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 March 3-7, 2003

Previous weeks' news: Feb. 24-28 -- Feb. 18-21 -- Feb. 10-14

FRIDAY, March 7 -- WSLC Legislative Update: What a Difference a House Makes
...plus at WFSE.org -- Ecology workers file for union election with WFSE
— In today's Olympian -- 1,200 Department of Ecology workers file for union
...plus -- Union members (IUOE) to vote on Miller severance deal; no recommendation from union
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Idaho House passes anti-union "Paycheck Protection" bill
— In today's King County Journal -- Auburn outsourcing plan worries Boeing unions
— In today's News Tribune -- Boeing won't be as high-flying; New strategy for profit, not market share
— In today's Seattle Times -- Issaquah district, teachers try to rebuild after divisive strike
...plus -- Media mergers endanger democracy, diversity of news (Inslee op-ed) AFL-CIO agrees.
— In yesterday's Daily World -- Raymond Weyerhaeuser mill eyes $1 million upgrade
At AFLCIO.org -- President Sweeney applauds Senate opposition to Estrada nomination
...plus at SEIU.org -- Bush administration's smallpox compensation plan is a step forward
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Officials seek smallpox vaccine comp fund (you'd get $262 K if it kills you)
...plus -- Texas investor group woos unions with proposal to run United Airlines
— In today's Washington Post -- Pilot pensions off course as airline troubles endanger payments
— In today's S.F. Examiner -- California considers pension fund team to root out corporate evildoers
— New from Business Week -- Palace coup at the AFL-CIO -- In a sharp rebuke to Sweeney, a group of five union chiefs concerned that he hasn't made enough (organizing) progress have pulled off something of a palace coup. After most of the press had left labor's annual winter gathering in Florida, the group quietly pushed through the creation of a new governing body to run the federation.
— New from AP -- Broadway musicians' union declares strike

THURSDAY, March 6 -- More balanced approach to budget urged by new coalition
— In today's Seattle Times -- State's fiscal crisis shouldn't be dumped on the needy (op-ed)
— In yesterday's Columbian -- Company again threatens legislature it may leave without tax breaks
...plus -- Rally Saturday to protest proposed closure of Fircrest School
— Also in today's Seattle Times -- Boeing to outsource more work; Auburn unit targeted
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Boeing Auburn facility will be "reorganized" -- Says IAM's Kelliher: "Boeing is going down the same road that drove McDonnell Douglas out of the commercial airplane business: making less and less of each plane. It's a dangerous path for the future of Boeing and this region."
— In today's Oregonian -- Longview Aluminum assailed by Steelworkers after bankruptcy filing
— In today's Olympian -- Locke orders streamlining to make state more "business-friendly"
— In yesterday's Longview Daily News -- House prescription drug bill would save dollars (editorial)
— In today's News Tribune -- Prescription drug bill opposition is greed, not politics (AARP op-ed)
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Foot ferry demise swamps meeting about impending fare increases
— In the P.S. Business Journal -- OSHA sends letters to high-injury employers (that'll teach 'em)
— In today's Salem S-J -- Oregon legislators eye tapping workers' comp fund to deal with budget
Today at AFLCIO.org -- Union movement says media monopolies threaten democracy
— In today's Seattle Times -- The FCC and the octopus -- The Federal Communications Commission is convening in Seattle tomorrow to hear testimony on whether to loosen or repeal its rules on media ownership. These rules should remain. (Learn more at seattle.indymedia.org.)
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Foundation's withdrawn aid offer leave Yakima's working poor bruised
...plus -- Businesses begin to consider costs of the uninsured -- Don't forget next week's events!
...plus -- Yale oxymoron: Labor relations -- "They're such an elitist institution. They just look down at the workers. They can't come to terms with looking at their unions as an equal."
— In today's Washington Post -- White House proposes smallpox compensation plan
— In the new Onion -- Bush offers taxpayers another $300 if we go to war

