UPDATED DAILY -- M-F by 9 a.m. (Pacific)

Links to press stories are functional at the date of posting.  In some cases, free registration is required at newspapers' sites.  Links sometimes "expire" when the source would like to begin charging 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 October 11-15, 2004

Previous weeks' news: Oct. 4-8 -- Sept. 27-Oct. 1 -- Sept. 20-24

FRIDAY, October 15 -- Rally for Affordable Health Care on Saturday in Seattle
— In today’s Everett Herald -- State's business climate stages "amazing turnaround" -- Business owners around the state are optimistic about the state's economy and plan to hire more workers. This backs up this week's report that Washington has the 4th best climate for small businesses in the nation, and further reveals Dino Rossi's "We Suck" message as tired, false Olympia rhetoric.
— In yesterday’s Longview Daily News – One-day strike set for Thursday at St. John
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- Workers' comp on chamber agenda
Election news: — In today's Tri-City Herald -- Don Barbieri for Congress (endorsement)
— In today’s Olympian – Rossi leads in money figures -- National Republican group insists race is "statistical tie," despite polls that show Gregoire with double-digit lead.
…plus -- Sam Reed denies cronyism after campaign-donating company wins deal
— In The Stranger -- Ross TV ads damage Republican Reichert -- Reichert, who led Dave Ross by 16 points in an early September pre-primary poll, has now fallen 10 points behind Ross.
— In today’s NY Times – Block the vote – Krugman column: Vote-tampering is the inevitable result of a Republican Party culture in which dirty tricks that distort the vote are rewarded, not punished.
— Today at BusinesWeek.com -- Tarring Kerry as a "liberal" may not work -- Bush and GOP believe they damage the Democrat each time they hurl the "L" word at him. But that tactic may be growing old.
National news: — In today's Washington Post -- U.S. hits debt limit as GOP puts off raising ceiling -- The Party of Smaller Government has spent so much, they've reached the $7.4 trillion debt ceiling. Rather than vote to raise it before the election, they've delayed payments to federal workers' pensions.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Workers wake up to cold fact: Pension security blanket is gone
— In today’s SF Chronicle – New health plans put tighter financial squeeze on workers
— In today’s NY Times – Pilots union agrees to cuts at Northwest
...plus  – Dangerous territory -- The Sinclair Broadcasting’s plan to broadcast a propaganda film on its stations would violate its obligation to act responsibly and fairly in the public interest. Earlier this year, Sinclair tried to censor an installment of "Nightline" on its 62 stations when Ted Koppel announced plans to read out the names of soldiers killed in Iraq. Now the company, owned by financial backers of Bush and other Republicans, plans to actively join the re-election campaign.
— Today at BusinessWeek.com -- Is China running out of workers? -- Factories are scrambling for employees, creating pressure to hike wages. (As Montgomery Burns would say, "Heaven forfend!")

THURSDAY, October 14 -- Public tax dollars being diverted for politics
— In today’s Yakima H-R – Snokist workers (WCIW) stay on strike -- Snokist workers on strike for three weeks voted Wednesday to continue walking the picket line, even as the company indicated plans to implement provisions of its last, best, final contract offer today.
— Today at BusinessWeek online – Look up, it’s a dogfight -- With Boeing battling Airbus over financing, airlines may delay orders and plans for the latest jets could be stalled.
— In today’s News Tribune -- City, police union let the guilty stay hidden ( Callaghan column)
— In today’s Bellingham Herald – U.S. to appeal lumber import ruling
Election news: — In today’s Tri-City Herald -- Christine Gregoire for Governor (endorsement)
— In the Seattle Weekly -- Far-Righteous Rossi -- Even some Republicans say the pro-life, anti-gay marriage, creationist, pro-development GOP gubernatorial candidate is too extreme for Washington.
— In today’s Seattle Times – Rossi’s social views matter – Balter column: For months, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi has been selling the idea it doesn't matter if he were to be Washington's first anti-abortion governor in more than 30 years.
— In today’s Seattle Times – Dave Ross for Congress (endorsement)
— In today’s Olympian – Mary Kay Becker for Supreme Court (endorsement)
— In today’s Yakima H-R – Hispanics voice support for Sen. Patty Murray
— In today’s Seattle P-I – Gates gives $1 million to pro-charter effort
— In today’s Tri-City Herald -- No on charter schools Referendum 55 (endorsement)
— In yesterday’s Columbian – Let’s reject charter schools – again (teacher's op-ed)
— In today’s NY Times – Addicted to 9/11 – Friedman column: The president has exploited the terrorism issue for political ends - trying to make it into another wedge issue like abortion, guns or gay rights.
...plus -- Turning out the vote -- What's the most cost-effective way to encourage people to vote?
— In today’s Seattle Times -- John Kerry: the right man in the right place at the right time -- I have been a lifelong Republican. I proudly served as a senior political appointee in the Reagan and elder Bush administrations. But today I am supporting John Kerry for president.
— In the Onion – Cheney vows to attack U.S. if Kerry elected
At AFLCIO.org – Working families front-and-center in Kerry’s plan for America
— In today’s LA Times – SF hotel strike ends but workers till locked out
— In today’s SF Chronicle – Battle for survival pits SF hotels against workers
— In today’s LA Times – Wal-Mart may close unionized store -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. raised the stakes in a fight over its only unionized store in North America , saying it might shut the Canadian store unless workers proposed a contract the company found acceptable.
— In today’s LA Times – Kroger workers in 3 states voting on strike – Kroger Co., still feeling the effects of a lengthy labor dispute in California, faces a possible walkout as 8,500 supermarket employees in three other states began voting on a contract offer that the union recommends they reject.
— In today’s NY Times – Trade deficit surges; jobless claims up ...plus Hard-to-swallow lesson on pensions

