THURSDAY, JUNE 27
Fast Track advances again by one-vote margin in U.S. House

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26
Philip Morris on I-791: We're "concerned" about our taxes

Mr. Groves,

Thank you for taking the time to share your views with Philip Morris (soon to be known as... Altria... which our consultants say sounds kind of like Altruism.)

Philip Morris Companies Inc., which includes Kraft Foods (makers of 61 easy-to-avoid brands), Miller Brewing (although we recently sold that one) and Philip Morris U.S.A. (makers of shockingly straightforward statements like: "We believe in executing with quality") has more than 800 employees (some of whom are NOT lobbyists) in Washington State with facilities and sales offices in Tumwater, Kent, Bellevue, Spokane, and Vancouver (and Olympia).  In 2000, (despite our best efforts) our businesses generated over $283 million in state and local taxes in Washington state (which, coincidentally, is almost exactly as much as we've been forced to pay for killing state residents).  Philip Morris Companies Inc., like many other businesses in the state, is concerned about the impact of excessive tax increases on our businesses, employees, (surviving) consumers and shareholders (especially big tax hikes targeted at us by 66.07% of Washington voters last year).

It is our hope that the (our friends the) voters will have the opportunity to decide whether future tax and fee increases and decisions to increase spending should be approved by two-thirds vote (66.67%, not 66.07%) of the state legislature (because we like our chances with them a little better).  To this end, we have made a financial contribution of $20,000 to the Save Our Spending Limits Committee that is working to gather (buying) voter signatures to help put Initiative 791 on the ballot.

Corporate Communications
Philip Morris Management Corp.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26
It's time to turn in those I-790 signatures... and then celebrate!

Washington's U.S. Senators will lead 90-minute moderated panel discussions followed by a 30-minute "networking break," then attend a luncheon that "enables maximum interaction with the senators and other experts." 

Experts like our own WSLC President Rick Bender, who'll participate in Sen. Patty Murray's transportation panel, "Freight, Jobs and Gridlock," and King County Labor Council Executive Secretary Steve Williamson who will be on Sen. Maria Cantwell's security panel: "Doing Business on High Alert."

Attendees will be able to directly question the Senators and panelists, and participate in instant electronic polling conducted by Elway Research. The luncheon keynote speaker is Carl Donaway, the new CEO of Airborne Express, will tie the themes together in his remarks.

The cost including luncheon is $60 for WCIT members, $70 for non-members, and a limited number of $10 registrations are available for students and K-12 teachers. The posted registration deadline is TODAY (sorry), so visit www.wcit.org RIGHT NOW to register or get more information.

City, businesses can't afford costs of low-wage jobs
Guest column

Mark Santow
Special to The Spokesman-Review

The One Spokane Summit provided an opportunity to envision a new, equitable, and sustainable economy in the region, and Mayor John Powers should be commended for convening it. But we mustn't lose sight of poverty and equity, in favor of glittering visions of downtown development. The question isn't whether we want economic development -- we do. But what kind? There is a low road to prosperity, and a high road.

Ultimately, if the economic development of the Spokane region is to be sustainable, and broadly beneficial to all its citizens and neighborhoods, the issue of poverty must be addressed. And to address poverty, one must address wages, as many of the delegates at the Summit insisted.

A living wage law would be a very good start.

A variety of living wage laws have been enacted in the U.S. since 1994, by over 80 municipalities -- including Missoula and Portland. The basic idea is that elected officials should strive to use our tax dollars to create jobs which pay a wage high enough to lift a family out of poverty. Living wage ordinances hold companies profiting from public money accountable, by insisting that firms which are under contract with a city or which receive tax breaks and subsidies provide family and community-sustaining jobs.

More than 3,000 Spokane citizens signed a petition for such a law back in 1998, and the Spokane Human Rights Commission, in concert with a new group, Spokane Citizens for a Living Wage, has begun working on the issue again. More than 75 living wage campaigns are underway around the country, and most communities that have considered such a law have voted for it.

According to a poll by Jobs for the Future in early 2000, an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that those who work full-time should be able to earn enough to keep their families out of poverty. For a growing number of Spokane families this is difficult. Wages here lag well behind state and national levels, while the cost of living is higher. The average annual wage for retail and service industry workers in Spokane -- half of all employees in the county is well below the amount needed to meet basic needs for a family of four, which the Spokane Regional Health District puts at a little over $25,000 a year (or about $12 an hour). Many workers hold down two jobs just to make ends meet. A living wage law will begin to address this.

Do living wage laws work? Studies indicate that they raise the wages of home health care workers, janitors, food service workers, security guards and others, with little cost in terms of business profits, jobs, or tax dollars.

And while the directly affected families benefit, so do the rest of us. One out of every five homes sold by Spokane realtors in recent months has been re-possessed. Families with living wage jobs are more able to get loans to buy (and keep) a home or start a business. Families that are able to meet their basic needs are more likely to be able to support their children's health and education. This means less demand on public assistance, on charities, on teachers, and on the police, which benefits all of us. It means more taxpayers. Extra dollars that these families receive from a living wage law will be spent locally, getting the roof fixed, buying a used car, purchasing a few more groceries -- generating revenues for small businesses, and quite possibly creating more jobs as a result.

As the old saying goes, money is like manure; it works best if you spread it around. Even the affected firms have benefited, through increases in morale and productivity, and decreases in employee turnover.

Poverty wage jobs are expensive, to all of us. It is a much better use of our public resources to create jobs which allow Spokane citizens to live in independence and dignity. There is nothing wrong with using subsidies and tax breaks to attract and keep employers. The problem is that they are usually offered without any demand for accountability with regard to wages or the number of jobs created. This "low road" to economic development promises nothing but further stagnation and suffering for most Spokane residents.

A "high road" approach to Spokane's future focuses on raising the living standards of average working families. A living wage law is a good first step on this road. It would also be a step toward fairness. And justice. And One Spokane.

Mark Santow is an assistant professor of history at Gonzaga University 
and vice chair of the Spokane Human Rights Commission.

But if all port workers unite, they can win. So this Thursday, June 27 simultaneous Port Workers Solidarity Rallies (and BBQs) will be held during lunchtime in both Seattle and Tacoma, sponsored by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Port Division, and the International Longshoremen's Association.

SEATTLE:  From noon to 1 p.m. at Terminal 25 (East Marginal Way at S. Hanford, two blocks north of Spokane Street). 

*** ALSO! Join members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers at 8 a.m. that morning at Pier 69 in Seattle as they rally in their continuing campaign against privatization at port facilities. ***

TACOMA:  From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Port Satellite Yard (Port of Tacoma Road at E. 11, across from Concrete Technology)

In Seattle, fully 25 percent of jobs are port-related; in Tacoma, it's 40 percent. Port jobs are some of the best-paying union jobs in the Puget Sound, and they're protected by some of the strongest unions and best contracts in the nation.  Waterfront workers and their unions have always shown solidarity with others in need and in struggle, and now they are calling on their supporters from other unions and in the community to attend these solidarity rallies.

Let's show a massive display of workers' unity! Wear your union jacket and bring your union banners as post workers call for:

• A fair longshore contract... now!

• Workplace rights for port truckers

• Environmental protections for port communities

For more information about the contract talks, check out Friday's N.Y. Times story, Fears for jobs could bring shutdown of West Coast ports, which explains "the longshoremen fear that their jobs — and those of future generations of longshoremen — are under siege. Those fears could lead to a shutdown of all seaports from San Diego to Seattle on July 1, a move that could send shock waves through the nation's already fragile economy."