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 September 22-26, 2003

Previous weeks' news: Sept. 17-19 -- Sept. 1-5 -- Aug. 25-29

FRIDAY, Sept. 26 -- WSLC Monthly Reports: KEEP WORKERS HEALTHY (No-on-841)
— In today's Everett Herald -- State officials confident Boeing will build its new 7E7 in Everett
— In today's King County Journal -- Analysts: 7E7 to be built here; hiring, economy to pick up in '04
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Locke: Education, work issues are top priorities -- He promises changes to the state workers' compensation system, but said business people need to realize that Washington is among the cheapest states in the nation for such costs. He also plans to reconvene the "competitiveness council" to talk about what more can be done to improve our business climate.
...plus -- Teamster pickets leave Lynden Darigold plant (also see update at IBT 66's website)
— A case study in headline writing: P-I wins in court (P-I) and Hearst wins first round (Seattle Times)
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Report recounts farm worker ailments, lack of treatment
— In yesterday's Walla Walla U-B -- Immigrants deserve opportunity -- Editorial: The Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride is a good reminder of the importance of treating all people fairly.
— At the Tri-City Herald website -- An "Immigrant Worker Freedom Ride" photo gallery
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Ormsby likely to get nod as Rep. Gombosky's replacement -- The Spokane Labor Council president has outpolled others among county PCOs.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Governor to meet with students upset over Marysville teacher strike
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Hard-working "knight" crafts dream -- An inspiring story about a young entrepreneur who honors the employees of his deconstruction company as "knights."
— In today's Olympian -- Feeling frisky at DSHS? Beware the love police
...plus -- Public employees bring passion (not that kind), dedication to their jobs (op-ed)
— In yesterday's Longview Daily News -- Good-paying American jobs are drying up (op-ed)
— A related story in today's L.A. Times -- Levi Strauss, an American icon, to shut last plants in U.S.
— In today's Washington Post -- Cheney's financial ties to Halliburton -- A Congressional Research Service report concludes that federal ethics laws treat Cheney's deferred compensation checks and unexercised stock options as continuing financial interests in the Halliburton Co. (The VP recently said he has "no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had now for over three years.")

THURSDAY, Sept. 25 -- Get the latest on the Darigold lockout at Teamster Local 66's website, where you'll learn that Top Foods may be dropping Darigold products, that 210,000 pounds of scab-contaminated milk was dumped into a pond, and more!  And then, there's this...
— In today's Seattle P-I -- WestFarm-Darigold dispute broadens -- IBT 66 says workers at Lynden and Chehalis plants will begin honoring pickets today in solidarity with locked-out Issaquah workers. Pickets may also spread to Portland, Medford, San Jose and Los Angeles. The union has asked consumers to boycott Darigold dairy products. WestFarm says the boycott has had no impact.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Seattle-based crew accused of mutiny over 16.5-hour workday
...plus -- No love: DSHS putting foot down on some office romances
...plus -- Future of Boeing 717 jet up in air until 2004
— In today's King County Journal -- Greider wants to take back corporations -- "What has happened at Boeing is one of the great tragedies'' of America's current business philosophy, says the prominent journalist.  Boeing's strategy of outsourcing work to foreign companies and selling off facilities and capabilities to boost the bottom line eventually will fail, he says. "Over and over I hear that the folks who ran McDonnell Douglas into the ground moved to Seattle to try again.''
— In yesterday's Walla Walla U-B -- Immigrant Freedom Riders make WW stop
— In today's Everett Herald -- Pitfalls in pay fuel Marysville teachers' strike
...plus -- Corporate tax cuts find little support in survey of businesses
— In today's Olympian -- Two Republican candidates to take on Rep. Baird
— In today's News Tribune -- Locke names Tom Fitzsimmons as new Chief of Staff
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Immigrant rights drive starts
— In today's L.A. Times -- Democratic presidential contenders turning into free-trade critics
...plus -- SAG, advertisers reach tentative pact on commercials
— In the Financial Times -- Wal-Mart may face the wrath of 1.6 million women

