WEDNESDAY, August 11 — Labor Neighbor expands!
Latest schedule adds new volunteer walks in Clark and King counties.
— In today's News tribune -- Grocery workers will vote Sunday -- UFCW 367 in Tacoma awaits call from employers to negotiate separate deal, but grocers say health and welfare benefits  are off the table.
...plus -- The rush is on for Boeing jobs -- Interest in thousands of Boeing job openings is so brisk that Thursday's one-day job event is extended.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Boeing's on the move with hiring binge -- Though thousands of people laid off by Boeing are still looking for work here, the company is suddenly in a hiring crunch. 
— In today's Everett Herald -- Wanted: Someone to train 7E7 workers -- State officials are looking outside government for an organization to run the new center that will train workers for the 7E7 program.
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Port of Seattle's Terminal 46 to remain traditional container site
— In today's News tribune -- Hyundai has big plans for Port of Tacoma
— In today's Seattle Times -- Hanford's FFTF reactor nearing its final end (AP)
At AFLCIO.org -- Kerry administration will fight for good jobs, Edwards tells AFL-CIO Council
Other election news: — From AP -- Labor fine-tunes voter mobilization work
— In today's Chicago Tribune -- Union leaders vow all-out effort on Kerry's behalf
— In today's Salem S-J -- BonJovi, DiCaprio to join Kerry at Portland rally Friday -- Free tickets for the 10 a.m. rally are available at union offices in the Portland area. Get the details.
— In today's Seattle Times -- GOP hopes to strike gold at local Bush fund-raiser -- Union members are needed to counter Bush's mantra that the "economy is strong and getting stronger." Get the details.
— In today's News Tribune -- Bush tax cuts help wealthy, but not Tacoma's unemployed (Burbank column)
— In today's Washington Post -- Tax cuts become juicier target -- President Bush's all-purpose elixir of tax cuts have helped turn a record budget surplus into a record deficit, but his $1.7 trillion tonic has failed to strengthen the economy or create jobs. (Senate candidate George Nethercutt hasn't gotten that memo. He's quoted in yesterday's Columbian as saying, "It's clear to me tax relief is working.")
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Congressional candidate Barbieri touts more accessible health care
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Democrats give Republicans a fight for elderly -- Democrats say the elderly are proving a fertile voting bloc for their party in part because of dissatisfaction with the new Medicare law.
...plus -- Tensions with unions, protesters builds as GOP convention approaches
Other national news: — In today's L.A. Times -- UC study union-backed, Wal-Mart says -- Rather than dispute facts in a study detailing major government subsidies, Wal-Mart criticizes Berkeley funding.
...plus -- Facing determined union, L.A. hotels request mediator -- The move comes as the dispute appears likely to spread to San Francisco and Washington D.C., where contracts are about to expire.

TUESDAY, August 10 -- FRIDAY: President in Seattle, the next president in Portland
— In today's King County Journal -- Bush to hit Medina for money -- Dinner for two with Bush: $5,000...  Photo with Bush: $10,000... Face time with Bush: $25,000... Major rally with Kerry: Priceless (free).
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Local grocery workers to vote on pact Sunday -- United Food and Commercial Workers will detail contract offer that day. The union is "recommending this is the best offer we could get short of a strike," says UFCW 1105 President Sharon McCann.
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Snokist contract talks likely near agreement -- After more than a year of off-and-on contract negotiations, workers at the Terrace Heights cannery (WCIW) may have a deal.
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Spokane mayor announces city budget cuts, including 28 layoffs
— In today's Oregonian -- Typhoon restaurants agree to back pay -- A case study in why the pre-Bush overtime laws are necessary: because unscrupulous employers, the kind who call INS to report their own workers, are constantly looking for creative new ways to pay people illegally low wages.
Election news: — In today's Spokesman-Review -- Nethercutt, Murray trade barbs on tax cuts
— In the Walla Walla U-B -- It's time to stop national debt from growing -- Editorial: The projected budget deficit for the next year is $455-477 billion, which will set a record... (yet) some lawmakers (who promised to quit Congress back when we had a record surplus... then reneged) are calling for deeper tax cuts. Now is not the time for cutting taxes. It's far more important to stop the flow of red ink.
Related national news: — In today's Washington Post -- Manufacturing tax cut would help few -- The centerpiece of the sweeping corporate tax cuts steaming through Congress help only 1.1% of U.S. corporations. Major, profitable companies stand to gain $63.3 billion, but many of the most troubled domestic manufacturers would get nothing, says nonpartisan staff of Joint Committee on Taxation.
— In yesterday's Houston Chronicle -- CAFTA lacks votes; opponents want protections for workers
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Spin the payrolls -- Krugman column: When Friday's dismal job report was released, traders in the Chicago pit began chanting, "Kerry, Kerry." But apologists for Bush's economic policies are frantically spinning the bad news with shameless statistical sleight of hand.
— Today In These Times -- Hung out to dry -- Unions fight back against anti-labor laundry giant Cintas.

