AFL-CIO news:  ■  In The Nation -- Debating labor's future -- Organized labor is in deep crisis, and this means that the American working class is in crisis. Read the transcripts of separate interviews with six of the most prominent union leaders engaged in the debate of the future of the U.S. labor movement: AFL-CIO's John Sweeney; SEIU's Andy Stern; UNITE HERE's John Wilhelm, AFSCME's Gerald McEntee; CWA's Larry Cohen; and the Teamsters' James Hoffa.
■  In BusinessWeek -- The struggle for the soul of the AFL-CIO -- Two union honchos (AFSCME's McEntee and SEIU's Stern) battle over reform, power, and turf.
■  In the USA Today -- Unions debate place of politics -- John Sweeney's AFL-CIO has worked to elect pro-labor public officials. It's had some success at state and local levels, but the White House lately has been out of reach. Dissident unions say politics should be secondary to building and streamlining a movement in which, for instance, health care workers belong to 30 different unions and 91% aren't unionized at all.

Political news: ■  Today at SeattlePI.com -- Rossi tells Sen. Dole he won't take on Cantwell
■  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Challenge of partner benefits short on signatures
■  In today's News Tribune -- Gas-tax foes use campaign reports as political tool
■  In today's Bellingham Herald -- I-912 campaign pads PDC report by counting air time, news stories
■  In today's Seattle P-I -- Journalism 101: Right to be responsible (editorial) -- Radio hosts crossed the line from commentary to outright promotion, more directly benefiting I-912 than their listeners.
■  Today from AP -- Supreme Court grants fast review of West recall effort

Local news:  ■  In today’s Spokesman-Review -- City of Spokane faces $6 million shortfall -- Deficit in general tax fund could result in cuts to police, fire station and library hours in 2006.
■  In today’s News Tribune -- Port of Tacoma's payoff: Jobs, jobs, jobs -- The number of jobs directly related to the port has grown by an average of 310 jobs per year from 2000 to 2004, says study.
■  In today’s Seattle Times -- Examine all the facts, and keep Fircrest open (Maureen Durkan op-ed)
■  In yesterday’s Daily News -- SWMC nurses (WSNA) win wage increases in new contract
■  In today's Everett Herald -- Marysville schools, teachers reach contract accord
■  In the Walla Walla U-B -- Commissioners wise to wait on Human Services privatization (editorial)
■  In today's Seattle P-I -- Ex-Teamsters site on Denny Way may go residential
■  In today's Salem S-J -- Oregon's home care workers near deal -- Although the state hasn't made a final offer, it will retain workers' compensation and health-insurance benefits for 13,600 workers.

National news: ■  In today’s Washington Post -- Both parties propose to punish China trade -- Powerful members of Congress will now support bills aimed at punishing China for some of its trade practices. Some lawmakers are insisting on it as the price of their support for CAFTA.
■  In today's Washington Post -- House, Senate to delay action on restructuring Social Security
■  In today's NY Times -- Lawmakers postponing action on Bush's Social Security plan -- Chairmen with jurisdiction have decided to postpone further consideration at least until September.
■  In today's SF Chronicle -- Gates Sr. heads effort to enlist business leaders to fight global poverty

Leaky White House: ■  In today's NY Times -- Rove spoke with Novak before CIA officer was outed
■  In today's Washington Post -- The stalled spin on Rove (Dionne column) -- The furious counterattacks on Rove's behalf suggest that Bush's supporters are worried that unless this wound is cleansed quickly, the president could confront an increasingly skeptical electorate and emboldened media.
■  In today's NY Times -- Karl Rove's America (Krugman column) -- Rove understood, long before the rest of us, is that we're not living in the America of the past, where even partisans sometimes changed their views when faced with the facts. There are now few, if any, limits to what conservative politicians can get away with: the faithful will follow the twists and turns of the party line with a loyalty that would have pleased the Comintern.

THURSDAY, JULY 14 ■  CAFTA encourages a race to the bottom (op-ed)

Boeing news:  ■  In today’s Everett Herald -- Machinists OK strike tactic -- A record turnout of Machinists union members overwhelmingly indicated Wednesday that they are willing to go on strike against the Boeing Co. this fall if negotiators aren't able to win an acceptable contract.
■  In today’s News Tribune -- Machinists put on rally caps -- Improved pension plan benefits are the union’s top priority in this year’s negotiations because member surveys showed it was the Machinists’ top concern. The average Boeing Machinist is now 52 years old.
■  In today’s Seattle Times -- Rousing rally of Machinists -- Among the massive crowd of 11,000, the biggest concerns were retirement benefits and health-care costs. IAM President Tom Buffenbarger and IAM District 751 President Mark Blondin urge Boeing: "Do the Right Thing!"

