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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 November 3-7, 2003

Previous weeks' news: Oct. 27-31 -- Oct. 20-24 -- Oct. 13-17

FRIDAY, Nov. 7 -- Economic Fault Lines Shaking Our Economy (column by Rick Bender)
...plus, don't forget the Rally on Saturday to save Longview Aluminum smelter jobs
— In yesterday's Daily News -- Trustee: Alcoa partly to blame for smelter "travesty"
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Pentagon finalizes Boeing tanker deal; accord keeps Everett 767 line alive
— In today's Seattle Times -- Trade-offs boost odds for Boeing tanker deal
— In today's Olympian -- Business owners hail passing of Initiative 841
— In today's Oregonian -- Proposed 19% workers' comp rate increase draws fire in Vancouver
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Jobless "recovery" hasn't helped our state (Burbank column)
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- DOE to phase out exams of ex-nuclear workers
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Sen. Honeyford eyes Senate Majority Leader post
— In yesterday's Columbian -- Sen. Zarelli in line for Senate Ways and Means chair
— In today's Salem (Ore.) S-J -- Oregon labor unions, anti-tax activists file initiatives for 2004
— At Rep. Brian Baird's website -- Baird sponsors amendment to save American jobs
— In today's Washington Post -- SEIU endorses Dean; AFSCME may be ready to follow
— Today from AP -- Some Republicans in Congress rebel against $128 billion business tax cut

THURSDAY, Nov. 6 -- Survey: Voters were largely uninformed, misinformed on I-841
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- I-841 campaign has foul leftovers as both sides complain
— In today's Olympian -- Sides continue battle over I-841 -- WSLC has filed a PDC complaint against the BIAW, two GOP legislators plan hearings on how OFM came up with fiscal impact statement, and BIAW says L&I improperly campaigned against I-841 by mailing ergonomics booklets.
...but most importantly -- Locke vows continuing ergonomics education
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Voter initiatives on a 3-year winning streak (AP)
Also today -- Economic fault lines shake Washington state's economy
...plus at AFLCIO.org -- New report shows economic fault lines ripping states
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Union goes after tech workers -- Virgin column: The IAM this week announced the formal launch of Cyberlodge, a guild-style organizing effort to recruit computer programmers and developers. The campaign may (or may not) compete with CWA's WashTech.
— In today's News Tribune -- Workers' comp needs fixing, say speakers at rate-hike hearing
— In today's Seattle Times -- Scaled-down Boeing tanker deal -- 20, not 100 -- gets Bush OK
— In yesterday's Daily News -- Doumit, Blake easily win in 19th District special elections
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- Republicans to revamp state caucus
— In yesterday's Walla Walla U-B -- U.S. immigration law must be enforced strictly, fairly (editorial)
— In today's Washington Post -- Stores follow Wal-Mart's lead on labor -- As other retailers follow Wal-Mart's lead of keeping wages low and hiring mostly part-timers with no benefits, untrained people entering today's workforce have dwindling odds of reaching the middle class.
— In today's S.F. Chronicle -- City minimum wage jump will mean a lot to those earning little
— In today's Baltimore Sun -- With impending SEIU endorsement, Dean moves to mainstream

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 5 -- Thank you for your opposition to Initiative 841
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- State ergonomics rules repealed (AP)
— In today's Seattle Times -- Voters toss out labor-supported ergonomic rules
...plus -- Rally on Saturday to save Longview Aluminum smelter jobs
— In yesterday's Daily News -- Bankruptcy trustee wants to liquidate Longview smelter now
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Alaska Air, its pilots open talks on contract
...plus -- We shall soon see if Nethercutt can stand the heat (Connelly column)
— In yesterday's Walla Walla U-B -- When will Dean know if he gets SEIU's nod? (editorial)
— In today's Everett Herald -- Property tax initiative next on Eyman's agenda (Eyman op-ed)
— In today's Salem S-J -- Lawsuits don't curb Sizemore's initiatives -- Oregon ballot activist will again try to curb the political power of unions by limiting their ability to collect union dues.
— In today's News Tribune -- Bush "Jobs and Growth" sends jobs, growth overseas (Burbank column)
At AFLCIO.org -- Drug companies would get $139 billion under Medicare plan in Congress
— In today's S.F. Chronicle -- San Francisco easily passes city minimum wage hike to $8.50
— Today from Reuters -- Wal-Mart gets notice of federal immigration probe
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Illegally in the U.S., and never a day off at Wal-Mart
...plus -- National Academy of Sciences report cites danger in long nurses' hours
— In today's Washington Post -- Democrats assail GOP on Medicare drug bill
...plus -- Amendment to spending bill questioned -- Democrats say provision quietly inserted into spending bill would promote "cronyism," not president's stated goal of "competitive outsourcing."
...plus -- Free trade fall -- Pearlstein column: U.S. Trade Representative Bob Zoellick's working majority in the Republican Congress is melting away, major negotiating initiatives are stalled and Washington finds itself allied with die-hard protectionists in Europe and Japan.