WEDNESDAY, March 5 -- 2003 Women in Trades Fair will be April 11 at Seattle Center
At WashTech.org -- State bill aims to give better warning of mass layoffs (plus "Take Action")
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Slain state worker called "early retiree;" bill would change policy
...plus -- Idaho Dems fail in attempt to change bill barring union political deductions
— In yesterday's Tri-City Herald -- State's last unionized WinCo holds UFCW decertification vote 
— In today's News Tribune -- Longview Aluminum files for bankruptcy
...plus -- Foot ferries in peril, may be victim of state budget deficit
— In today's Everett Herald -- Budget bleak if jail tax fails again; county offices brace for more cuts
...plus -- Lease terms still stalling Boeing tanker deal (Corliss column)
...plus -- Focused on the truth, filmmaker producing first-ever Everett Massacre documentary
— In today's Olympian -- Group, U.S. Senators seek federal funds to teach jobless new skills
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Rare shipment puts Bellingham terminal back in action
...plus -- Jail worker may lose job for sex she says was rape; Teamsters file grievance
At AFLCIO.org -- Bush Medicare plan breaks his promise of guaranteed drug benefit
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Study raises estimate of U.S. uninsured (see planned CTUW activities)
...plus -- Bush plan rewards switch to private insurers, punishes those who stay in Medicare
...plus -- A bad prescription -- Editorial: Bush's Medicare plan falls far short of an adequate insurance benefit. Its main purpose is still to drive the elderly out of traditional Medicare as part of a radical and untested restructuring of social welfare policy.
— In today's Washington Post -- Bush Medicare plan a boon to drug companies, HMO industry
...plus -- How Congress hands your tax money to private corporations -- Days before the House Ways and Means Committee took up an innocuous military bill last month, Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) made an offer to other Republican committee members at their weekly luncheon: prepare a wish list of tax breaks under $100 million each, and they could add them to the measure.

TUESDAY, March 4 -- Get involved in next week's "Cover the Uninsured" activities
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Affordable health insurance a must (Bender-Brunell op-ed)
...plus -- Trumka, Sweeney (not that one) argue about labor's Iraq position
— In today's Olympian -- Labor group (WSLC) throws weight behind gambling expansion
— In today's Seattle Times -- Eastside janitors seek better conditions, matching those in Seattle
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Business tax breaks demand scrutiny -- Editorial: In this year of performance-based outcomes, every expense has to justify itself.
...plus -- Longshoreman working again (photo of ILWU 7 workers unloading first cargo ship in 2 years)
— A special series in the Wichita Eagle -- Boeing's global push: World assembly required?
...plus -- Boeing's global push Part 2: Workers worlds apart
...plus -- How can Wichita compete? -- Familiar refrain from Boeing's Alan Mulally: "We want to (keep jobs) in Wichita -- as long as we can be competitive." Kansas is a so-called Right-to-Work state where employers on average pay about one-third what they pay here in UI premiums. Today's question: Is it possible in America to achieve Boeing's definition of "competitive?" Discuss.
— In today's News Tribune -- Fircrest School at center of tug of war
— In today's Oregonian -- State, public employee unions on collision course over wage freeze
...plus -- Portland teachers ratify contract requiring them to work 10 days for free
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Anti-union Paycheck Protection advances to floor of Idaho House
— News from AP -- Airport security screeners seek bargaining rights despite Bush's ban on unions
...plus -- Musicians union sets Thursday strike deadline that could shut down Broadway
— In today's S.F. Francisco -- Ailing workers' comp fund means biggest insurer must raise rates
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Yale's labor troubles deepen as thousands go on strike

MONDAY, March 3 -- It easily passed last year, but now Senate GOP balking on drug bill
— In today's Seattle Times and several other AP newspapers -- Cures differ for state's big drug tab
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Home care: It takes love AND money
— In today's Olympian -- Teamsters union OKs Miller severance deal; IUOE still negotiating
— In the P.S. Business Journal -- Boeing engineers getting grayer; it's a "real concern" to SPEEA
— In Sunday's Yakima H-R -- Farm Bureau a growing force in Olympia -- But lobbying group claims it doesn't use its $800,000 annual cut in workers' compensation retro refunds for political activities.
— In today's News Tribune -- Protect all state workers with ban on indoor smoking (editorial)
...plus Sunday -- Lawmakers want to close "retire-rehire" loophole
...plus -- Belated attention to health coverage for the uninsured (editorial)
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Lawmakers call for private foot ferries, but operators question profitability
— In Sunday's Columbian -- Reichert, Stanton getting ready for GOP race for governor in 2004
— In today's Everett Herald -- Marysville make-up day: Union and school board dueling op-eds
— In today's Oregonian -- For public employee unions, money talks and leaders listen
At AFLCIO.org -- AFL-CIO calls for "multilateral resolve, not unilateral action" on Iraq
...plus -- AFL-CIO state federations, CLCs face organization and program review
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Corporate gain, Treasury's loss in Bush plan -- With new changes last week, the Bush administration's tax proposal on dividends has become more friendly to investors and to some companies that pay no taxes. The effect of the latest changes, if enacted by Congress, would probably be to reduce the government's tax revenue by even more than under the original plan.
— In today's Washington Post -- Bush's 2004 campaign quietly being planned -- In 2000, the Bush campaign broke all previous records by raising about $100 million. Now, his strategists have begun planning for a 2004 contest in which they envision raising as much as $250 million.

