WSLC Reports Today -- October 23-26, 2001

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WSLC Reports Today logo 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 are "positive" and some "negative." The intention is to inform. The creation of a link on this page does not constitute an endorsement of the ideas or content of that story.

Reports for October 23-26, 2001

News from previous weeks: October 15-18 -- October 8-12 -- October 2-5

FRIDAY, October 26 -- Seattle P-I: Send Brian Sullivan to break House tie
(See related stories Locke campaigns to break House tie in today's Everett Herald,
plus This is how we end the gridlock in Olympia, an excellent column in today's Seattle Times.)
...plus -- UW research, staff assistants also join GSEAC/UAW
— In today's News-Tribune -- Home-care workers pin hopes on union, I-775
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Nurses (USNU) want new contract at Moses Lake hospital
— In yesterday's Vancouver Columbian -- Laidlaw, drivers (IBT 58) to meet for talks
— In today's Olympian -- State workers face challenges among health plan choices
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Barriers keep food stamps from needy
— In today's Seattle Times -- Port of Seattle puts brakes on airport, waterfront upgrades
— In today's Asia Times -- U.S. critics assail "Fat Track" supporters' claims
— In today's Washington Post -- Faith in CEO lost, United union (AFA) says
...plus -- ..."Back to usual" (Friedman column: In the House of Representatives, ideology is back in the saddle, bipartisanship is a charade and the corporate lobbyists are chuckling all the way to the bank. Doesn't anybody here know there's a war on?)

THURSDAY, October 25 -- House-approved stimulus bill "a total disgrace"
— In today's Olympian -- Census pokes hole in major Eyman tax argument
— In the new P.S. Business Journal -- I-747 a disaster we don't need (editorial)
— In today's News-Tribune -- Rep. Adam Smith ties Fast Track to worker aid
...plus -- "Homecare quality" initiative falls short (editorial)
— In today's Seattle Times -- I-775: The check that won't cash (editorial)
...plus -- AFT begins national push for part-time pay parity
— In today's Everett Herald -- Marine-Sullivan race begins to get personal
— In today's Seattle P-I -- ATU, county fined for deductions to fight I-745
...plus -- 767s could replace aging Air Force tankers
— In today's SCJ -- Tomorrow's JSF decision only the next step (Announcement isn't production contract, but an engineering contract, one that means 3,000 new jobs here, mostly engineers.)
...plus -- Molloy, Davis, Miller for Port Commissioner (editorial)
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- School district offers pay boost to teachers
— In today's N.Y. Times -- The House acts badly (editorial re: GOP "stimulus" package granting $25 billion in corporate tax cuts and retroactive refunds)

WEDNESDAY, October 24 -- America's workers can't spend praise
UPDATE (late Wednesday) -- On a party-line vote, the House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon passed the Republican-sponsored $100 billion "stimulus" plan by a 216-214 vote.
— In today's Washington Post -- House to vote on $25 billion in corporate tax refunds
— In today's Seattle Times -- Labor leaders want Congress to aid jobless
...plus -- Area postal workers keep their guard up
...an finally -- City of Seattle reaches pact with firefighters
— In today's Seattle P-I -- I-747 hurts rural areas the most (editorial)
...plus -- We depend on government -- while we dump on it (Connelly column)
— In today's Yakima Herald -- Unions say I-747 would be devastating
— In today's News-Tribune -- Poll: I-747 doesn't have majority, but leads opposition
— In yesterday's SCJ -- Boeing moves not very helpful around here (column)
— In today's Vancouver (B.C.) Sun -- Labour leaders attack B.C. downsizing drive
— In the new Roll Call -- Fast Track vote: Is shallow victory worth the risk? (column by "free trader")

TUESDAY, October 23 -- AFL-CIO ads: America needs unity, not Fast Track
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Anti-747 campaign comes out in forces
— In today's Seattle Times -- Eyman promises new initiative if I-747 fails
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- I-775 won't resolve state's health-care crisis (editorial)
— In today's Eastside Journal -- I-773 can help improve health of kids, poor (editorial)
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Interest groups go door-to-door in mayor's race
— In today's Salem (Ore.) S-J -- State's prescription drug plan under review
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Trade panel backs steel makers, enabling broad sanctions
..plus -- Prompt response for politicians, slower one for postal workers
— In today's Washington Post -- Zoellick's aggressive push for Fast Track draws fire

News from previous weeks: October 15-18 -- October 8-12 -- October 2-5

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26
Seattle P-I: Send Brian Sullivan to break House tie

The following Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial published today endorses Brian Sullivan for State Representative in the 21st District: (Sullivan is also endorsed by the Washington State Labor Council.)