WEDNESDAY, October 13 -- Rally for Affordable Health Care on Saturday in Seattle
— In today's Olympian -- Area legislators support contract, pay raises for state employees -- "It's one of the top priorities of the session," said Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Olympia. "State employees have gone without cost-of-living increases for four years, and you can't keep doing that. It's tough."
— In today's News Tribune -- AFL-CIO study details loss of 66,700 jobs in Washington state
— In the Walla Walla U-B -- Ever-escalating minimum wage must be addressed by legislature (editorial)
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Southworth ferry riders celebrate return of food; no progress on other boats
— In the PSBJ -- Camas-based company outsourcing to Mexico -- "That's good," says Bush's advisors.
Election news: — In today's Olympian -- I-892 could hit legal snag at polls -- If legally interpreted as an expansion of gambling, it requires the approval of a 60% supermajority under the state constitution.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Gregoire, Rossi debate in Olympia -- They debate again tonight in Seattle.
— In today's Everett Herald -- Mary Kay Becker for State Supreme Court (endorsement)
— In today's News Tribune -- Mary Kay Becker for State Supreme Court (endorsement)
...plus -- Deborah Senn for Attorney General; she sends the right message (endorsement)
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- A cautionary tale -- Republican challenger makes false allegation against Rep. Bill Eickmeyer. Newspaper bites, runs incriminating front-page article, now apologizes (kind of).
National election news: — In the NY Times -- Tightening race raises stakes in last Kerry-Bush debate
— In today's Washington Post -- Unemployed workers in Pa. say nominees are missing the point -- "Get off the war already," says one. "The real issue is the economy."
...plus -- Questions here at home -- Editorial: We'd begin (tonight's debate) with the selfish, even piggish behavior today's leaders are showing toward the next generation with the budget deficit and the growing burden that Social Security and Medicare will place on young workers. We'd begin specifically with President Bush's reckless tax cuts, which exacerbate that looming problem.
— In today's NY Times -- The economy unspun -- Editorial: The latest dismal job numbers clearly show the Bush administration's policies have failed to foster a flourishing economy.
— In today's LA Times -- Anti-Bush unions hit the road to get out the vote -- John Kerry "simply cannot win without a well-funded and well-executed persuasion and turnout program by organized labor," says one Kerry strategist. "The good news is that's exactly what labor is delivering."
— In today's Washington Post -- Pushing to be counted in Florida -- Democrats' voter registrations forms are being rejected at three times the rate as Republican registrations. Broken down by race, no group had more flagged registrations than blacks.
National news: — In today's NY Times -- How the tax bill gave business more and more -- Senate GOP leaders needed every vote to pass the mammoth corporate tax bill, so they were happy to accept the plea of "Democrat" Sen. Zell Miller to create a new tax break for ceiling fans imported from China.
...plus -- Bush's health savings accounts slow to gain acceptance -- Though a central part of Bush's "plan" for reform, health policy experts say the plans are too untested to appeal to many employers and may simply not be financially feasible for middle-income families: "It's hard to imagine that a guy who makes $50,000 a year is going to have $2,000 for him and his family to stick in this plan."
— In today's S.F. Chronicle -- Hotel strife may cool down; mayor asks sides to resume talks, business
...plus -- Health benefits emerge as knottiest issue in union contract talks nationwide

