Local news: ■  In today's News Tribune – What if voters repeal gas tax? – Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Norm Dicks say millions of dollars in federal highway funding will be jeopardized if Washington voters repeal the recent gas tax increase.
■  In today's Olympian – State worker numbers highlight gains in diversity
■  In today's Kitsap Sun – New Navy contractor IAP plans to keep most employees
■  Today from AP – DOL: State overpaid unemployment benefits by $118 million
■  In today's Seattle P-I – Workers at Swedish Medical Center plan labor picketing
■  In today's Seattle P-I – Boeing raises jet prices about 3.5%

National news: ■  Today at AFLCIO.org – Working families win state-level victories
■  Today from Gannett – Companies, workers want Congress to rule on pension plans 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4 ■  Bender expresses anger, frustration over AFL-CIO split
■  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Job gets tougher for unions (Caldwell column) -- The fissure that opened up in the U.S. labor movement last week will run through the Ridpath Hotel today as the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO convenes for its annual convention.

AFL-CIO news: ■  In the NY Daily News -- Labor may be down, but it’s not out (Harley Shaiken op-ed)
■  In yesterday's  St. Louis P-D – Split could hurt rank-and-file workers (op-ed) -- "Solidarity Forever" is not just an old labor rally song. It is the credo of the movement. It is sad that some union leaders at the national level - on both sides of this issue - seem to have forgotten that.

Political news: ■  In today's KCJ – Murray warns against killing gas tax increase
■  In today's Seattle Times -- The reason folks flocked to gas-tax-repealing initiative (John Carlson op-ed)
■  Yesterday from AP – Smoking ban makes ballot; may face no organized opposition
■  In yesterday's Columbian – Rep. Moeller’s email on election reform stirs ruckus from right
■  In yesterday's Seattle P-I – Democrats have identity crisis over free trade (Boss Vance op-ed)

Other local news: ■  In yesterday's Kitsap Sun – Navy ousts biggest PSNS contractor – It is unclear what will happen with IAP’s almost 900 employees.
■  In today’s Tri-City Herald – State officials issue workplace heat alert
■  In today's Seattle Times – Boeing sells fabrication plant in Ontario
■  In yesterday's Everett Herald – Kimberly-Clark tissue, pulp mill escapes first cut
■  In yesterday's Kitsap Sun – WSF slashes South Kitsap foot ferry runs

National news:  ■  Yesterday from AP – Bush signs CAFTA, but battle casts doubt on future deals
■  Yesterday from AP – Northwest Airlines mechanics (AMFA) break off talks
■  In yesterday's Washington Post – Meatpacking’s human toll (op-ed) -- Congress and the Bush administration should take decisive steps to protect the lives and well-being of these men and women. But they are unlikely to act until consumers demand meat that is not tainted by workers' blood, sweat and fear.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2 ■  "Labor at a Crossroads:" WSLC Convention begins Thursday

AFL-CIO news: ■  At the Working Life blog -- Here we come, raiding or not -- The recent disaffiliations from the AFL-CIO have spawned fears of "raiding," and some are citing a battle between AFSCME and SEIU in Riverside County, California as the shape of things to come. Today,  Working Life has posted a few documents on the subject of that particular battle.
■  At CNN.com -- Labor's problems touch you and me (column) -- Maybe the split within labor will lead to more intensive and or successful organizing of workers and a growing labor movement. I hope so, because labor has been so critically and historically important in so many of the epic struggles that have made the life of the American family and nation more humane and more just.

Local news:  ■  In Sunday’s News Tribune -- Variable tolls: Plan B if gas tax goes down (editorial) 
■  In today’s Seattle Times -- Hardheaded advice from Murray, Larsen (editorial) -- The $220 million for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct is all the federal money there is, or is going to be, for half a decade. Murray: "If Seattle wants a tunnel, it will have to find the money in the local tax base."
■  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Spokane City Council takes over mayoral probe

I'm sorry. It's not just that WSLC Reports Today is in a hurry to pack up for the Spokane convention. (We are.) Today is just an incredibly slow news day. We'll be back with more news Thursday.

