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. Disclaimer: WSLC Reports Today  links to all stories of interest to organized labor; some positive and 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 14-18, 2002

Previous weeks' news: Oct. 7-11 -- Sept. 30-Oct. 4 -- Sept. 23-27

FRIDAY, October 18 -- JwJ to honor "heroes" at Oct. 25 dinner
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- ILWU accused of slowdown
— In today's Seattle P-I -- New Boeing pink slips may go out Nov. 22
— In today's Eastside Journal -- I-790: Pension fix or budget buster?
— In today's Seattle Times -- No to I-790 (editorial)
...plus -- Health insurance premiums' 30% surge is highest in decade
— In today's UW Daily -- GSEAC/UAW proceedings continue
— In today's Salem S-J -- Oregon set for minimum wage vote
— In today's Oregonian -- Lockout over, but port backlog is not
— In today's Cleveland Plain Dealer -- BLE, Teamsters talk merger
— In today's L.A. Times -- Ex-Enron trader admits rigging market -- and in a related story...
— In today's Washington Post -- Cheney appeals order for release of White House energy papers
...plus -- Delta Air Lines to cut up to 8,000 jobs -- And in a related story...
— In today's N.Y. Times -- GOP election strategy on economy: Accentuate positives, ignore the rest -- Says Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill, "On balance, our economy is doing reasonably well."
....plus -- Springtime for Hitler -- Krugman column: When Ronald Reagan cut taxes on rich people, he didn't deny that that was what he was doing. The strategy used to sell the Bush tax cut was simply to deny the facts — and to lash out at anyone who tried to point them out (including comparing them to Hitler). And it's a strategy that, having worked there, is now being applied across the board.

THURSDAY, October 17 -- PMA ready to go to court seeking ILWU fines, leaders' arrest
— In today's Washington Post -- Companies, union dispute reasons for West Coast port backlog 
— In today's Seattle Times -- More Boeing layoffs likely "across the board"
...plus -- State rebuts Eyman claim: I-776 won't cut off Sound Transit
— In today's Olympian -- State voters narrowly support Ref. 51, poll shows
— In today's Eastside Journal -- Gridlock costs I-405 drivers $759 a year
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Vote No on Ref. 53 (editorial) WSLC recommends "Yes" vote.
...plus -- Ref. 53 would close unfair unemployment tax loophole for builders (op-ed)
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Health care costs complicate talks with Spokane city employees

WEDNESDAY, October 16 -- Labor Neighbor this weekend: R-51 blitz in Seattle, more walks
...plus -- "Learn How the System Works" workers' comp workshop TODAY in Seattle
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Spokane mayor gets the raspberry at union rally
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Initiative 790 makes sense (editorial)
...plus op-eds in favor of I-790 and opposed, "Firefighters, police have sweet enough pension deal" by retiring-on-a-state-pension Sen. Harold Hochstatter (R-13th), who signed a letter in 2002 complaining about the loss of his French chefs and private lunch room in Olympia.
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Supporters defend I-790 pension initiative
— In today's News-Tribune -- I-790 is a risky, costly approach to police, fire pensions (editorial)
...plus -- Garbage strike negotiators return to table
...plus -- Tacoma police upset at spending for firefighter fitness plan
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Boeing defers Delta deliveries; 2004 outlook gets even worse
...plus -- EasyJet maverick to Boeing: "Rubbish" -- EasyJet CEO decries Boeing offer, saying, "The president of Boeing said, 'This (offer) is the deal of the century -- take it now or it will never be repeated'." Apparently, Boeing execs' labor negotiating techniques don't work so well with customers.
— In today's Eastside Journal -- DOT officials predict as many as 650 layoffs if R-51 fails
— In today's Seattle Times -- Eastside has most at stake with R-51
— In today's Olympian -- $4 million raised to pass Referendum 51
— In yesterday's Daily World -- Grays Harbor PUD now believes it can avoid layoffs
— In yesterday's Columbian -- Teamster lawyer backs plan for Consolidated Freightways buyout
— In today's Oregonian -- Low-wage earners look to voters for a raise
At AFLCIO.org -- Sweeney: In "crual hoax," GOP seeking to end unemployment benefits
— In today's Wall Street Journal -- Port operators may complain to U.S. over pace of work
— In today's L.A. Times -- U.S. must loosen two sides' tight grip on West Coast ports (op-ed)
— In today's Washington Post -- Bush praises fire fighters, but declines federal help for staffing
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Homeland Security fight returns to the fore
...plus -- Gephardt offers tax cut in Democratic economic plan
— In today's Onion -- Bush on the U.S. economy: "Saddam must be overthrown"