It might be tempting to urge 21st District voters to subjugate their local concerns to the best interests of the state by electing a Democrat solely for the sake of breaking the partisan logjam in the state House of Representatives.

But it wouldn't be necessary.

District voters can serve both their interests and the best interests of the state by electing Democrat Brian Sullivan to the Position 2 House seat on Nov. 6.

Not only does the 21st District offer the best hope of freeing the House to take care of the public's business, the brief tenure of the district's appointed incumbent has proved emblematic of the partisan gamesmanship that has rendered unworkable the 49-49 tie in the House.

"It's all about Joe Marine," a frustrated Democratic House committee co-chair said during the frustrating 2001 legislative session that went on so long yet left so much undone. The reference was to the district's Republican incumbent, Joe Marine, after partisan posturing over an amendment he proposed had managed to hold up more than $730 million in ferry funding and contributed to the Legislature's overall failure to produce a comprehensive transportation package.

As if that weren't enough, veteran Republican campaign consultant Stan Shore disgraced himself and his party by trying to create a sham Green Party candidacy in the 21st District race. The maneuver exploited an honest young man hoping to serve his environmental ideals, all in a shallow attempt to draw away Democratic votes.

Sullivan's election would give everyone a break from the partisan clinch in the House and give 21st District voters a better representative in the House.

The former two-term Mukilteo mayor and Democratic Party stalwart has a lifetime of experience in the district. He is a small-business owner who knows the community, understands its residents and fully comprehends its assets and challenges.

The politically moderate Sullivan is a perfect match for this fast-growing, fast-changing swing district. He has worked to help clean up pollution and protect open space. He's particularly well versed in regional transportation -- an issue that will be key to the district's and the state's economic strength and livability.

Like the rest of the nation, Washington faces an unprecedented threat from abroad in the months and years ahead, not to mention economic heartaches and massive private sector layoffs. When it goes back into session in January, the Legislature will need to start getting things done again.

The best hope for that lies in breaking the tie in the House and allowing the majority system to work again.

For voters in the 21st District, that benefit to the state is the bonus that comes with sending the better legislative candidate to Olympia.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26
UW research, staff assistants also join GSEAC/UAW

The following press release was distributed Thursday by the Graduate Student Employee Action Coalition / United Auto Workers:

In a significant new development, a majority of the 2200 Research and Staff Assistants at the University of Washington have signed union cards and joined 1500 Teaching Assistants, Readers, Graders, and Tutors in choosing GSEAC/UAW to represent them in collective bargaining with the University. GSEAC/UAW is now the Union for all 3700 academic student employees.

Today, at the bargaining table, GSEAC/UAW proposed that the University recognize the Union as the exclusive bargaining representative for Research Assistants, Staff Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Readers, Graders, and Tutors.

"Most of us change jobs every quarter. I have been employed alternately as a Teaching Assistant and a Research Assistant. In either case, I would like to secure a voice in my working conditions through collective bargaining and be protected by a fully arbitrable contract," says Andrew Boudreaux, Research Assistant in the Physics Department.

The Union went on strike in the spring when the parties reached an impasse on recognition of the Union as the exclusive bargaining representative for Teaching Assistants, Readers, Graders, and Tutors. The University has recently sent emails threatening to fire graduate student employees who go on strike again. These threats have not diminished support for the Union.

"By making these threats, the UW only galvanizes us with their extreme anti-worker policies," says Evren Damar, a Staff Assistant in the Economics Department. "This is not an employer that we can rely on to have fair employment policies. This is exactly why we need a Union."

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25
House-approved stimulus bill "a total disgrace"

While congressional Republicans praise America’s workers for their heroic response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, they've refused to provide working families with praise they can spend, despite a weakening economy. In a nearly party-line 216-214 vote late Wednesday the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $100 billion “stimulus package,” with nearly 90 percent of the package’s benefits earmarked for tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney called the Republican action a “total disgrace,” and a “shameless approach” to economic stimulus that is full of “twisted priorities.” For more information at AFLCIO.org, click here.

Seven Republicans crossed party lines and voted against the bill, and three Democrats voted for it. It is believed the Washington state delegation voted on party lines, but your Faithful Webmaster® is having trouble confirming that right now because the House Clerk's website is down.