Previous weeks' news: Feb. 24-28 -- Feb. 18-21 -- Feb. 10-14

THURSDAY, MARCH 6
More balanced approach to budget urged by new coalition

The Washington State Labor Council is partnering with a broad coalition of children's and social service advocates, consumer groups, and labor unions in the Committee to Protect Our Community's Future, a group that will spend the coming weeks educating the public about the devastating impact Governor Locke's proposed "all-cuts" budget will have on our communities. The coalition will urge Washington citizens to contact their state legislators and urge a more balanced approach -- a combination of service cuts and new sources of revenue -- to solving our state budget problem.

CALL TO ACTION: The WSLC is calling on all union activists to participate in a grassroots mobilization program to get the word out to union members (other coalition partners will do the same with their own constituencies). Please consider volunteering a few hours of your time for phone banks scheduled to begin in Seattle next week. Contact Diane McDaniel at (206) 281-8901 and provide your name, union affiliation, address, phone number and e-mail address, and the WSLC will respond with details about the phone bank schedule.

In addition the WSLC is asking all affiliated union organizations to download, post and distribute to rank-and-file members a flier (a 539 KB PDF file) entitled "Governor Locke's All-Cuts Budget: The Wrong Medicine for an Ailing Economy." The text of the flier is as follows:

Washington’s state government is facing a $2.4 billion revenue shortfall. But our budget woes are not unique. Other states across the nation face similar deficits because of a national recession and a stock market slump extended by a major crisis of confidence in Corporate America. Our state’s problem has been magnified by the 9/11 attack’s economic impact on the aerospace industry.

But unlike governors of other states, our governor is seeking an all-cuts budget to address this problem. Among the many cuts that target our community’s most vulnerable, Gov. Locke’s budget would:

• CUT services for children with developmental disabilities

• CUT health insurance for the working poor

• CUT assistance to nursing homes

• CUT foster care funding

• CUT mental health services

• CUT voter-approved funding to improve schools

In many other states, elected leaders of both parties are pursuing a more balanced approach, a combination of service cuts and new sources of revenue, such as closing corporate tax loopholes. Gov. Locke’s budget is an extreme and unbalanced approach.

Call 1-800-562-6000 and leave this message for your legislators: "Stop the Cuts!"

A message from the Committee to Protect Our Community's Future

THURSDAY, MARCH 6
Rally Saturday to protest proposed closure of Fircrest School

Union members and community activists who support necessary state services for the developmentally disabled are urged to participate in a "Stop the Closure" rally Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon outside the front gate of the Fircrest School at 155th & 15th N.E. in Shoreline. The Washington Federation of State Employees Local 341 has organized the rally to protest a proposal to shut down the school. A community march will follow.

SB 5971, the bill to close Fircrest School in Shoreline, would ship its 260 residents into the community or another state facility and reap a hoped-for $30 million by selling the property to developers. A dozen WFSE 341 members, along with other Fircrest supporters, testified Monday before the Senate Ways and Means Committee in opposition to the bill. The WFSE testified that this is a "do or die issue for us," with lobbyists Dennis Eagle adding: "This is a somewhat heartless approach to solving our budget problems."

See the WFSE website for more information, including streaming video of the WFSE challenging Gov. Gary Locke to oppose the bill at the Washington State Labor Council's Legislative Conference last Friday.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5
2003 Women in Trades Fair will be April 11 at Seattle Center

The 24th annual Women in Trades Fair will be Friday, April 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the new Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion, with an evening social planned from 4 to 9:30 p.m. The fair promotes employer recruitment of women for trades work and outreach efforts to girls and women who may not be familiar with the high-paying jobs available in trades careers.