TUESDAY, October 15 -- Get the facts about I-790 at campaign website -- The Association of Washington Cities, which opposes I-790, has issued an alarming report erroneously predicting massive pension cost increases for city governments. This report is being accepted as gospel in some newspapers today, and barely challenged in others. See the I-790 rebuttal of the AWC report.
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Spokane Labor Council will honor Tom Foley at today's rally
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Snokist workers vote to join union (WCIW)
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Shippers will meet with mediators; talks may resume
...plus -- Sims' budget ax targets King County's human services, parks
...plus -- Trim workweek, not work force -- Gonsalves column: Trimming the workweek is a longtime Republican tradition that began in 1863 to create more jobs and stimulate the economy.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Boeing is slipping to No. 2 after losing easyJet order
...plus -- "New tone" in Seattle Opera talks; hope seen for pact with chorus singers
— In today's Everett Herald -- Cartoon's caricature of ILWU as rat went too far (editorial)
— In today's Olympian -- Strikes effective at bringing change or Strikes, unions suck (dueling op-eds)
— In today's L.A. Times -- Both sides keeping tabs on port work; pace dispute may end up in court
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Quick tax relief for an ailing economy -- Reich op-ed: The simplest way to put more money into consumers' pockets is to cut their payroll taxes, which will instantly fatten their paychecks. Congress could exempt the first $15,000 of everyone's income from payroll taxes for two years, beginning immediately. Everyone gets the same tax cut but it's more helpful to lower-paid workers since the payroll tax is so regressive. A payroll tax cut for working people is... not only good economics but also smart politics for Democrats and even Republicans.
— In today's Washington Post -- Bush seeks to shift blame for economy to Democrats -- As Bush launches his 3-week, taxpayer-funded campaign trip, he cites the delay of a terrorism insurance bill that includes long-sought tort reform limiting corporate liability. (That ought to revive the economy!)
...plus -- Health insurance costs projected to rise 15.4% next year
— And in a related story at MSNBC.com -- Johnson & Johnson's profit surges
— Yesterday at CNN.com -- Union: GOP exaggerates homeland labor dispute

MONDAY, October 14 -- 2003 Labor History Calendars celebrate women workers
In port news: -- Tell DOL chief Chao to enforce safety rules at West Coast docks
— In today's Seattle Times -- Dockworkers' return marked by slow pace
— In yesterday's Pacific Business News -- ILWU says PMA needs to hire more dockworkers
— Yesterday from AP -- Companies gain advantage in labor dispute
In other news:
— In today's WSJ -- Boeing execs hint that lower production levels may last through 2004
— In today's Seattle P-I -- In major setback, Boeing loses EasyJet order to Airbus
...plus -- Vote Yes on Referendum 53 (editorial)
— In today's UW Daily -- UW's actions, policies slammed at labor relations conference
— In the new PSBJ -- L&I admits rules are confusing in settlement with Labor Ready
— In today's News Tribune -- Is it the right time to strike?
...plus -- R-51 not a perfect fix, but a doable one (editorial)
— In today's Seattle Times -- Say No to I-776, a dog's breakfast (editorial)
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- $30 car tabs I-776 crushes right to choose (editorial)
— In today's Olympian -- In two years after I-200, diversity stable in state work force 
— In today's Eastside Journal -- King County budget battles begins; Sims proposes 250 layoffs
— In today's Oregonian -- Texas group wants to buy Consolidated Freightways
— In today's Washington Post -- Carpenters union president, a Bush ally, facing federal probes
— In the Milwaukee Business Journal -- Wisconsin AFL-CIO health plan gains steam
— In Sunday's N.Y. Times -- Calpers wears a party, or union, label -- Calpers, at $136 billion the nation's largest public pension fund, is throwing its weight behind new goals: creating jobs, providing affordable housing and putting pressure on countries to give citizens basic freedoms. Driving the change is a new alignment in the boardroom... all 13 represent either labor or the Democratic Party. 