The House package is likely to undergo significant change in the Democratic-led Senate, where far greater support exists for additional spending and far less for cuts in business taxes. More aid for the unemployed, including federal help with laid-off workers' health insurance premiums, and up to $20 billion in spending on homeland security and infrastructure items are among proposals gaining ground in the Senate, according to a new AP report.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24
America's workers can't spend praise

The U.S. House may vote today on yet another corporate giveaway bathed in rhetoric about the Sept. 11 tragedy and its economic impact. Seven companies -- including General Motors, IBM and Kmart -- would get a total of $3.3 billion in tax refunds of alternative minimum taxes they paid as far back as 1986 under the House Republican "economic stimulus" package. It includes some $25 billion in corporate tax breaks in all.

Economists say giving huge tax refunds to major corporations will do little to boost economic activity in the short run or to reverse the sharp drop in business investment that spurred the slide toward recession. But that's not stopping some Republicans from cynically twisting our nation's tragedy into a reason to pass their entire pre-Sept. 11 agenda -- from corporate tax cuts to Fast Track to energy policy -- just as a Sept. 19 Wall Street Journal editorial suggested they should.

So today, yet another massive corporate tax refund and permanent tax cut are on the table. The following oped on the subject by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney appears in today's Washington Post.

America's workers can't spend praise
by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney

For the past month, everybody in America has been a worker wannabe. Hard hats, sleeveless T-shirts and ball caps emblazoned with "FDNY" and "NYPD" are hot sellers with adults. Construction worker, police officer, firefighter and pilot gear are our children's Halloween costumes of choice. Respect for government workers is up and postal workers are finally getting some overdue appreciation for their everyday heroism.

And why not? Even in the face of unspeakable sadness and new anxieties, it makes us feel good about our country and ourselves to pay homage to our heroes and the sturdy working family values they live and died for. And believe me, it makes those workers feel good to get some recognition for the contributions they make, 24-7-365.

The painful irony is that the homage our nation pays is just lip service. While we've been singing the praises of workers, Congress is about the business of severing their lifelines.

Working men and women are the front-line victims of the terrorist attacks. Many of them lost their lives at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, in the planes that crashed and now in postal facilities.

More than 500,000 are losing their jobs in the aftermath, nearly 150,000 in the aviation industry and 120,000 in the hospitality and tourism industries alone.

Aftershocks are thrusting ferociously through steel, auto and other manufacturing plants, the bankruptcy of Bethlehem Steel a cruel indicator.

On the home front, Congress first responded to the attacks by rushing a $15 billion airline company bailout. But despite a heavy push for $2.5 billion in extended unemployment benefits, job training and health care for the aviation workers whose livelihoods were obliterated, the bailout bill provided exactly nothing for them.

The bailout legislation was a bipartisan effort; so too the neglect of aviation industry workers must be a bipartisan responsibility.

The Senate had a second chance to honor America's working families with relief legislation. Instead, a bloc of Republican senators, backed by intensive White House lobbying, went to the extreme of filibustering to death a relief bill that would have provided help for the tens of thousands of already-jobless aviation workers and their families.

Now President Bush is offering to pick up the tab for future terrorism-related insurance company losses and proposing a $75 billion stimulus plan to jump-start our economy. And again, working families have been put on notice that they will be served last and least at the table of economic recovery.

The Bush stimulus plan provides almost no new money for unemployed workers, includes sharply limited emergency jobless benefits for workers in only a limited number of states and dips into two wholly inadequate existing programs -- one of which is supposed to serve poor children -- to give unemployed adults health coverage.

By historical standards, it's a stingy plan. It departs from proven recession-fighting packages that were based on the understanding that expanding unemployment benefits -- replacing lost incomes and health care -- is the fastest way to get money into the economy.

Increasing unemployment benefits is an economic stabilizer because the benefits go right to the geographic areas of concentration. And expanded benefits are a crucial psychological stabilizer in uncertain times.

That's why emergency unemployment compensation was a staple of the anti-recessionary packages signed by former president George H. W. Bush in the early 1990s.

But the current White House proposal -- and the proposal from House Republicans shamelessly more so -- tilts heavily in favor of corporate tax cuts and continues the agenda of top-heavy tax cuts for the wealthy.

These tax cuts will have little or no stimulative effect: As Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has pointed out, only 18 percent of this year's tax rebates translated into actual spending.