Local news: ■  In today’s Oregonian -- SW WA Medical Center, nurses (WSNA) work out new contract
■  Today from AP -- Displaced Yakima farmworkers sue contractor for bringing in Thai workers
■  In today’s Tri-City Herald -- Farm workers claim Thai worker recruiter Global Horizons violated law
■  Today from AP -- Truck strike in Vancouver, B.C. could boost Puget Sound ship traffic
■  In today’s Yakima H-R -- Goldendale schools employees (PSE) want board to consider contract

I-912 news: ■  In today's Everett Herald -- Initiative could jam road plans -- State transportation officials are trying to figure out what projects could still be accomplished if I-912 passes. (Very few.)
■  In today's Olympian -- $35 million in gas-tax money secure -- "I'm afraid that people, in their exuberance to kill all taxes, will also kill people and kill our economy," says Rep. Lynn Kessler.

AFL-CIO news:  ■  At AFLCIO.org -- Workers protest assault on federal employees' rights
■  At AFLCIO.org -- Sweeney statement on FAA imposing contract terms on air traffic controllers

National news:  ■  In today's NY Times -- How long can workers tread water?-- The wages of typical workers are growing roughly at the same rate that inflation eats into their buying power, while income gains are going mostly to the affluent.
■  Today from Bloomberg -- Job-training programs hailed by Bush squeezed in 2006 budget
■  At truthout.org -- Bush's honesty rating drops to lowest point -- WSJ/NBC poll says Iraq has replaced jobs as most important American priority.
■  In today's Washington Post -- Revenue surge shrinks federal deficit -- "It's a sign that our economy is strong, and it's a sign that our tax relief plan, our pro-growth policies, are working," says Bush.
■  In today's Washington Post -- Budget boost (editorial) -- It would be dangerous, and wrong, to take the welcome news about a narrowing deficit as evidence that Bush's tax cuts were wise policy, that the tax cuts should be made permanent or that deficit worries can be safely ignored.
■  In today's Washington Post -- Bargaining for health-care breakthrough (Broder column) -- Pressures to break the long stalemate on health care are rising. Only systemic reform will save the system, but bipartisanship is essential for their passage. There are signs of progress on that front.
■  In the Minneapolis City Papers -- Down in flames: Airlines go for broke while executives take cash
■  In today's SF Chronicle -- UNITE HERE says "no" to latest offer from San Francisco hotels
■  In the S.F. Bay Guardian -- Hearst's hit man -- San Francisco Chronicle publisher Frank "Darth" Vega has a secret plan to keep the paper publishing even if there's a strike.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13

I-912 news: ■  In today’s Olympian -- Gas-tax bond sale postponed; threat of I-912 forces state to wait
■  In today's Yakima H-R -- Gas tax "the right thing;" Gregoire cites public safety, economy
■  In the Aberdeen Daily World -- Gas tax helps Harbors -- House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler says a significant number of Harbor area projects could fall by the wayside if I-912 is approved.
■  In today's Seattle P-I -- I-912 has familiar twists, turns (Connelly column) -- It has a good chance at passage, especially if our state's political class keeps flunking elementary tests of voter attitude.

Local news:  ■  In today's Seattle P-I -- Boeing Machinists' strike-authorization vote comes amid talks
■  In today’s Everett Herald -- Machinists hope rally today at Safeco Field will add pressure
■  In today’s Tri-City Herald -- NIOSH to probe allegations at Columbia River Dairy -- Workers at the 1,000-acre dairy owned by Threemile Canyon Farms, with the help of the United Farm Workers, filed a complaint claiming they are regularly exposed to dangerous amounts of noxious gases.
■  In today’s Yakima H-R -- Contractor, two growers sued over Thai workers -- The lawsuit will test the first-ever use here of foreign workers under the controversial federal H-2A guestworker program.
■  In today's Seattle P-I -- Labor rift at West Seattle health care facility goes public -- At issue is an expired contract (SEIU 775) for about 230 nurses, nursing assistants, housekeepers, laundry aides, cooks, janitors and others who work at Providence Mount St. Vincent.
■  In the Walla Walla U-B -- County puts off decision on privatizing Dept. of Human Services
■  In yesterday’s Columbian -- Bankruptcy trustee suing Alcoa over sale of Longview smelter
■  In today's Oregonian -- Battle over C-Tran tax measure takes off in Vancouver
■  In today's PS Business Journal -- WestCoast foresees $40M from sale of hotels, buildings
■  In today's Seattle Times -- Ferries chief wants to plan ahead, build bigger boats now
■  In today’s Everett Herald -- Marysville teacher contract talks going smoothly