Previous weeks' news: Oct. 7-11 -- Sept. 30-Oct. 4 -- Sept. 23-27

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18
Jobs with Justice to honor "heroes" at dinner Friday, Oct. 25

You are invited to join Washington State Jobs with Justice as it honors some of those who have stood out in the fight for social justice at "A Celebration of the Good Fight," the second annual Jobs with Justice Honoree Dinner, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25 at the Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1634 19th Ave. East in Seattle.

This year local heroes committed to the goals of worker rights and global justice will be honored:

• Lupe Gamboa, Vice-President & Regional Director of the United Farm Workers, for fighting for immigrant workers rights, global justice, and winning the first farmworker union contract in our state.

• Organized State Employees for winning historic collective bargaining after an over 25 year battle.

• King County Labor Council Union Cities Program for partnering with JwJ to lead the nation among labor councils in fighting for workers’ rights through street and political action, popular education, and coalition building.

• Mary Bass, Seattle School Board member, for passionately standing up for low wage workers and workers of color, members of the Teamsters and Machinists.

To order tickets, "copy and paste" the following, and send it to wsjwj@igc.org: 

Name ________________________________________________
 
Address ______________________________________________
 
City/State/Zip __________________________________________
 
Organization/Phone ____________________________________
 
My check for $ _________ is in the mail to cover the following:
 
___ Single Dinner(s) $40 ($45 after October 22)     ___ Table of 8  $275

I’d like to contribute $ ____________ to cover the cost for low income participants.  Call for information on striker, student, and low-income rates.  No one is turned away for lack of funds.

Make Checks Payable to
Jobs with Justice;  PO Box 9662;  Seattle, WA  98109
For info call:  (206) 441-4969;  Fax (206) 441-5059;  Email wsjwj@igc.org 

Washington State Jobs with Justice was founded in 1993, has 108 member organizations and is growing. Its three Organizing Committees meet monthly in Whatcom, Pierce and King Counties to vote on and plan local actions. Its statewide Steering Committee is made up of representatives from all member organizations and meets quarterly for planning and coalition building.

For more information about WSJwJ or Friday's Honoree Dinner, contact them at the numbers above.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17
PMA ready to go to court seeking ILWU fines, leaders' arrest

The labor dispute between West Coast longshore workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the 80 shipping companies represented by the Pacific Maritime Association is about to escalate again.

Just as ILWU leaders predicted last week after President Bush intervened in the PMA lockout and required ports to reopen, the PMA plans to give federal prosecutors today data that they say shows an orchestrated slowdown by dockworkers in the week the ports reopened, according to an Associated Press report. Under the terms of Bush's Taft-Hartley intervention, if the PMA succeeds in convincing the judge that the ILWU is engaging in a deliberate slowdown, the court could arrest ILWU leaders and impose monetary sanctions against the union.

The ILWU has said for weeks that, instead of negotiating in good faith on a new contract, the PMA has sought to break the union through Bush's intervention and court-imposed fines. That's why the PMA refused the 30-day contract extension agreed to by the ILWU, and instead insisted on the president's Taft-Hartley intervention to end their lockout.

After Bush's intervention last week, ILWU spokesman Steve Stallone said, "They are going to be trying to financially break this union with fines and throw our leaders in jail. We fully expect (the PMA) to begin its allegations of slowdowns... It is a complete setup."