MONDAY, AUGUST 1 ■  United Food and Commercial Workers quit AFL-CIO and WSLC
■  Today from AP -- AFL-CIO bars exiting unions from its state, local councils
■  In Saturday's Chicago Tribune -- Food workers union leaves AFL-CIO

Political news: ■  In the latest PSBJ -- The giant steps (editorial) -- I-912 must be defeated, but to do so, business interests must take three steps: Get the plug pulled on Seattle's Monorail, seek aid from non-profit and community groups; and mount community-specific grassroots campaigns.
■  Today from AP -- Republicans adjust to being on sidelines in Olympia
■  In Sunday's Olympian -- Big ballot measure money to fill season with politics

AFL-CIO news:  ■  In Sunday's Washington Post -- Who cares about unions? (editorial) -- Should Congress or any other branch of government care about the decline of the unions? In some ways, they shouldn't. In a modern economy, unions may be destined to dwindle. But the dwindling should reflect free choices of workers, not illegal intimidation by their employers.
■  In Saturday's Washington Post -- Insurrection is a big gamble for labor -- SEIU's Stern has mounted an insurrection that could invigorate the ranks of low-paid, heavily minority and immigrant workers in service industries across the country. Or it could destroy the house of labor.

National news:  ■  In the NY Times -- How Wall Street wrecked United's pensions -- Money managers walked away unscathed, leaving employees, pensioners and taxpayers to pick up the bill.
■  Today from AP -- Unpaid maternity leave puts U.S. out of step with rest of world
■  In today's NY Times -- Triumph of the machine (Krugman column) -- The Bush administration is getting nowhere on its grand policy agenda, but the agenda it has always taken with utmost seriousness -- consolidating one-party rule, and rewarding its friends -- is moving forward quite nicely.
■  In today's NY Times -- Canadian telecom in labor dispute blocks web access to pro-union site

Previous weeks' news: July 25-29 -- July 18-22 -- July 11-15

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4
Bender expresses anger, frustration over AFL-CIO split

WSLC President Rick Bender expressed his anger and frustration with the split in the national AFL-CIO and its effect on the state federation in a candid opening address at the 2005 WSLC Convention which began today in Spokane. He offered delegates a firsthand account of his experience at the AFL-CIO Convention last week.

"As a state fed officer, I was angry and frustrated because there was nothing that we could do to stop the pullout and split within the labor movement," Bender said. "With all of us being under attack by the Bush administration, I can’t think of a worse time to have a split in the House of Labor. I hope these national leaders understand that the CLCs and state feds are the frontlines of the labor movement and that you can’t build a stronger labor movement out of Washington , DC . It has to be done at the state and local level."

Bender said the impact of the disaffiliations of UFCW, SEIU and the Teamsters unions from the AFL-CIO has been an "immediate financial crisis for your State Labor Council and central labor councils. We are dealing with it right now. We are working to restructure the State Labor Council to maintain our key functions and core mission. " He said those core functions are legislative advocacy, political organization, communicating our values and goals to union members and the general public, and support for affiliates' organizing efforts.

"We will be tightening our belts," Bender said. "I don’t have all the answers. But in my heart I know that the brothers and sisters of our unions here understand that the Washington State Labor Council is a crucial part of any plan to help working families in our state."

Gov. Christine Gregoire, Thursday morning's keynote speaker , expressed similar confidence that the hundreds of delegates representing their WSLC-affiliated local unions would ensure that organized labor continues to be an active advocate for Washington's working families.

In the context of recent developments at the national AFL-CIO, Gregoire said, "I want to ask you one thing: Can we in Washington state continue to have a very strong voice for working families? I'm going to work with all of you to ensure we continue to lead the nation." 

The governor listed several recent legislative accomplishments, including 2005's passage of HB 2255 reforming unemployment insurance benefits, and credited -- and thanked -- the WSLC for playing a key role in their passage. She also expressed what a pleasure it was that the very first bill she signed as governor was the apprenticeship utilization bill, a measure that will promote good family-wage job opportunities.