TUESDAY, Nov. 4 -- GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi has 6% labor voting record
— In today's News Tribune -- Rossi to run for governor
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- GOP finally has a candidate; can he break Dems' 20-year hold? (AP)
— In today's Seattle Times -- 7E7 chief praises state's progress
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Boeing plans three versions of 7E7 -- The 7E7 site-selection process is on track and should be done by the end of the year, but exec cautions it could spill into early 2004.
...plus -- Builders construct tenacious lobby -- Columnist Bill Virgin: The most effective lobbying group in Washington is the Building Industry Association.  Webmaster: Money can't buy you love.
— In today's Olympian -- Hospital workers (SEIU 1199NW) ready to strike Providence St. Peter
...plus -- Secret romantic liaisons allowed at DSHS only until Monday (Closets fully booked for week.)
— In today's King County Journal -- WestFarm files Unfair Labor Practice charge against Teamsters
At AFLCIO.org -- Extremist Bush court nominee up for Senate committee vote
— Today at CNN.com -- U.S. job-cut announcements jump to highest level in a year
— In today's L.A. Times -- Lingerie reveals complex trade battle -- Lawmakers, producers seek limits on Chinese goods. But importers say that won't save jobs.
— In today's N.Y. Times -- This can't go on -- Krugman column: Our current leaders and their apologists insist that issues ranging from budgets to foreign policy will magically solve themselves. They won't.

MONDAY, Nov. 3 -- NO on I-841:  Unions, others urged to volunteer on Election Day
— In Sunday's Columbian -- Caught in a bind: Many working families can't afford health insurance
— In today's News Tribune -- Boeing's China sales tied to politics
— In Sunday's Daily News -- Workers mount vigil; seek time for Longview Aluminum smelter
— In Saturday's Seattle P-I -- Locke's swan song: A "signature" campaign for education (AP)
— In Saturday's Everett Herald -- Risk-free teacher strikes must stop (op-ed by Rep. Toby Nixon)
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Cantwell's amendment targets private fire crews
— Today from BusinessWeek -- How to deal with immigrant labor -- Op-ed: Illegal workers from other countries are a critical part of the U.S. economy. Let's make them legal, so everyone can benefit.
— In today's L.A. Times -- Outshout the drug lobby -- Editorial: The double-digit rise in health-care premiums in each of the last four years was the key reason supermarkets and some government agencies decided to begin paring their workers' health benefits, prompting recent union walkouts. It doesn't take a calculus major to see that something's wrong with the nation's health-care system.

Previous weeks' news: Oct. 27-31 -- Oct. 20-24 -- Oct. 13-17

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Survey: Voters were largely uninformed, misinformed on I-841

A survey conducted over the past few days shows Washington voters were largely uninformed -- or misinformed -- about this year's state and local ballot measures, and Initiative 841 in particular.  Among the findings of a survey described in today's edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer were that:

• 39 percent of voters surveyed had no idea what the effect of Initiative 841 would be: to repeal the state ergonomic safety rule and forbid the state from ever adopting a new regulation protecting workers from these preventable injuries.

• 8 percent had it backward.  They thought I-841 would "enact ergonomics regulations."

• 49 percent of voters believed that the regulations directly limited the hours spent at hazardous jobs, a misconception deliberately spread by the I-841 campaign in its advertising and campaign materials.

Given the measure's narrow 6 percent margin of approval, it's fair to say that after three years of intense and detailed deliberation by elected legislators and the courts, the ergonomic safety rule was narrowly repealed by people who didn't understand the issue or were misinformed.

Here is the Seattle P-I guest column describing the survey:

VOTERS NEED MORE RELIABLE INFORMATION
By John Gastil and Ned Crosby

More than 1 million Washington state residents voted Tuesday on statewide and local ballot measures. Unfortunately, most voters lacked the information they needed to make well-reasoned judgments.