But now, the union alleges that the "setup" includes the employers' deliberate sabotage of efforts to clear the unprecedented backlog of containers and ships so that the PMA can claim a slowdown, according to formal complaints filed by the ILWU this week with the Labor Relations Committee.

"The PMA is systematically crippling productivity at the docks and blocking the movement of goods to the American public," said the ILWU's Ramon Ponce de Leon. "First they locked out the workers and prevented them from doing their jobs. Now they're trying to weaken the manpower on the docks and impair our ability to move cargo."

The union's 13 charges include that shippers acted in bad faith by not requesting enough manpower to clear the millions of tons of cargo that have piled up since the lockout began Sept. 29. "The PMA is strategically orchestrating a crisis by short-staffing docks at this time when our economy is suffering," the ILWU's Joseph Donato said. "We are working around the clock to clear the docks and get our economy rolling again while the PMA is sabotaging the progress."

The PMA denies that dockyard employers are sabotaging productivity in a bid to discredit the union, issuing a statement that said: "This appears to be an effort to divert attention from the fact that work productivity is down about 20 percent from normal."

And that is what the legal action to come will hinge upon: what is "normal." The PMA will argue that because workers are not meeting what the union considers to be unreasonable and unsafe production levels required in the months leading up to the lockout—when record levels of cargo were moved by retailers who had been warned that a work stoppage was imminent—so the ILWU is disobeying the court's "normal and reasonable rate of speed" order.

Since days after the docks reopened, the ILWU has noted the PMA's active disinterest in helping resolve the logistical problems caused by their lockout, and instead simply measuring "productivity" while the workers struggled with the mess. The following ILWU news release was issued Oct. 11, two days after the ports reopened:

Chaos on the docks: PMA harasses ILWU rather than solve logistical nightmare

Pent-up demand caused by PMA’s nearly two-week lockout of the ILWU is producing infrastructure meltdown on West Coast docks—but instead of trying to resolve the problems it caused, PMA is blaming the union.

Trains that carry containers to their inland destinations were moved away from the Coast during the lockout because there was no work for them, and they haven’t returned in any significant numbers. Shortages of chassis are making it difficult if not impossible for trucks to move containers out. ILWU members are unloading the containers from the ships, but because of these train and truck problems they cannot be moved out of the ports.

The resulting backup of containers is aggravating the congestion and making the docks even more dangerous than usual.

While PMA officials stand on the docks with clipboards in an attempt to document alleged slowdowns by ILWU workers, the chaos at the ports continues.

“PMA is more focused on using Taft-Hartley to harass us than solving the logistical disaster they created,” said ILWU International President James Spinosa. “The congestion on the docks is reducing productivity as well as safety. But these employers are only concerned with numbers of containers moved and not the human toll of their production.” The congestion has already led to accidents, and major ports are experiencing acute shortages of equipment and manpower. 

• Congestion at the biggest terminal in the world, the new Maersk facility in the Port of Los Angeles, resulted in two accidents today. An outside trucker hit an ILWU-driven truck and when the union Business Agent came to the scene to investigate, his truck was hit by another outside trucker. Some terminals are so congested they have stopped receiving incoming trucks.

• In Seattle, the rail yard has limited the number of containers loaded onto trains to 100 per day for the entire port. In Oakland the rail yard is limiting each terminal to only 30 containers per day when each ship has hundreds scheduled for trains.

• Terminals up and down the Coast are experiencing shortages of chassis, making it impossible for trucks to pick up their loads. Some terminals have stopped receiving new containers because they are too congested. Booking numbers are not adequate to easily get containers out to truckers, making them stand by for hours and adding to terminal congestion. In Portland truckers are being hit with additional demurrage fees for keeping their containers stored on the docks beyond their free pickup date, even though the PMA’s lockout kept them from retrieving their loads on time.