Washington Women In Trades, which sponsors the fair, was founded in 1978 for women working in trades to gather and share information. This year's event is co-sponsored by Seattle Center Productions, the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau, the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Seattle/King County Building and Construction Trades Council.

The fair offers workshops, orientation sessions, tool and safety certifications are designed to assist women in becoming more knowledgeable and competitive in the non-traditional trades. It also offers sessions designed for employers, labor unions and non-profits. This year's fair will include workshops on: preparing women for the trades, the OJT Support Services Program, "Fit-for-Work," understanding employment law, benefits of business certification, and "He Said-She Said, Divorce 101."

The evening social will feature live entertainment, an art display hosted by the Women of Iron, a "Rosie" roundtable and the awards ceremony.

For more information, check out www.wawomenintrades.org. Exhibitors and others who wish to participate may now register online at that site (click on the "To Exhibit" button). Space is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

TUESDAY, MARCH 4
Get involved in next week's "Cover the Uninsured" activities

During an especially contentious legislative session in which business and labor interests increasingly find themselves at odds over workplace standards and regulations, why are those sides uniting in a common cause next week? There's more than 41 million reasons.

That's how many Americans lack health insurance. Most of them are working; eight out of 10 have at least one family member with a job. But skyrocketing health care costs are making health insurance harder for working families and their employers to afford. That means almost 11 percent of us in Washington state -- up from 8.4 percent just two years ago -- are gambling we won’t get sick or hurt. (See today's Seattle P-I op-ed on the subject written jointly by Washington State Labor Council President Rick Bender and Association of Washington Business President Don Brunell.)

Union members and other concerned community members are encouraged to join in the discussion of this crisis and possible solutions at a CityClub of Seattle forum, "Employer-Paid Health Care: Triage, Diagnosis and Prognosis," from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  President Bender will join a distinguished panel of business, labor and government leaders (see details below) in discussing the the problem, its causes and where we go from here. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. and the luncheon starts at noon. Admission is $39 per person and $34 for members of WSLC-affiliated unions. Pay in advance by calling CityClub at (206) 682-7395.

The CityClub event is just one of several "Cover the Uninsured Week" activities, funded primarily by The Robert Wood Foundation, with the goal of focusing attention on the plight of the uninsured and initiating a public dialogue on the solutions. Next week's events are:

MONDAY, MARCH 10 -- Town Hall Meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. in Room 109 of the Harborview Medical Center's Research and Training Building, 325 9th Ave.  Enrique Cerna will kick off Cover the Uninsured Week with this discussion about the problems of an America that is increasingly without health insurance. A panel representing the diverse perspectives of the Cover the Uninsured Week coalition will discuss the problems, and possible solutions, of the uninsured. Audience members will also be able to question the panelists. In addition to coalition members and other experts who will be part of the discussion, elected officials from every level of state government will be present. Elected officials and health care leaders will be signing a proclamation committing to work to find a solution to this devastating problem.

TUESDAY, MARCH 11 -- Interfaith Breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Olympia's Best Western Inn, 900 Capitol Way S. The breakfast is an opportunity for the interfaith community to highlight its role in providing services for those without health insurance. Hosted by the Washington Association of Churches. it will include representatives from many faiths, health care opinion leaders and elected officials.

Campus Event at the University of Washington from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Hogness Auditorium at the UW Medical School, 1959 NE Pacific St. KUOW host Steve Scher will moderate the forum that includes a panel discussion that goes beyond the plight of the uninsured to include the struggles of health care providers who are concerned about the current health care system.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12 -- Enrollment Event at 10:30 a.m. at Swedish Medical Center, 747 Broadway in Seattle. Emergency room personnel and coalition representatives will announce the results of a national study of the effects of the uninsured on emergency rooms. The event will highlight what happens to people without insurance when they end up in the ER, and the consequences on them and the health care system. ER directors, local public health officials and community clinics will all be part of this message. Resources for those who are looking for health insurance will also be available.