We confirmed this by commissioning a representative survey of 400 voters in King County this past week. A majority could not name a single measure on Tuesday's ballot, even though there were two statewide measures, one King County amendment and several local measures on the ballot. Only 8 percent of Seattle voters remembered they were considering a district system for City Council elections.

Of course, some people are caught off guard when asked such a question. When a list of ballot measures was read to voters, 69 percent said they had paid at least some attention to Initiative 841, which repeals ergonomics rules. And 64 percent of Seattle voters had given at least some attention to the charter amendment, which would have enacted district elections. After all, the people selected for this survey had participated in at least two of the past four elections, and more than 90 percent intended to vote or already voted.

But even if voters were paying attention, what did they learn? Initiative 841 spurred more than $2 million in campaign spending, but after hearing the initiative's full ballot statement, 39 percent of voters surveyed had no idea what its effect would be and 8 percent had it backward ("enact ergonomics regulations"). Given its apparent margin of victory, if 8 percent made that error statewide, correcting that misunderstanding alone would have changed the fate of this initiative. Many of those who described its impact relied on messages they had heard from one side or the other ("It will reduce workplace safety" or "It will cost us jobs").

But were they listening to both sides of the debate? Sixty-five percent of respondents could not give a single pro argument and 62 percent could not recall a con.

Opponents of the initiative process could cite the results of this survey as one more reason for placing limits on ballot measures or eliminating them entirely. But with trust in government at low levels, the public is unlikely to give up a method for enacting legislation directly. Fifty-eight percent of the voters in this survey, for instance, were satisfied with the initiative process, and only 32 percent were dissatisfied.

Instead of trying to limit initiatives, why not give the public trustworthy information that can help voters make up their minds? For decades, news organizations and civic groups have searched for new ways to get high-quality information to voters. But public distrust now extends beyond government to include the media and other organizations as well.

Fortunately, citizens still have a measure of trust in one another. Voters in this survey were asked to consider a hypothetical measure that would establish independent panels of Washington citizens to review and provide voters with information about initiatives. The secretary of state would publish the citizen reports in the voters' pamphlet. Roughly 60 percent of those surveyed supported this idea, whether proposed for the state, King County or Seattle.

The idea of a citizen review process has been studied carefully and discussed by citizens across the state. Whether one favors this proposal or not, the bottom line is that voters need better access to reliable information that they trust. Some voters were well informed on Tuesday but many were not.

For instance, some of what voters thought they knew about I-841 was mistaken. The vast majority did not know the initiative's estimated fiscal impact, despite its prominent appearance in the official voters pamphlet. Only one in four voters knew that the federal government lacks similar rules, even though this is a key pro-841 argument. Forty-nine percent of voters believed that the regulations directly limited the hours spent at hazardous jobs, a misconception that the anti-841 campaign tried to address.

The other ballot measures appear to have flown even lower under the public's radar. When asked about Seattle Charter Amendment 5, which would have changed City Council elections to a district system, 53 percent could not give a pro argument and 61 percent could not offer a con.

The fire levy passed overwhelmingly, but since 81 percent could not suggest a single con argument, we wonder if both sides had a fair hearing.

Voters were not even sure what to make of King County Charter Amendment 1, but they approved it anyway. Fifty-eight percent could not say what it would do, even after the interviewer read the full ballot statement. Fewer than one in 10 could give an argument pro or con on this issue.

The initiative process is here to stay, but its admirers must acknowledge that it needs improvement. We need to consider serious proposals for reforming this important democratic process, lest the voters lose faith even in themselves.

John Gastil is an associate professor of communication at the University of Washington and the author of "By Popular Demand: Revitalizing Representative Democracy Through Deliberative Elections" (University of California, 2000). Ned Crosby is the founder of the Jefferson Center in Minneapolis and the author of "Healthy Democracy: Bringing Trustworthy Information to the Voters of America" (Beaver's Pond, 2003).

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Economic fault lines shake Washington state's economy

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

SEATTLE -- Washington state has experienced a economic earthquake, measuring 4.4 on the Economic Richter Scale, according to the data on unemployment, household income, health care coverage and personal bankruptcies. The chief fault lines in Washington’s economy are an increase in unemployment and a significant jobs deficit. The statistical details are included in the full "Economic Richter Scale" report. Download this 5-page report, a 435 KB PDF file.

Job cuts in October reached their highest level in a year, with businesses announcing 171,874 fewer workers working, a 125 percent increase from the September cut of 76,506 jobs. Despite cheerleading about some economic statistics showing growth, the economy continued to shed jobs between July and September, eliminating 165,000 jobs nationwide.