What our economy demands instead is a balanced plan that puts money into the pockets of large numbers of people who will spend it fast and supports workers who have been hurt the worst.

That means expanded unemployment benefits that are extended to more jobless workers (60 percent of unemployed workers don't get benefits under the current system), help with continuing their health coverage and full funding for job retraining.

We need aid to struggling state and local governments (if it's good for airlines and the insurance industry, surely it's good for the fire and police protection, health care and other services provided by local governments). And we need solid investments to boost the nation's public health system, build new schools, repair roads and bridges and expand mass transit -- solid investments that meet pressing needs and create jobs.

For America's working-class heroes, praise alone won't pay the rent. And neither will it revive our nation's economy.

----------

See the AFL-CIO Blueprint for Economic Recovery at AFLCIO.org.
Also, in today's Seattle Times -- Labor leaders want Congress to aid jobless
In today's Washington Post -- House to vote on $25 billion in corporate tax refunds
In today's S.F. Chronicle -- Laid-off workers say they can't afford rent, health care

Here is some local congressional delegation contact information for Washington residents (the above e-mail link will simply send a form letter on your behalf). Please note that several representatives urge constituents to use the Write Your Representative service rather than providing direct email addresses. Feel free also to "CC:" your messages to Sen. Patty Murray (at senator_murray@murray.senate.gov) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (at maria_cantwell@cantwell.senate.gov).

Jay Inslee (D-1st) at (425) 640-0233, jay.inslee@mail.house.gov
Rick Larsen (D-2nd) at (425) 252-3188, www.house.gov/writerep/
Brian Baird (D-3rd) at (360) 695-6292, brian.baird@mail.house.gov
Doc Hastings (R-4th) at (509) 543-9396, www.house.gov/writerep/
George Nethercutt, Jr. (R-5th) at (509) 353-2374, www.house.gov/writerep/
Norm Dicks (D-6th) at 1-800-947-6676, www.house.gov/writerep/
Jim McDermott (D-7th) at (206) 553-7170, www.house.gov/writerep/
Jennifer Dunn (R-8th) at (206) 275-3438, www.house.gov/writerep/
Adam Smith (D-9th) at (253) 593-6600, adam.smith@mail.house.gov

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23
AFL-CIO ads: America needs unity, not Fast Track

A new television ad by the AFL-CIO will call on members of Congress to vote ‘no’ on “Fast Track” trade legislation, saying it will be divisive and a further drain on the faltering American economy. Some Republicans in Congress are pushing for a vote on the controversial trade legislation as soon as this week. The AFL-CIO’s ads began running Sunday night in more than 20 Congressional districts.

Under Fast Track, the President negotiates trade agreements and sends them to Congress for approval, but Congress can only vote them up or down—it can’t amend them. The ads highlight the fact that given the terrorist attacks and economic downturn, now is not the time for Congress to make a hasty decision on Fast Track. The AFL-CIO is part of a coalition of religious, community and environmental groups working to defeat fast track.

Fast Track trade negotiating authority was defeated in Congress in 1997 and 1998 when groups pointed out that despite including hundreds of pages of protections for business interests, the legislation didn’t include any enforceable protections for workers’ rights and the environment. When companies are allowed to exploit workers and the environment in other countries under trade deals, they have an incentive to move jobs overseas where they can profit from that exploitation. The current proposed legislation does nothing to remedy these issues.

“Fast Track would not have passed before September 11, and it’s outrageous that some on Capitol Hill are using this moment to further their own agenda,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “A half million of America’s working men and women have learned they’re losing their jobs since the tragedy. There couldn’t be a worse time to pass a controversial law that will put job loss on an even faster track.”

NAFTA was passed under a previous Fast Track negotiating authority, which expired in 1994. NAFTA has cost US workers hundreds of thousands of jobs; in Mexico, wages have actually fallen and poverty has increased; and the wages of Canadian workers have dropped below US standards. One agreement that would be subject to Fast Track is the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement (FTAA), which would extend the failed policies of NAFTA throughout most of the Western Hemisphere.

In addition to the television spots, the 13 million member AFL-CIO has organized a grassroots campaign including tens of thousands of telephone calls to members of Congress, an e-activism campaign, and member-to-member contact throughout the country. The ads are part of the AFL-CIO’s continuing educational outreach program to mobilize America’s working families around issues central to their lives and futures.

If you have news items regarding unions or workplace issues in Washington state that you would like to see posted here, please submit them via e-mail to David Groves or via fax to 206-285-5805.