THURSDAY, MARCH 13 -- Business-Labor CityClub forum from noon to 1:30 p.m. at downtown Seattle's Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1113 Sixth Ave. (6th and Seneca). Entitled “Employer-Paid Health Care: Triage, Diagnosis, Prognosis,” Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler will join representatives from business and labor to discuss the current and future condition of employer-paid health insurance. In addition to WSLC President Rick Bender, panelists will include State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, DSHS Secretary Dennis Braddock, Regence BlueShield President Mary O. McWilliams, Dorothy Graham of Puget Sound Energy and Association of Washington Business, and will be moderated by James Whitfield, Director of the Washington Health Foundation.

The CityClub event is co-presented by the Washington State Labor Council, the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Health Policy Analysis Program - University of Washington, Washington Health Foundation, Washington Policy Center and WashTech/CWA Local 37083, AFL-CIO.

Please make plans to attend one or more of these important events. For more information, check out CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org.

TUESDAY, MARCH 4
Trumka, Sweeney (not him) argue about labor's Iraq position

       MATTHEWS: Amidst a growing rift between the White House and labor unions, the nation’s largest labor federation has declared its opposition to war on Iraq.
       Yesterday the AFL-CIO’s executive council argued that, quote, “the threat posed by Saddam Hussein deserves multilateral resolve, not unilateral action. The president has not fulfilled his responsibility to make a compelling and coherent explanation to the American people and the world about the need for military action against Iraq at this time.”
       Richard Trumka is secretary treasurer of the AFL-CIO. And U.S. Congressman John Sweeney of New York is a Republican member of Congress.
       Let’s go first, hi, John. Thanks for joining us. You’re not that other John Sweeney, are you? The head of the AFL-CIO?
       REP. JOHN SWEENEY (R-NY): No, I’m not. Good to see you again, Chris.
       MATTHEWS: I just want to make sure we don’t have the wrong guy here.
       SWEENEY: I’m a child of the American labor movement, as you remember.
       My dad was an AFL...
       MATTHEWS: I know you’re a man of the rank and file. Let’s go to this issue of the war.
       And I want to know why you can speak for labor effectively tonight and say that the average working man and woman in this country thinks this war should not be done the way the president’s doing it.
       SWEENEY: Well, I think that the poll numbers that you recited earlier show it still. I agree with your prior guests on why there is slippage in terms of the support.
       But I think substantially, middle America, the working American family, understands the threat that’s presented to this country, especially after September 11, 2001.
       And more particularly, I think, the rank and file men and women who represent organized labor, both the AFL-CIO and other affiliated unions, recognize that we have to protect America first.
       And one of the preeminent threats today is Saddam Hussein and his capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and proliferate those weapons. And the threat that they would present if they were to get into the hands of terrorists groups like al Qaeda, Hamas, et cetera.
       We gave this debate now for months. And I think that underneath it all, there is a substantial majority of feeling among that real grassroots, down the neighborhood people in support of that.
       MATTHEWS: Yes. You say labor is for the war. What do you say, Richard?
       RICHARD TRUMKA, AFL-CIO SECRETARY-TREASURER: Our members really do understand the risk that Saddam Hussein places on the world and on America.
       However, they don’t think that we should go it alone. They think in a back drop of a global war on terrorism, that us going it alone weakens not only our ability to take on Saddam Hussein, but also weakens our ability to take on global terrorism.
       Now, we probably have more members and family members on the front lines there than any other group that you’ll talk to.
       MATTHEWS: You’ve got the first responders, firemen, policemen.
       TRUMKA: Not just that. I’m talking about actually on the ground in Iraq right now. People that have been called up. Seven to 8,000 union firefighters who are in the reserves have been called up.
       They want to do a couple of things. They want to make sure that this coalition is united. They want to make sure that...
       MATTHEWS: How do you know, Richard-bottom line is for both of you, gentlemen, you’re both speaking for labor. You in a more official capacity, obviously. You’re one of the top three guys in labor. Top two guys, right.
       Let me ask you this. How do you know where the rank and file is?
       You’ve got 13 million members out there. Did you poll them?
       TRUMKA: Well, we did.
       MATTHEWS: When did you poll them? How did the numbers come out? How did they come out on the war?
       TRUMKA: I don’t remember the numbers. Here’s how it was.
       MATTHEWS: You’ve got to remember them in the sense of were they for or against the war?
       TRUMKA: The vast majority saying that we understand the risk but don’t do this alone because it is not good.
       We’ve had local unions that have sent in resolutions being against it, in fact, building trades unions, the same people that John was just talking about.
       MATTHEWS: The chapter in Philly did it recently, yes.
       TRUMKA: Yes, exactly. But we’ve also been to-John Sweeney, Rich Trumka, Linda Chavez-Thompson and all the members of our executive board have visited with literally millions, or thousands and thousands of our members through hundreds of local unions and central labor councils. We discuss it.
       The sentiment’s very, very, very strong to say it is not good to go it alone. We must put together a coalition that can win. That’s the best chance of not only fighting Saddam Hussein...
       MATTHEWS: I think maybe Congressman Sweeney is shy. Congressman Sweeney, look at the latest numbers, say basically most people would like to have the U.N. with us. If you don’t have the U.N., you don’t really get a majority.
       How come you say labor doesn’t have the same general view as the country does?
       SWEENEY: Well, let me make these distinctions. I think we all want the United Nations with us. I think I agree with Rich Trumka, I want to see the broadest coalition we can possibly have.
       But at some point in time, the president of the United States has to lead to protect America and the American citizenry. And I think that’s the argument I was first making, that at the core, most people get that. And I would suggest that most people in organized labor get that, as well.
       And then I want to make a distinction. I think that the executive council passing a resolution are well within their rights, well within their rights, and good for them, and it’s part of the American debate on this issue. It doesn’t necessarily represent what the rank and file thinks.
       I think the last election cycle showed that, I think on a lot of issues as related to law and order and war and peace and national defense, we have seen over time, in history, that there has been a great difference between what the rank and file and labor believe. And...
       MATTHEWS: Well, let’s test-Congressman, let’s test that question. When we come back, we’re going to talk about what the labor position on the war, the labor position on the president, will have to do with his reelection when it comes next year.