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 24
— In today's Yakima H-R -- "Freedom riders" hope road to change runs through Yakima
...plus -- Bipartisan bill in Congress would grant some immigrant workers residency
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- Road to freedom -- The riders who boarded the Seattle bus represented at least 20 nations. Yet, they shared a common bond -- the experience of the immigrant worker.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Senate committee chairman Warner still foe of Boeing tanker lease
— In today's News Tribune -- Pentagon reaffirms support for lease of 100 Boeing 767s
...plus -- U.S. Senate votes in favor of outsourcing national park jobs
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- City to bite budget bullet; a dozen firefighters, cops could lose jobs
— In today's Everett Herald -- Marysville students beg for strike settlement
...plus -- Lake Stevens contract will force school district to cut costs
— In today's Oregonian -- Oregon workers' compensation rate will drop next year
— In today's Washington Post -- Democratic hopefuls cool on free trade -- The shift away from free trade, rhetorically and substantively, reflects twin political imperatives: the candidates' desire to win the AFL-CIO endorsement and to show the growing ranks of unemployed workers, many of whom held union jobs, that the candidates are responding to mounting job losses.
...plus -- Iowa joins growing list of states with plans to buy prescription drugs from Canada
— Today at MSNBC.com -- Bush plan to privatize air traffic control called unsafe
Today from the AP -- Firefighters union endorses John Kerry for president
— In today's L.A. Times -- Gilbert wins 2nd term as SAG chief; may again push for AFTRA merger

TUESDAY, Sept. 23 -- March to Miami: Events opposing FTAA set for Seattle, Spokane
— In today's News Tribune -- "Right to work" wrongs workers -- An op-ed by Patty Rose, secretary-treasurer of the Pierce County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Boeing's Condit sees "real progress" in state -- But Boeing chief cites transportation and permitting as areas that still need improvement.
— In the P.S. Business Journal -- Business climate still needs improvement -- Sen. Honeyford op-ed that cites workers' compensation and minimum wage as areas that still need improvement.
...plus -- Boeing road test an effort to make assembly more efficient
— In today's Seattle Times -- Texas reportedly puts $30 million on table in 7E7 bid
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Darigold pickets from Issaquah seek support from Lynden
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Legislators still must be careful with state budget (editorial)
— In today's Olympian -- State's presidential primary a waste of money, lawmakers say
— In today's King County Journal -- Rep. Dunn draws challenger from high-tech world
— In today's Everett Herald -- Marysville teachers strike complicates school schedule
— In today's News Tribune -- Union (ALPA) recommends talks between pilots, Alaska Airlines
— In today's Salem S-J -- Oregon absorbs brunt of Weyerhaeuser job cuts
— In today's Oregonian -- Migrant worker pact reached -- The guest-worker plan is expected to be announced today in Washington, D.C.  Although subject to approval by Congress and President Bush, it already has won the endorsement of congressional leaders, growers and labor unions.
— In In These Times -- Road to citizenship: Immigrants, unions get on the same bus
— In today's L.A. Times -- Immigrants set out on their own freedom ride
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Rising costs prompt states to further reduce Medicare
...plus -- Was anyone taken for a ride in the UAW-Big Three talks? (analysis)
— In today's Washington Post -- Gen. Clark tops Democrats, ties Bush in latest poll

MONDAY, Sept. 22 -- Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride will be in Yakima on Tuesday
— In Saturday's Seattle P-I -- They're getting on the bus for immigrant workers' rights
...plus today -- Workplaces continue to get safer; downward trend in on-the-job deaths continues
— In Sunday's Seattle Times -- "Freedom Ride" focuses attention on immigrant rights
— In Sunday's Tri-City Herald -- A step toward sanity in U.S. immigration law -- Editorial: Proponents of guest worker legislation have come up with one idea that should be attractive even to some guest worker opponents.
— In Sunday's Olympian -- What's good for Boeing -- Companies will be lining up at next year's legislative session to get deals like those given to aerospace giant.
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Pace of Hanford waste cleanup leads to risks, workers say (AP)
— In today's Everett Herald -- Lake Stevens teachers' two-week strike ends
— In Sunday's News Tribune -- GOP's Vance takes king-making to the extreme
— In Saturday's Oregonian -- Petition denied to decertify nurses union (WSNA)
At AFLCIO.org -- AFL-CIO officers announce 2005 re-election campaigns
— In Friday's N.Y. Times -- Firefighters' union will throw support to Kerry, officials say
— At BusinessWeek Online -- How to turn unemployment's rising tide -- First, it happened to factory hands. Now, white-collar workers are seeing their jobs shipped overseas. The solution? Training and education.

