to create jobs. "Work injuries drive the cost of business so we should always strive to reduce injuries. It's a win-win for employees and employers."

His comments were in response to a reporter questioning whether the ergonomics rule hurt Washington's efforts to create a "competitive" business environment. In response, Locke pointed out that in the past 12 months, five national retail chains—Target, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Ferguson Enterprises and most recently, Home Depot—have chosen Washington over neighboring states to build major regional distribution facilities.

Locke said all of these companies were aware of our ergonomics rule and were eager to learn more about it before making their decisions, but "based on what they are doing (at similar facilities) in other states, they found they easily comply," he said.

This flies in the face of claims from corporate lobbyists in Olympia who insist the rule will cost employers $725 million to comply. These claims also contradict the experience of many employers like Boeing, Weyerhaueser and Seattle City Light, which implemented ergonomics programs on their own, reduced their numbers of musculoskeletal injuries and workers' compensation claims, and ended up saving considerable money on their industrial insurance premiums for their efforts.

But the powerful corporate lobby has strong advocates on this issue in the Republican-controlled State Senate, including a handful of Democrats like Doumit. These Senators know that the Democrat-controlled House is unlikely to support repeal of the rule and that Governor Locke has vowed to veto such an effort, so a "compromise" is afoot in the form of Doumit's amendment to try to make ergonomics repeal more palatable.

Making the rule voluntary would be the equivalent of repealing it. For more than a decade before the rule was promulgated, the Department of Labor and Industries offered information, training and incentives to try to encourage employers to address ergonomic hazards in the workplace. Many companies did, but others ignored the problem and refused. 

As a result these debilitating injuries continue to be the No. 1 workplace injury problem. Some 50,000 ergonomic-related injuries occur every year, costing the state workers' compensation system some $400 million. These oft-cited numbers would be much higher if they included self-insured employers, and the many workers who do not report these injuries for fear of losing their jobs.

"The bottom line is that ergonomics prevention is not only the right thing to do, it is good business," said Rick Bender, President of the Washington State Labor Council. "The evidence is clear, ergonomics awareness and prevention reduces the number of injuries and lowers workers’ compensation premiums for employers."

"It's time for lawmakers to stop interfering with the state's efforts to do its job protecting citizens from unsafe and unhealthy working conditions," he added.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5
UW Harry Bridges Center offers labor lecture series on video

The Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at the University of Washington is now offering its lecture series and conferences on video cassette. Copies may be ordered for pick-up for $5 each or they can be mailed for $8. (UW faculty, staff and students can borrow them from the center's video library.)

Available titles include:

1. "Women of Color in Labor and Community Struggles Conference"
   
2. "Latina/Latino Farm Workers, Fair Trade and Labor and Community Organizing in an Historical Perspective"
   
3. Bill Fletcher Jr. on "Globalization and Militarism's Impacts on Workers"
   
4. Kent Wong on "Breaking Barriers to Change: Creating a Strong Labor, Immigrant and Community Movement through Multi-Cultural Organizing"
   
5. Moon Ho-Jung on "The Asian-American Workers in an Historical Perspective"
   
6. "Building for Our Future: the Unions and Professional Organizations of the UW and Harborview Medical Center"  Tape #1: The Faculty Collective Bargaining Panel.
   
7. "Building for Our Future: the Unions and Professional Organizations of the UW and Harborview Medical Center"  Tape #2: Harry Bridges Chair and KCLC Executive Secretary discuss the future of labor at UW.
   
8. "Building for Our Future: the Unions and Professional Organizations of the UW and Harborview Medical Center"  Tape #3: Jobs with Justice Workers Rights Board hear worker and expert testimony.

When ordering, please make sure to provide your full address, specify which tapes and the number of copies. Make checks payable to HBCLS.

Send all orders to:

Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies
University of Washington
Box 353560
Seattle, WA 98195

Feel free to call (206) 543-7946 or email questions to pcls@u.washington.edu.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Graphic Packaging lockout ends; "no comment" on Coors

 

Members of Local 6-1010 of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers (PACE) International Union ratified a new five-year contract agreement Jan. 26 at the Kalamazoo plant of Graphic Packaging Corporation (GPC) that effectively ends the lockout of 429 workers that began on July, 27, 2002.

 

PACE expects workers to return to their jobs within two weeks, but details must be worked out.

 

“No one is pleased with the contract, but six months is a long time to have your livelihood taken away from you, and we clearly understand why our members voted for it,” said PACE Region Nine Vice President Bill Gibbons. “Unfortunately, the length and bitterness of the labor dispute shows again how corporations are routinely trying to starve workers and their families into submission while labor laws do little to protect them.”

 

“The company obviously will have its hands full in trying to restore the trust of workers in company leadership, and the future success of the plant will largely depend on that,” said PACE Region Nine Representative Dan Ferson. “The ball is clearly in the company’s court, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that no one is harmed by onerous overtime provisions that the company has imposed on the workers.”

 

One temporary replacement worker was killed at the Kalamazoo plant during the lockout.

 

Gibbons thanked the numerous unions, student organizations and community groups for supporting the locked-out workers.

 

PACE is not commenting on whether the AFL-CIO boycott of GPC and its own boycott of Coors Brewing products will continue.

 

GPC is controlled by family trusts owned by the Coors family of Colorado.  PACE represents over 320,000 workers in the paper, oil, chemical, atomic energy, auto parts, grain milling, cement, and industrial minerals industries.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4
ACTION ALERT: Tell your State Senator to "Leggo My Ergo"

Please take a moment RIGHT NOW to call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and leave a message for your State Senator to Vote NO on SB 5161: "Leggo Our Ergo and leave this important workplace safety rule as it is." These calls are of particular importance to those of you who live in the districts of the following Senators: Mark Doumit (D-19th), Jim Hargrove (D-24th), Mary Margaret Haugen (D-10th), Rosemary McAuliffe (D-1st), and Marilyn Rasmussen (D-2nd).

BACKGROUND: Some 50,000 workers in this state suffer preventable musculoskeletal injuries at work every year, costing the state workers' compensation fund $400 million annually. Repealing the state ergonomics rule designed (finally) to address this No. 1 source of injured worker claims would be an abandonment of the state's legal responsibility to ensure its citizens are not subjected to unsafe working conditions.

Corporate lobbyists have tried unsuccessfully to kill this rule through legislation, through Blue Ribbon Panels and through the courts. Now they are back with their perennial push in Olympia to have state legislators intervene and stop the state Department of Labor and Industries from doing its job and protecting working people from preventable injury and illness.

Their talking points have evolved somewhat this year in an attempt to ride the "anti-competitive" wave but, as in previous years, they pluck fantastic numbers from the sky in estimating the cost businesses must bear to comply with the rule.

Olympia's corporate lobbyists refuse to acknowledge the experience of employers like Boeing and Seattle City Light which have reduced injury rates and reduced workers' compensation costs by voluntarily introducing ergonomic-injury prevention into their workplaces. These employers understand that not only is it the right thing to do, it is good business.

Like so many tobacco executives, SB 5015 sponsor Sen. Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla) says, "The science behind the rule is questionable at best." He apparently disputes the credibility of the National Academy of Sciences, which conducted a comprehensive study of ergonomics prevention and determined that is works and is cost-effective.

Please call your State Senator at the number above and express your opposition to SB 5015.