In addition, real wage and salary income declined by 1.2% between March 2001 and the most recent month for the data, August 2003. The decline is the worst performance since the data series began in 1959 according to the Economic Policy Institute.

"The economy will not work for working people until we have an administration with the right priorities to achieve sustained economic growth. We must have both job growth and income growth," said Rick Bender, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Just to stay even, the national economy must create about 170,000 new jobs a month. But in our state, 235,064 more individuals are unemployed today than at the beginning of 2001. Especially concerning is that so many of these lost jobs were good, family wage-level jobs with benefits.

"To have a real jobs recovery, we need good jobs, not low wage, no-benefits Wal-Mart jobs," Bender said.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Thank you for your opposition to Initiative 841

Though many votes are left to be counted, early morning election returns have Initiative 841 passing by a 53-47 margin. (Click here for the latest results.)  So it appears all but certain that Washington state's workplace ergonomic safety rule has been repealed by voters, and that the state will be forbidden from again implementing regulations requiring employers to address ergonomic hazards in the workplace.

THANK YOU to the hundreds of volunteers and contributors to Working Families for Safer Jobs, the No-on-Initiative 841 campaign.  We can be proud of the fact that we ran an aggressive, honest grassroots campaign, taking our message of healthy workplaces door-to-door all over the state. We were outspent, we were not out-organized.

Congratulations Rep. Brian Blake!

Rep. Brian Blake, the Washington State Labor Council-endorsed candidate for State Representative in the 19th District special election, easily won his race Tuesday, defeating his opponent by a 2-to-1 margin.

Get the latest election returns at the Secretary of State's election results page, or visit the county auditors' page for links to county and city election results.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Rally on Saturday to save Longview aluminum smelter jobs

The United Steelworkers of America (USWA) and Longview community began a non-stop vigil last Saturday at the aluminum smelter in Longview in hope of preventing the plant’s liquidation.  You are invited and encouraged to join with the workers and citizens of Longview at a rally at the plant from noon to 1:30 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 8 to send a clear message that we will not abandon the workers at Longview Aluminum.

The Longview smelter fell on hard times when Alcoa sold the facility to Michigan Avenue Partners/Michael Lynch at the height of the 2001 western energy crisis. Lynch immediately closed the smelter and sold its energy back to the Bonneville Power Administration for $226 million.  The smelter has been idled ever since.  Despite the huge sum of money paid for the smelter’s energy, the company, with Lynch at the helm, failed to deliver on its commitments to the workers and the community and then filed for bankruptcy. Lynch and his partners ultimately lost control of the smelter to bankruptcy trustee, William Brandt, last summer.

“We will not turn away so that our Plant can be carved up into scrap," said Wes Wheeler, president of the Longview Federated Aluminum Council and 30-year smelter employee. "Important options that would preserve the smelter as a viable U.S. manufacturing asset have not been exhausted. This is a complex, capital intensive, cyclical business. Any plans for its liquidation would be premature.” 

Added Wheeler: “We are here for the duration, and by that I mean we’re here until we get our Plant back - in one piece.  We aren’t going to find the solution to this country’s manufacturing exodus with a cutting torch or in a slow boat to China.  We have to stop the destruction of our manufacturing base, and this insane race to drive workers to the bottom of the social and economic ladder.”

CALL TO ACTION:  Your support is needed at Saturday's rally from noon to 1:30 p.m.  We must deliver the message that all options to preserve the smelter as a viable Pacific Northwest manufacturing asset must be exhausted before liquidation. The workers, their families and the community deserve nothing less. The vigil will stand until it’s understood this is a viable smelter, and the jobs and the tax base are returned to the community.

Driving directions to Longview Smelter, 4029 Industrial Way:  Take Exit 36 off of I-5, heading West to 3^rd Avenue (Industrial Area Exit).  Take a left at the light, and then turn right at the next light to Industrial Way.  Continue on Industrial Way approximately 4 miles.  Plant is located on the on the left side of the street.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi has 6% labor voting record

After being turned down by his first several choices, Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance has announced he's a "happy, happy guy" now that Sen. Dino Rossi (R-Sammamish) has agreed to run for governor of Washington.  Now the question is: Would working families be happy with Rossi as governor?

Rossi, a real-estate broker nearing the end of his second term in the Senate, got much of the credit this year for passing a labor-opposed "no-new-taxes" budget that cut compensation for all state employees, rejected the home-care workers' contract and refused to consider closing business tax loopholes to avoid significant cuts in public services.  Newspaper coverage this morning refers to him as "budget wizard Rossi" who "dazzled colleagues" with his budgeting prowess. (These are references in news stories, not editorials.)