Then Gregoire challenged organized labor to work with her on several other issues, including addressing the health care crisis, improving education and workforce training in Washington, and reinventing government to coordinate efforts between state and local agencies and improve efficiency.

"I'm looking forward to working with the men and women of state, city and county governments, and making sure we are giving public employees the respect, health care and wages they deserve," she said.

Also Thursday: 

• Eastern Washington University professor Doug Orr gave delegates a brief lesson on the history of pensions, described organized labor's critical role in their creation and defense, and then offered an impassioned plea to fight the "strategic bankruptcy" being sought by United Airlines in order to jettison its pension obligations. "(The United situation) is the line in the sand," Orr said. "You are in a war and it’s time to take that war very, very seriously. But the labor movement wasn’t built by people who worried about going on strike because they might lose their jobs. It was built by people who said, 'I’m willing to lose my job so my Brothers and Sisters can have theirs'."
  
• Barbara Flye, Campaign Chair for "No on Initiative 330," described this insurance and pharmaceutical industry-backed ballot measure capping medical malpractice damages. She urged delegates to "read the fine print," where they will learn that I-330 offers no exceptions no matter how serious the medical negligence or how serious the injury, it forces binding arbitration where patients will have to sign away their legal rights in order to get treatment, and that it allows insurance companies to end payments for malpractice awards upon the death of the victim.
  

• The Mother Jones awards recognizing outstanding advocacy for Washington workers were presented to Terri Mast of the Inlandboatmen's Union for lifelong achievements, and to the Washington Federation of State Employees, Council 28 for their decades-long battle to finally achieve full collective bargaining rights for Washington's state employees.
  

• The Power to the People award for outstanding political organizing was presented to Tracy Prezeau of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 76.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2
"Labor at a Crossroads:" WSLC Convention begins Thursday

The 2005 Convention of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO will begin this Thursday, August 4 at 9 a.m. at the WestCoast Ridpath Hotel in Spokane. Convention business is expected to be completed by early Saturday afternoon. (Download a tentative agenda.) 

Under the theme, "Labor at a Crossroads," the convention will include a report from WSLC President Rick Bender regarding the latest developments following the national AFL-CIO Convention, the restructuring of the labor federation, and how it impacts the mission and operations of the WSLC and AFL-CIO central labor councils. Delegates will also have an opportunity to weigh in on these historic developments by participating in a special three-hour workshop discussion of the future of the AFL-CIO and the American labor movement.

The annual WSLC Convention is an opportunity for union officers, staff and rank-and-file delegates to hear from distinguished union and government leaders, attend informative workshops, develop relationships with other unions -- and have some fun. "The Tournament in ‘05," the annual golf fund raiser to benefit community service agencies, will be tomorrow (Wednesday, August 3), with a 1:15 p.m. shotgun start. For registration information, contact Nancy or Julie at the Puget Sound Labor Agency at 206-448-9277. 

The Employment and Training Conference, jointly sponsored by the Employment Security Department and the Washington State Labor Council, which was to be held on Wednesday, August 3 in Spokane before the WSLC Convention HAS BEEN POSTPONED at the request of the Employment Security Department.

Among the convention speakers scheduled to appear are Gov. Christine Gregoire, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, MEBA National President Ron Davis, State Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald, Department of Labor and Industries Director Gary Weeks, Employment Security Department Director Karen Lee, Health Care Authority Director Steve Hill, Brown & Cole Stores CEO Craig Cole, and several other distinguished speakers. Friday night’s convention banquet speaker will be comedian Will Durst.

Issues to be addressed by panels and speakers include "What's Next for Health Care in Washington," union and community organizing, Social Security, the state initiative on medical malpractice, transportation, and other issues. Workshops are planned on union organizing, workers' compensation, community and technical colleges, economic development, the National Labor College, family leave issues, election reform, and more.