TUESDAY, October 12 -- Memo to Rossi: Washington doesn't "suck" for small business -- State ranks 4th in nation for "friendliness" to small businesses, says a business group's new study.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Fewer subsidies from state won't affect 7E7 -- Boeing CEO says if WTO brawl with Airbus forces fewer state incentives, 7E7 will proceed anyway. (Now he tells us.)
— In today's Everett Herald -- Boeing CEO confident, says he thinks 767 tanker deal isn't dead (AP)
— A related story in today's N.Y. Times -- Air Force asks for broader inquiry into Boeing contracts
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- State has plenty of apples, but not enough pickers (AP) -- As Kirk Mayer of the Washington Growers Clearing House Association told a reporter earlier this year: "Hopefully having the highest minimum wage in the nation will draw more workers." Learn more.
— In today's News Tribune -- 40,000 Washington truckers face criminal background checks
— In today's King County Journal -- Sims presents no major cuts in King County budget proposal
— In today's Olympian -- Corrections workers sue Thurston County over delays in overtime pay
Election news: — In today's Seattle P-I -- Better state stewardship: Vote for Mike Cooper (endorsement)
— In today's Seattle Times -- Second break-in hits state Bush office -- Apropos of nothing, this story goes on to cover a Republican complaint about the AFL-CIO staging protests outside Bush campaign offices. (The AFL-CIO has not held any protests outside Bush campaign offices in Washington state.)
— In today's Washington Post -- Kerry takes early lead in newspaper endorsements
Other national news: — In today's Washington Post -- Senate passes corporate tax bill -- Washington state coverage today focuses not on the corporate tax largess, but on an attached tax break allowing 23% of state residents (those who itemize) to deduct $500 in sales taxes.
...plus -- Payback on K Street -- Editorial: The corporate tax bill that Congress has sent to the White House rewards just about every special interest that retains a lobbyist in Washington (except the motion picture industry). Designed to close a $5 billion-a-year export subsidy that violated international trade law, it ended by spraying out $140 billion in business breaks over 10 years.
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- 39 million Americans are now among working poor, study says (AP)
— In today's S.F. Chronicle -- Fingers pointed in S.F. hotel strike/lockout; no new talks scheduled
...plus -- As health care costs rise, more companies raise premiums, cut coverage for retirees -- Profiles Kaiser Aluminum retiree who was promised "benefits for life," but now gets nothing.
— In today's Washington Post -- Pension promise no guarantee of retirement security -- Retirement is suddenly over for a former United Airlines pilot and his wife, who live in Gig Harbor.
— In today's L.A. Times -- California's voters agreeable to new tax -- on millionaires -- Supporters of a ballot measure are seizing on the sentiment to push for a vast expansion of services for the mentally ill. Their plan is to let millionaires pay the bill. And, judging by polls, it is proving to be quite effective.

MONDAY, October 11 -- Decline to sign BIAW's Initiative 333; it's bad news for workers
Also today -- More workers at Spokane's Deaconess, Valley hospitals say "Union Yes!"
— In today's King County Journal -- Boeing executive commits to Renton
— In today's Everett Herald -- Despite proponents' claims, NASCAR track taxes would fall short
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Sims to unveil King County budget with no "major" cuts in services, staff
Election news: — In the Seattle P-I -- John Kerry for President -- Endorsement: John Kerry should be the next president of the United States. This endorsement is based not only on President Bush's failings -- which are manifest -- but also on the conclusion that Kerry can succeed where Bush has failed.
— In the Seattle Times -- Kerry for President --  Endorsement: Four years ago, this page endorsed George W. Bush for president. We cannot do so again — because of an ill-conceived war and its aftermath, undisciplined spending, a shrinkage of constitutional rights and an intrusive social agenda.
— In Sunday's Columbian -- Bush, reluctantly (endorsement)
— In Sunday's News Tribune -- Patty Murray deserves third term in U.S. Senate (endorsement)
...plus -- I-892 -- A small tax cut, a huge expansion in legal gambling ("No" endorsement)
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Money pours unchecked into state's judicial races -- The BIAW has pumped six figures into Jim Johnson's Supreme Court campaign, raising questions about judicial impartiality.
...plus -- National GOP pulls plug on Rossi ads -- Christine Gregoire has built a double-digit lead.
— In today's Olympian -- WEA wields ballot influence -- Not since 1988 have results on an education-related ballot measure fallen against what the WEA recommended.
— In today's Everett Herald -- Yes on I-884: Make an important investment in our future (op-ed)
— In Sunday's Chicago Tribune -- Labor working hard to get out the vote for Kerry
At AFLCIO.org -- Bush promise to create jobs falls short by 7 million
— In today's Washington Post -- Permanent job proves an elusive dream -- In a single generation, "contingent employment arrangements" have begun to transform the world of work, not only for temp workers, but also for those in traditional jobs who are competing with a tier of employees receiving lower pay and few, if any, benefits.
— From the AP -- Compensation program for sick nuclear workers overhauled
— In today's S.F. Chronicle -- Why our nation's health care system is failing, and why it's hard to fix