MONDAY, August 9 -- Nation still waiting for Bush's economic fantasy to come true
— Today at BusinessWeek online -- Jobs: July's stunning disappointment -- The latest numbers are way below expectations, unsettling Wall Street with their suggestion of even weaker growth ahead.
Today at MSNBC.com -- Bush's message on economy takes a beating -- Bush’s election-year message that the economy is strong and “getting stronger” is being shaken by a three-pronged assault of weak employment growth, higher oil prices and a slumping stock market.
— In today's N.Y. Times -- It's not just the jobs lost, but the low pay in the new ones
...plus -- Admit we have a problem -- Herbert column: While the president continues singing from his tattered economic hymnbook, American workers are hurting -- and going bankrupt at a record pace.
Local news: — In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Unions reach tentative deal with grocers -- Though details are not yet available, the union says, "The tentative agreement preserves affordable health care, protects livable wages, healthy pension plans and prevented the introduction of a two-tier system."
— In today's News Tribune -- Grocery chains, workers settle -- Despite tentative deal, Tacoma local leaders don't regret walking out on talks. "The membership meetings went well, and they understand what the strategy is," says UFCW 367 President Teresa Iverson. "They were very supportive."
— In the P.S. Business Journal -- Unions bite dental firm -- Union-built Washington Dental Service riles unions with proposed health benefit cuts and support for decertification of union.
— In yesterday's Daily News -- Rainier teachers, district at an impasse; strike possible
— In today's Olympian -- District rehires 94 teachers; nearly all that were laid off last year are back
Election news: — In today's News Tribune --  From Sims, a bold bid to overhaul taxation (editorial)
— In yesterday's Olympian -- 22nd House race continues to grow; labor weighs in for Brendan Williams
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Republican regretting choice for State Auditor (AP) -- Their man, a 41-year-old roadside flower salesman and self-styled political activist, has been booked into the Pierce County Jail at least 19 times since 1992, mostly for disrupting city and county council meetings.
— At BusinessWeek online -- A hidden bounce for Kerry -- Undecided more impressed than ever with him.
Other national news: — In today's Everett Herald -- U.S. workers mired in long losing streak -- Column: We're making less money despite longer hours, we're being laid off at record rates, we're losing heath benefits, and the federal minimum wage is stagnant and keeping full-time workers in poverty.
— In today's News Tribune --  United's pension woes reflect looming crisis (editorial)
— In Newsday -- Discontent heard at Starbucks as baristas attempt to unionize

The following press release was distributed Thursday by Service Employees International Union District 1199NW:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13
'Middle Class Squeeze' lemonade stand to greet Bush in Seattle

Washington State Labor Council President Rick Bender and King County Labor Council Executive Secretary Steve Williamson will be joined by several workers whose families have been squeezed in the weak Bush economy, including:

• Carla Humphrey of Burien, a mother of 9 children who has worked all her life. She used to earn $11.50 an hour as a cook at a daycare center, but because of budget cutbacks, she was laid off.  Now she works as a cook earning $7.75 an hour at Marina View Adult Center and is once again facing a cut in the number of hours she works because of budget problems.
  

• R. Todd Mitchell is an unemployed member of Local #7 of the Heat, Frost and Asbestos Workers Union.  He had been paying $2.85 an hour out of his check since 2001 to maintain health benefits, but the deduction had to be increased to more than $3.00 an hour this year.  In addition to the back-door pay cut, health benefits were reduced and increased deductibles were added.
  