Previous weeks' news: Sept. 17-19 -- Sept. 1-5 -- Aug. 25-29

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
March to Miami: Events opposing FTAA in Seattle, Spokane

President George Bush is pushing to expand the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) through the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which would eliminate tariffs in every country in the Western Hemisphere except Cuba. NAFTA has cost our country more than 766,000 actual and potential jobs. The FTAA -- covering 34 nations with a population of 800 million -- would trade away even more U.S. jobs.

The FTAA is being negotiated now behind closed doors -- Congress will have only a “yes” or “no” vote on the whole agreement.  That’s why working families and other activists are coming together to Stop FTAA -- the wrong choice for working families.  A coalition has been formed to coordinate the March to Miami, a series of events in communities across the nation to educate, train and organize people to fight against the FTAA, culminating in a massive protest in Miami where trade representatives hope to hammer out the details on the FTAA this November.

These events will bring together a wide array of partnering constituencies including: labor, anti-globalization, environment, human rights, agriculture and faith-based communities to discuss the FTAA and the local community effects of recent trade agreements.  March to Miami events will invite community members and the public to join in opposition to the FTAA and further understand the effects of both globalization and recent trade agreements.

A local coalition which includes the United Steelworkers of America, the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and Environment, the Washington State Labor Council, and numerous other organizations, has come together to host March to Miami events in several Washington and Oregon communities during the coming weeks. The WSLC urges union members and other advocates for fair trade policies to attend the following events:

Seattle Educational Forum on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Labor Temple, 2800 1st Ave.

Seattle March and Rally on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27. Meet at the Labor Temple at 10 a.m. for a march to Pier 62/63 (along Alaskan Way), where a rally will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Spokane Educational Forum on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 featuring classes at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. at Spokane Community College's Laird Auditorium, 1810 N. Green St.

Spokane Rally on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 at 5 p.m. at Riverfront Park (Gondola Meadows).

For more information, visit www.marchtomiami.org or visit the AFL-CIO Stop FTAA page at www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/globaleconomy/ftaamain.cfm.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride in Yakima on Tuesday

After a successful send-off celebration and rally on Saturday, the Seattle-area bus of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride will depart Tuesday for Washington, D.C. and New York City, making its first of many stops in Yakima from 11 a.m. to noon at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 212 N. 4th St.

Speakers at the Yakima event include:

• Father Roberto Saenz, St. Joseph's Catholic Church

• Maria Diaz, Freedom Rider, nursing assistant at Yakima Regional Medical Center and member of Service Employees International Union District 1199NW

• Rafael Magana, Freedom Rider, worker at Washington Beef and member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1429

• Bertha Balli-Sheldavick, Freedom Rider, Radio KDNA

• Thomas Aganda, member of immigrant family fighting deportation

• Other immigrant workers and supporters from the community

The Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride (IWFR) is sending a national message that it's time to change the broken U.S. immigration system. Organized by labor, business, immigrant and civil rights groups, religious bodies and student associations, immigrant workers from 10 cities across America are traveling on buses to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers and then to New York for a major rally. Along the way, they are making more than 90 stops to rally support for meaningful reform of our immigration policy.

"I feel that immigrants need more justice both on the job and socially. The freedom ride is a good way to bring this message to more people. I feel that immigrants deserve social and economic justice," said Maria Diaz, a rider on the bus and a health care worker in Yakima.

The Freedom Bus coming to Yakima will leave from Seattle and is also stopping at Wallula, Pasco, and Walla Walla. There are 40 riders on the bus representing 22 nations and ranging in age from 5 months to 67 years. Some of their their stories are posted online.