National news:  ■  Today from AP -- House passes bills to "ease burdens of" (read: "weaken") OSHA -- For more information on these bills, read the AFL-CIO Fact Sheet on these OSHA deform bills.
■  In today's NY Times -- Among janitors, labor violations go with the job -- Cleaning contractors frequently hire immigrants, often without proper papers and at low wages, trying to squeeze out profits as they submit rock-bottom bids to win business.
■  In today's Wash. Post -- At rally, searing rhetoric against overhauling defense personnel system -- Inslee urges union activists "to apply some of the heat in this plaza to members of Congress."
■  In today’s NY Times -- Sharp increase in tax revenue will pare U.S. deficit
■  In today's NY Times -- The wages of failure on Wall Street (editorial) -- Words like golden parachute hardly do justice to the stunning $32 million worth of a not-so-fond adieu engineered at Morgan Stanley for its departing co-president.

AFL-CIO news: ■  In the USA Today -- AFL-CIO president optimistic split can be avoided
■  In today's Pittsburgh P-G -- Sweeney: AFL-CIO breakup wouldn't be "death knell" 

Leaky White House news:  ■  In today's Washington Post -- Republicans go on offensive to defend Rove -- Their strategy is to undermine Democrats calling for Rove's ouster, play down Rove's role and wait for President Bush's forthcoming Supreme Court selection to drown out the controversy.
■  In today's Washington Post -- Classic Rove (Meyerson column) -- Karl Rove is the kind of ethically unconstrained guy Bush has wanted around when the going gets tough -- when the case Bush is making is unconvincing on its own merits, when he needs to divert attention from himself with a stunning attack on somebody else.

TUESDAY, JULY 12 ■  Sign up for pre-convention golf fundraiser Aug. 3 in Spokane

I-912 news: ■  In today's Seattle P-I -- Rumbling has begun on gas-tax initiative (Must-read Virgin column) -- To sway voters, I-912 proponents will have to do better than "nobody builds anything right, this time won't be different." And opponents will have to do better than "here's a goodies list."
■  In today’s News Tribune -- Gas tax: wrong target for public anger (editorial)
■  In today’s Seattle P-I -- Gas-tax repeal: The fight starts here (editorial) -- The leadership in defeating I-912 must come unabashedly from Seattle and the Central Puget Sound region. It's here that the money is needed most. It's also from here that the lion's share of the money will come.
■  In today's Everett Herald -- Highways need fixing; how do we get there? (editorial) -- Investments must be made to ensure safety, minimize congestion and strengthen the economy.

Local news:  ■  In today’s Spokesman-Review -- CAFTA is beneficial for Washington state (Gorton op-ed) -- It's a "no-brainer," says ex-Senator enlisted to lean on Rep. Cathy McMorris. Learn more.
■  In today's News Tribune -- Alaska Airlines' performance numbers tank -- “They didn’t just see a gradual decline, they fell off a cliff,” said Bobby DePace, President of Machinists Union District 143. “It’s a shame. This is not the Alaska Airlines we know.”
■  In today’s Seattle Times -- Alaska Airlines pilots overwhelmingly reject 20% pay cut
■  In today’s Everett Herald -- IBEW's Milt Foster saw his union thrive -- After 18 years, union leader retires with the knowledge that IBEW Local 191 in Everett grew on his watch.
■  In today’s Seattle Times -- Report on California's paid-leave program buoys Washington backers
■  In today’s Seattle P-I -- From co-op to corporate: Group Health evolves to survive -- Some say the groundbreaking non-profit founded almost 60 years ago by labor union lefties and co-op activists is looking increasingly like a typical insurance concern run by well-paid suits.
■  In today's Tri-City Herald -- DOE warns, but doesn't cite, CH2M Hill over radiation exposure
In today’s Olympian -- State workers have a new home in Tumwater -- New state-owned energy- and water-efficient office building cost less and will be finished sooner than expected.

Boeing news:  ■  At SPEEA.com -- SPEEA members in Wichita approve contract with Onex
■  Today at BusinessWeek online -- "I like a challenge -- and I've got one" (news analysis) -- Fixing Boeing's image and assuring future growth won't be easy for Jim McNerney.
■  In today's News Tribune -- Boeing project takes aim at wars of the future -- What the Army calls its biggest, most complicated acquisition project ever employs more than 600 workers at Boeing facilities in Kent, with another 100 jobs due by the end of next year.