• Janet Rodriguez is a home care worker in Ballard who cares for a developmentally disabled young adult client.  She is not eligible for overtime pay, and she has no health insurance.  Her pay of about  $8.50 an hour means that she can hardly afford to pay her rent, much less make any provisions for her future.  She is a member of Service Employees International Union Local 775.

Under President Bush's watch, working families have been squeezed hard: 

• The cost of health care has increased 40% and 4 million more Americans have lost their health insurance. 

• At the same time, wages for new jobs being created in the “Wal-Mart Economy” pay 25% less than the jobs they replace.

• Wages have stagnated over the last three years while corporate profits have skyrocketed. Real hourly wages have increased just 0.3% since 2001, compared with real after-tax corporate profit increases of 28.4%.

On Friday, August 13, workers who are feeling the squeeze of higher costs and lower wages and benefits will offer their voices and stories. For more information, please contact Washington State Labor Council Communications Director Karen Keiser at 1-800-542-0904 or (206) 281-8901.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 12
Group Health nurses, caregivers to announce strike today

Group Health Cooperative nurses and caregivers will today announce plans for an upcoming strike at GHC facilities around the region. The employees are fighting to maintain access to affordable health care for their families as Group Health demands major cuts to employee health benefits that would add thousands for dollars in new family-coverage costs for many staff.

During negotiations, the Group Health employees' union, Service Employees International Union District 1199NW, has alleged unfair labor practices committed by Group Health management that "have made it impossible for caregivers to negotiate a fair agreement for affordable health care," the union said in a statement released Thursday.

SEIU 1199NW President Diane Sosne will be joined by Group Health RNs and caregivers for the official announcement of the strike action at 1 p.m. today outside the GHC Family Health Center in Seattle's Capitol Hill, 16th Ave. E. and Denny Way. The union will file today the formal 10-day notice of impending walkouts as required under federal law.

In July, more than 2,200 GHC registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, medical assistants, social workers, therapists and other frontline employees voted to reject a contract offer in July, and also overwhelmingly authorized a strike. The contract expired July 23, but the union agreed to extend the contract to August 6 as federally mediated negotiations continued.

Affordable health benefits are the sticking point. Acknowledging the rising costs of health insurance, the union reportedly agreed to increase prescription and doctor's visit co-payments, plus require more hours worked for part-timers to qualify for benefits. But Group Health is said to be insisting upon eliminating zero-premium health coverage and requiring employees to pay premiums of up to 3% of their base salaries, which would costs thousands of dollars a year for those who have family coverage.

“We work hard to provide excellent patient care. Our families should be able to count on affordable access to the kind of quality health care we provide,” said Julie Predmore, a LPN at Group Health’s Tacoma South clinic.

SEIU 1199NW is the largest health care union in Washington state. For more information, contact the union's Communications Director Carter Wright at (425) 917-1199.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 10
President in Seattle, the next President in Portland on Friday

On Friday the 13th, Pacific Northwesterners have an opportunity to send a message to either the President of the United States or the next President of the United States.

George W. Bush will be in the Seattle area for a Medina fundraiser, and Sen. John Kerry will be in Oregon for a rally in Portland. Union members are urged to participate in the dueling events -- not by robbing a bank -- but by attending one of the following:

• BUSH ECONOMY SQUEEZING WORKERS news conference at 10 a.m. Friday in Seattle (location TBA). Similar to press events held in Eastern Washington during Vice President Dick Cheney's recent visits, this news conference will feature the stories of rank-and-file workers who are being squeezed by the Bush economy.
  
  We need union members willing to tell their stories!  We know that talking to reporters about your personal problems is not easy, but it is important that real people tell their real stories to counter Bush's broken-record mantra that the "economy is strong and getting stronger." If you and your family are suffering under long-term unemployment, stagnant or lower wages, higher health care costs or medical bills, job insecurity because of offshore outsourcing, or just having trouble making ends meet with skyrocketing gasoline prices, etc...  WE NEED YOU.  Please e-mail us (make sure you include contact information) or call Karen Keiser at (206) 281-8901 and share your story.
  
  

• STAND UP WITH JOHN KERRY RALLY on Friday at Portland's Waterfront Park on S.W. Front Street (also known as S.W. Naito Ave.)  Doors open at 10 a.m. but these rallies are usually filled to overflowing so plan to arrive early and get in line at 9 a.m. or earlier. Billed as "a political rally on steroids" there's word of special musical guests followed by a big Pacific Northwest Welcome for John Kerry. The rally will be in "The Bowl" section of the park, which is on the south side of the Hawthorne Bridge near the end of SW Columbia.
  