• Other equipment shortages and malfunctions are slowing work as well. In Portland a lack of enough trucks, top loaders and radios is causing workers to stand by for hours, reducing productivity. In Los Angeles/Long Beach scales, cameras and computers are breaking down, causing further delays.

• PMA’s lockout created a backlog of ships to the point where every terminal needs a full complement of workers on every shift. So the employers are ordering more workers than there are and then they claim the union is withholding labor. But the union has been asking PMA to hire more people for years. PMA has delayed those requests because the more union workers there are, the stronger the union is. This policy is now coming back to haunt the employers, but instead of resolving the matter, they blame the union.

The backlogs and snafus continue to escalate, extending all estimates of how long the port congestion will last. As PMA Spokesperson John Pachtner told the Oakland Tribune Oct. 10, 2002 “Simply put, it’s more complicated to fix something than to break it.” And he should know since it was PMA who broke it.

“PMA is saying that we are causing slowdowns because productivity is down by 20 to 25 percent,” Spinosa said. “I think we must be doing pretty good if that’s all we’re down given the disaster the employers’ lockout created.”

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16
Labor Neighbor this weekend: R-51 blitz in Seattle, more walks 

Have you volunteered a couple hours yet for the WSLC's Labor Neighbor efforts? If you haven't, this is a perfect weekend to start because there will be a massive leafleting blitz in Seattle for Referendum 51, in addition to household walks across the state. (If you have volunteered, you know how fun it is and you should come again!)

Seattle-area R-51 supporters are needed to volunteer for a leafleting blitz Saturday, Oct. 19. (Learn more.) Leafleting will begin at 10 a.m. from two staging areas: Hall 8 of the Seattle Labor Temple at 2800 1st Ave. downtown and the IAM District 751 Hall at 9125 15th Pl. S. in South Seattle. If you plan to participate, please RSVP to Jerri Wood or Shannon Strumpfer, or call the R-51 campaign at (206) 352-8255.

TONIGHT (Wednesday) and Thursday night there are Labor Neighbor phone banks from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in King County at the IAM 751 Hall at 9125 15th Pl. S. in Seattle (contact Anh Nguyen at 206-979-1281 for more information), and from 5 to 7 p.m. in Spokane at the Teamsters Hall, 1912 N. Division (contact Ed Wood at 509-869-4454 for info). 

Here is the weekend schedule to Labor Neighbor household walks:

NOTE: If you have volunteers available at times other than those listed on the calendar, please contact the coordinator to make arrangements to train and dispatch at an earlier/later time. We will never turn down a volunteer!!

NEXT WEEK: The King County phone bank will continue to run nightly from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the IAM 751 Hall. But starting Tuesday, Oct. 22, there will also be phone banks in Bellingham (at the Labor Temple from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., contact Keith Rubin) and in Tacoma (at the IBEW Hall on 36th, contact Kimberlie Lelli).

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14
2003 Labor History Calendars celebrate women workers 

The 2003 Labor History Calendars, published by the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association, are now available. This 23rd edition, under the theme "Women Workers: At Work and in Their Unions," is filled with interesting historic photos ranging from The Palace Laundry workroom in Portland circa 1915 to the Seattle Labor Chorus of today. Important anniversaries and dates of historical importance to working people are noted throughout.

The PNLHA is a society devoted to the study and preservation of the social, economic and cultural history of the working people of the Pacific Northwest. Membership is open to rank-and-file union members, union officials, academics and anyone interested in its stated goals.

These calendars make an excellent holiday gift for your staff, stewards, members, friends and family. The Women's Committee of the Washington State Labor Council has ordered hundreds of them for those interested in purchases in small quantities. The price, including postage, is $11.25 for one or $8 each for two to nine calendars.

If you would like 10 or more, contact order them directly from the PNLHA. The prices are $8 each for 10-49 calendars; $6 apiece for 50-149; $5 apiece for 150-299; and $4.25 apiece for 300-449. For larger quantities, contact Ross Rieder at (206) 524-0346.