But the main business of the convention is to debate and establish the WSLC's positions or policies on issues, programs and candidates by voting on motions and resolutions, although this year is a non-Constitutional convention. Any credentialed delegate representing their WSLC-affiliated union may introduce motions to the convention, and any affiliated union may submit resolutions to the convention. (See the 2004 Resolutions adopted at last year's convention.)  Proposed resolutions should be submitted as soon as possible to facilitate distribution to the delegates.

MONDAY, AUGUST 1
United Food and Commercial Workers quit AFL-CIO and WSLC

Following last week's AFL-CIO disaffiliations by the Teamsters and Service Employees unions, the Washington State Labor Council pointed out that part of their decision included withdrawing from state federations, like the WSLC, and central labor councils. The same applies to the United Food and Commercial workers, who on Friday announced their decision to disaffiliate.

As did Teamsters and SEIU leaders, UFCW President Joe Hanson sought to shift blame to the AFL-CIO for the harmful impact of his union's disaffiliation on state and local councils. "The UFCW and its local unions will continue to fund and work with state and local federations in politics and lobbying," Hanson said, adding that the AFL-CIO should "reject efforts to build barriers within our movement."

Hanson made this statement despite his clear understanding that, by Constitution, those councils may not accept funds from any union not affiliated with the AFL-CIO. That rule was made abundantly clear prior to the UFCW's disaffiliation by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney in a July 28 letter to state federation and CLC officers:

"The disaffiliation of two major unions and their rhetorical appeals for selective "partnerships" on their terms with Federation bodies at the state and local level present a direct challenge to the principles of unity and solidarity that form the foundation of a movement that can most effectively advance workers' interests, as well as the organizational integrity of the Federation at the national, state and local levels. We must reject efforts to pick and choose the places and terms of "partnership" and support. These unions are proposing a form of free ridership: No financial or other support for the national AFL-CIO, no responsibilities or obligations under the AFL-CIO Constitution, but selective buy-in at central labor bodies of their choosing."

Although Sweeney urged state federations and CLCs to continue their collaborating on efforts of common concern with unaffiliated unions, community organizations and other allies, he reminded local councils of the longstanding disaffiliation rules that still apply:

1. “Only locals of national unions that are affiliated with the national AFL-CIO may affiliate with or pay per capita (or per capita equivalents) to a state federation or central labor council or participate in its governance, including voting. State federations and central labor councils may not accept per capita payments (or per capita equivalents) from unaffiliated unions."

2. No member of a national union that is unaffiliated with the national AFL-CIO can run for, or serve as a delegate, officer or spokesperson of a state federation or central labor council. A member of an unaffiliated union who currently holds such a position must resign his or her office, unless he or she is also a member of an affiliated union.

3. No state federation or central labor council may provide access to membership lists to any union that is unaffiliated with the AFL-CIO.

4. No union that is unaffiliated with the AFL-CIO may participate in candidate screenings or decision-making on state federation or central labor body political endorsements.

5. Under federal election law, no union that is unaffiliated with the AFL-CIO may participate in the AFL-CIO’s political program to educate and mobilize members of AFL-CIO unions in support of pro-working family federal candidates. Many state laws impose similar rules for state and local elections.

6. Unions that are unaffiliated with the AFL-CIO may not use the AFL-CIO's name or logo.

"The Washington State Labor Council remains committed to continuing its proud tradition of success in advocating for Washington's working families," said WSLC President Rick Bender. "In many ways, our state has bucked national trends on declining union membership and the election of anti-union politicians. We are determined to improve upon those successes, but unfortunately those efforts will be without the participation of those who have chosen to quit the AFL-CIO."

MONDAY, AUGUST 1
Chicken Little assertions won't solve farm-labor issue

We need to work together on solutions not perpetuate Chicken Little assertions. All farm workers, both local and guests, deserve fair wages, decent housing, and the right to work legally in this country.

Previous weeks' news: July 25-29 -- July 18-22 -- July 11-15