  But you need tickets!  Unlike the five-figure check it'll take to get you in the door to Bush's Medina fundraiser, the Kerry rally tickets are free. You can pick them up at Portland's Labor 2004 Headquarters, 214 SE 18th Ave. (SE 18th & Ash St.)  Tickets are also being distributed to union offices throughout the state. Call (503) 230-2574 for a location near you.
  
  Bags will be searched, so limit your personal belongings. Make sure to wear your union shirts, but don't worry about bringing signs, there will be signs for you there. Our union brothers and sisters who are military veterans will receive special VIP passes. Please let the Oregon AFL-CIO know right away if you or someone you know should be added to this list, by calling (503) 230-2574.

MONDAY, AUGUST 9
Nation still waiting for Bush's economic fantasy to come true
(From AFLCIO.org)

The nation’s economy hasn’t “turned the corner” for the 8.2 million people who remained out of work in July, according to the July unemployment figures released Friday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). While on recent campaign stops, President George W. Bush has claimed the economy “has turned the corner,” yet, the BLS report shows America’s workers still are struggling.

• Job creation remains stagnant with just 32,000 new jobs in July, far short of economists’ predictions of 200,000 to 300,000 and the White House promise of 306,000 jobs. 

• Unemployment remains essentially unchanged at 5.5 percent, compared with 5.6 percent for the past three months.

• Some 10.9 percent of African Americans and 6.8 percent of Latinos are out of work, an increase from June.

• The economy has lost 1.8 million private-sector jobs since Bush took office.

• The average length of unemployment stands at 18.6 weeks. There were 1.7 million long-term unemployed workers in July 2004, up from 660,000 long-term unemployed workers in January 2001.

• Long-tenured workers are losing their jobs at the highest rate on record.

• Those with jobs are watching their paychecks fall behind the inflation rate.  

“Adequate job growth is long overdue and the quality of jobs being created is falling short of what working men and women need to build a future for themselves and their families,” says AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney.

Job Creation More than 270,000 Short of White House Predictions for Growth

The BLS report says the economy gained just 32,000 jobs last month, far short of the Bush administration’s claims that the president’s 2003 tax cuts for the wealthy -- Bush’s so-called “Jobs and Growth” package that took effect in July 2003 -- would create 5.5 million jobs by the end of 2004 or 306,000 a month. July’s job numbers also fail to meet the more conservative estimates by economists surveyed last month by Reuters and other organizations that 200,000 to 300,000 new jobs would be created in July. 

The largest job growth in July occurred in low-paying jobs with few or no benefits, according to the BLS. The 10,000 manufacturing jobs BLS says were gained in July leave the nation with a net loss of 2.7 million manufacturing jobs since Bush took office. Some 1.7 million workers have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, according to the BLS. Another 1.2 million have been unemployed between 15 and 26 weeks. Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress repeatedly have refused to extend unemployment insurance benefits to long-term jobless workers.

Long-Tenured Workers Hard Hit in U.S. Jobs Crisis

In other economic news, tenured workers -- those with three or more years on the job with the same employer -- are losing their jobs at the highest rate ever recorded, according to the BLS. The Economic Policy Institute report, 2001–2003 Worker Displacement Highest on Record, notes that 6.3 percent of long-tenured workers lost their jobs in that time period, when the average unemployment rate stood at 5.5 percent. That’s higher than in the past two economic slowdowns, 1981–1983 and 1991–1993, when the unemployment rate stood at 9 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively.  

The EPI also reports that during the first two quarters of 2004, U.S. wages and salaries grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent, the slowest rate ever recorded and three-tenths of a percentage point behind inflation in the second quarter.

Another report from a top management scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows a majority of America’s working families have suffered a steady erosion of their wages in the past two decades.

More

• Read AFL-CIO President John Sweeney’s statement on the July jobs figures.

• Read the Economic Policy Institute’s reports on wage decline and job loss of long-tenured workers.

• Download Regaining Control of Our Destiny: A Working Families’ Agenda for America from the MIT Workplace Center and MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research.

• See where Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) stands on issues important to working families.