MONDAY, JULY 11 ■  Initiative 912 gas-tax repeal: Pennies or projects? (Seattle P-I editorial)
■  In Saturday's Seattle P-I -- 420,518 sign Initiative 912 to repeal new gas tax
■  Today from AP -- Bid to roll back gas tax could be summer's hottest issue 
■  In the Everett Herald -- Gas tax anger fuels initiative -- "This initiative sends a message to Olympia. Though the election challenge didn't work, the people still have a voice," says one supporter.
■  In Sunday's King Co. Journal -- State engineers: The end is near for the 520 bridge

Local news:  ■  In today's Olympian -- L&I's anti-fraud program wields more people, more power
■  In Sunday’s Seattle Times -- 52% of voters would scrub Seattle's monorail, new poll says 
■  In Sunday's Everett Herald -- County officials set date (July 26) to begin Brightwater talks
■  Today from AP -- California firm says permits doom Everett sawmill-power plant
■  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Officials rally support for Black Rock Reservoir project
■  In today's Anchorage Daily News -- Alaska Airlines slips to last in on-time ranking

Boeing news:  ■  In Saturday's King Co. Journal -- Boeing doubles local hiring pace; adds 1,095 in June
■  In Sunday's Everett Herald -- Mr. Boeing CEO, meet Everett -- The top six things that McNerney should know or do, according to readers: Engage the workforce, keep key personnel, launch the 747 Advanced, push the 767 tanker deal, deliver on the 777 and 787, and tap into local support.

National news:  ■  In today’s Wash. Post -- Why I oppose CAFTA (op-ed) -- CAFTA opposition cannot be dismissed as a battle between big business and big labor. It is not about free-trade Democrats going AWOL, nor is it about Democratic leaders wanting to deliver a defeat to the president. It involves issues broader than those relating to sugar or textiles. It is about globalization.
■  In today's NY Times -- Few wealthy farmers owe estate taxes, report says -- Just 300 farmers owe estate tax, and it is likely that every single one had sufficient liquid assets to cover the tax. The findings come as the Senate is poised to vote on repeal of the estate tax. Advocates of repeal have begun showing commercials criticizing senators who oppose repeal, like Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA). Many of the criticisms focus on a supposed threat to family farms.
■  In today's NY Times -- Un-spin the budget (Krugman column) -- We're still deep in the fiscal quagmire, with revenues far below what's needed to pay for programs. And we won't get out of that quagmire until a future president admits that the Bush tax cuts were a mistake, and must be reversed.
■  Today from AP -- About 600 United Airlines flight attendants are recalled 
■  In today's Washington Post -- Rove told reporter of CIA agent Plame right before she was outed

Previous weeks' news: July 5-8 -- June 27-July 1 -- June 13-17

"The Tournament in ‘05," the 2nd Annual Washington State Labor Council Golf Invitational and fund raiser to benefit community service agencies, will be Wednesday, August 3 (the day before the Washington State Labor Council Convention begins) at the Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane.  Registration is at noon with a 1:15 p.m. shotgun start for 18 holes of scramble-rules golf. 

Delegates who plan to attend the Thursday-through-Saturday convention should make plans to come a day early for this fun event hosted by the Labor 1992 Corporation, the WSLC and its Community Services Committee. There will be great prizes, a raffle and a barbecue.

All proceeds benefit community service agencies around Washington state. Last year, the Tournament was proud to award $12,000 to the Puget Sound Labor Agency, $6,000 to the Pierce County Labor Agency, and $1,000 to Kids Chance. 

Reserve your spot by registering today. Call the Puget Sound Labor Agency at 206-448-9277.  Individual players are $90, foursomes are $360, and also for $360 three players can golf with a Washington State University Cougar sports celebrity. Admission for the barbecue only is $25.

Hole sponsorships are also still available. This year's title sponsors (so far) are the Union Plus Mortgage Program, Crafton Financial Services, Prudential Real Estate, Welfare and Pension Administrative Services, the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, the Seattle-King County Building and Construction Trades Council, Teamsters Joint Council 28, North Central Washington Labor Council, and John L Scott Real Estate. 

For registration, sponsorship or other information, contact Nancy or Julie at the Puget Sound Labor Agency at 206-448-9277.

Make checks for tournament fees (and donations) payable to the Puget Sound Labor Agency, AFL-CIO, and mail them to 2800 1st Ave. #130, Seattle, WA, 98121. All proceeds raised will go directly to community service organizations. A portion of every player registration may qualify as a tax-deductible charitable donation. Sponsorships and donations are partially or fully tax-deductible. The PSLA is a 501(c)(3) organization; federal tax ID 91-0927902.

MONDAY, JULY 11
Initiative 912 gas-tax repeal: Pennies or projects?