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14
Public tax dollars being diverted for politics

The following press release was distributed today by the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO:

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13
Rally and March for Affordable Health Care Saturday in Seattle

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12
Memo to Rossi: Washington doesn't "suck" for small business
State ranks 4th best in nation for "friendliness" to small businesses, says new study

MONDAY, OCTOBER 11
Decline to sign BIAW's Initiative 333; it's bad news for workers

The Building Industry Association of Washington, using a loophole that enables the homebuilders' lobbying group to skim millions from the state workers' compensation system, has submitted Initiative 333, an initiative to the legislature to make dramatic cuts in workers' comp benefits to injured workers. If the BIAW's paid signature gatherers collect the necessary signatures by Dec. 31, the legislature would be forced to vote on the measure and if it doesn't or if the measure fails, it would appear on the November 2005 ballot.

I-333 would introduce into the worker’s comp system the same type of four-quarter averaging that employers imposed on our unemployment compensation system. That phased-in "averaging" meant benefit cuts for nearly 90% of unemployed workers as a result of three-quarter averaging and when four-quarter averaging begins in the next year, the decline for unemployed workers will be far worse.

In addition, I-333 would overturn the state Supreme Court's Cockle decision that requires the value of health benefits to be included when calculating time-loss benefits if the employer discontinues health coverage; it would create a “one size fits all” percentage for calculating time-loss benefits rather than basing the benefit on family size; and creates new limits on attorney fees for injured workers (but not employers' attorney fees) thereby making it more difficult for injured workers to get assistance.

In response, the Washington State Labor Council has filed Initiative 334, its owns workers' compensation reform measure that would make the system more fair for injured workers by eliminating workers' share of the premiums (Washington is currently the only state in the nation where workers pay a portion -- 25 percent -- of the workers’ compensation premiums); instituting whistleblower protections; protecting choice of medical provider; and closing the loophole that allows the BIAW and other business lobbying groups to finance political activities through the system.

When approached by the BIAW's hired petitioners, union members are urged not to sign I-333. As always, these petitioners will say anything to get people to sign. It is not illegal in Washington for a petitioner to misrepresent an initiative. So please spread the word to your co-workers, family and friends that I-333 is bad news for Washington workers because it:

• I-333 eliminates health care from the calculation of workers’ comp benefits. That means anyone with health care coverage at work will lose benefits if they are injured on the job.

• Creates a complicated new system that lowers benefits for the majority of injured workers. This means anyone who has had any kind of hour or wage increase in any of the past 12 months before being injured will have a benefit cut.

• Benefits would be cut for any worker who has been unemployed for any part of the 12 months before an on-the-job injury.

• Eliminates the use of the accepted standard Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the calculation of inflation for future benefits of injured workers and imposes an “implicit price deflator,” as another way to keep a lid on benefits for injured workers.

• Creates a “one size fits all” benefit for all injured workers, no matter what their personal circumstances are. In other words, a family with five children and one wage earner gets the same benefit as a single person with no dependents. 

• Stacks the deck against injured workers by allowing unlimited attorney fees for corporate attorneys, while reducing the limit on injured workers attorney fees, making it more difficult for injured workers to have access to legal representation.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 11
More workers at Deaconess, Valley hospitals say "Union Yes!"

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

SPOKANE and SPOKANE VALLEY – In an election held yesterday, over 450 hospital employees at Empire Health Systems’ Deaconess Medical Center and Valley Hospital and Medical Center voted to join their coworkers by forming a union with Service Employees International Union District 1199NW.

 

Certified nursing assistants, phlebotomists, transporter, and other employees  t Deaconess Medical Center voted 142-108 in favor of forming a union. Employees at Valley voted 40-12 to form a union.

 

“The fact that another group of us is joining together is a sign that we’re committed to working with Empire to protect the quality of patient care we provide,” said Cindy Moore, a phlebotomist at Valley. “The best way to get the hospitals back on the right track is to work with us as partners.”

 

The decision by more employees to join the union will further strengthen their voice at the bargaining table. Altogether, nearly 2,000 EHS employees have now united together in a union.

 

Registered nurses and technicians who previously voted to form a union continue to bargain for their first union contract.

 

SEIU 1199NW includes more than 18,000 RNs and health care workers united for quality care and good careers in Washington health care facilities, including RNs, therapists, and clinic staff at Group Health Cooperative clinics in Spokane and North Idaho, RNs at Eastern State Hospital and DSHS facilities for the developmentally disabled in Eastern Washington, RNs and technologists and other employees at Deaconess Medical Center and Valley Hospital and Medical Center, and staff at Hospice of Spokane.

 

For more information, contact SEIU 1199NW Communications Director Carter Wright at 425-917-1199 .