       (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
       MATTHEWS: We’re back, talking about organized labor and the war coming up with Iraq, with Richard Trumka and Congressman John Sweeney.
       A January fund raising letter sent out by House Republican leader Tom DeLay-he’s called the Hammer; here he is again-charged the labor unions are undermining the national interest. The letter which DeLay has since claimed was sent without his knowledge says, quote, “It is truly sickening that, at a time when we desperately need everyone in America to pull together, the big labor bosses are willing to harm freedom-loving workers, the war effort and the economy to acquire more power.”
       What do you think of that, Richard Trumka?
       TRUMKA: Well, everybody in labor found that very, very insulting, especially...
       MATTHEWS: It’s meant to be, I think.
       TRUMKA: He took on-He took on firefighters, the same people that lost 300 or 400 members...
       MATTHEWS: I get it.
       TRUMKA: ... in the rescue at 9/11 the same people that now have between 7,000 and 8,000 of their members that have been called up and are fighting over there. I mean, it was very, very, very insulting and demeaning.
       It’s a sad time in the country when you can’t have a debate and you can’t accuse somebody or disagree with someone without being accused of being unpatriotic.
       MATTHEWS: Congressman Sweeney, you say you don’t think big labor, the labor leaders themselves, speak for the rank and file.
       But when you run for reelection, don’t you go to the big labor leaders for the PAC money? You let them speak for the-You let them speak for the rank and file when the time comes.
       SWEENEY: Actually, Chris, I come back home and talk to the rank and file. And that’s where my support is.
       And you can talk members like Jack Widd (ph) or Frank Lobiondo (ph), and they’ll tell that you no matter what their voting record is, with big labor, in particular, they have to go back home and get the support of the local people in order to ensure the kind of support that we want to have from those working families, is there.
       Because frankly, there’s a sense that many of the D.C. leadership is an attachment of the DNC, and I think in some instances, and we’re seeing with this resolution and some other things, an attachment of some of the more liberal wings of the Democratic National Committee.
       And that has led many of us to have a loss of confidence in our ability to deal with that leadership.
       TRUMKA: You know, John, I think this is going to be a great debate. In a couple of years ago, you had a 56 percent voting record with us. Now you’re down 26 percent.
       When you get back home, and you talk to those rank and filers, you’re going to have to explain to them why you voted against us ¾ at the time. Why you think that the leaders...
       MATTHEWS: HARDBALL. Thank you Richard Trumka. Thank you Congressman John Sweeney. Thank you both.

MONDAY, MARCH 3
It passed last year, but now Senate GOP balking on drug bill