But in truth, as Senate Ways and Means Committee chair, Rossi merely tweaked Governor Gary Locke's no-new-taxes budget proposal and challenged House Democrats to defy the governor of their own party. Ultimately, there were enough House Democrats willing to go along with the Locke-Senate budget that it passed.

Though portraying himself as a moderate "compassionate conservative" Republican, Rossi's voting record is consistently partisan and anti-union.  He has a lifetime 6% Washington State Labor Council voting record, with five "good" labor votes in 77 chances.  The only "good" labor votes on his record were on issues with which organized labor, the business lobby and the leadership of both parties were in agreement. For example, his one positive vote out of 15 counted for the 2003 session was to approve the 5-cent gas-tax increase to fund transportation improvements.

On all other labor issues, Sen. Rossi has voted with his party leadership and against the interests of Washington's working families.  Here are a few examples:

• 2003 -- Rossi voted for changes to the unemployment system that dramatically cut benefits for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own; for cutting workers' compensation benefits for victims of job-related hearing loss; for repealing the workplace ergonomic safety rule; for freezing the state minimum wage; for adopting federal wage-and-hour standards (in anticipation of the Bush administration proposal to exclude some 8 million Americans from the right to overtime pay); and for authorizing charter schools.
   

• 2002 -- Rossi voted against granting collective bargaining rights to state employees, 4-year college faculty and UW academic student employees; against the prescription drug utilization bill to create a "buying pool" negotiating lower drug prices in Washington; against allowing use of sick time or other paid leave to care for sick family members; and against allowing dues deduction for home-care workers who choose to join a union.
   

• 2001 -- Rossi voted against granting unemployment benefits to victims of domestic violence who are forced to quit their jobs to flee their attackers (at an annual estimated cost of just $144,000); against implementation of the state ergonomic safety rule; and against prohibiting public employers from firing or misclassifying employees to avoid providing benefits.
   

• 2000 -- Rossi voted against the retraining bill designed to assist laid-off Boeing Machinists, timber workers and others; against providing unemployment benefits to workers locked out of their jobs (like those at Kaiser Aluminum); against promoting apprenticeship on public-works projects; and against empowering health care workers to avoid and prevent needlestick injuries. He voted for privatization of certain ferry runs. 
   

• 1999 -- No labor voting record that year.
   

• 1998 -- Rossi voted against increasing agency home-care workers' wages to an average $8.50 an hour and against a "pay gap" measure designed to grant bigger raises to state employees whose wages lag behind their private sector counterparts.
   

• 1997 -- Rossi voted for overturning a unanimous Supreme Court decision (Birklid v. Boeing) grating legal immunity to employers that intentionally injure workers; for partial privatization of our state workers' compensation system; for lowering state standards protecting workers from secondhand smoke; and for granting legal immunity to job site contractors who negligently injure workers who are not their employees.

Delegates representing the more than 550 WSLC-affiliated union organizations will be choosing between Attorney General Christine Gregoire, King County Executive Ron Sims, former state Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, Tacoma-Pierce County public-health director Federico Cruz (a man whose possibly illegal candidacy has been dismissed by party boss Vance as nonviable) and now Rossi. It requires a two-thirds majority of delegates present to win the WSLC endorsement.

Before settling on Rossi, the Republican Party aggressively pursued King County Sheriff Dave Reichert, telecommunications billionaire John Stanton, former Microsoft executive Bob Herbold and U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt.  All refused to run for governor.  Reportedly, if Rossi had also declined, former 1st District congressman Rick "6th Choice" White was waiting in the wings to run.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3
No on I-841: Unions, others urged to volunteer on Election Day

The Washington State Labor Council is asking all affiliated union organizations to release staff to volunteer for Election Day get-out-the-vote efforts urging voters to say "NO" on Initiative 841.  All other groups and individuals who want to protect safe jobs in Washington state -- and be a part of the proud labor tradition of old-fashioned grassroots political organizing -- are invited to participate as well.

I-841 would repeal the state's workplace ergonomic safety rule and prevent the state from ever adopting any new regulation to protect workers from repetitive motion injuries such as back strains, tendonitis and carpal tunnel.  To convince people to vote against their own self-interest, the special-interest business lobbying groups financing I-841 have paid for $1 million in television and radio advertisements cynically threatening lost jobs and lost health insurance for children.

The race is therefore considered too close to call.  Election Day get-out-the-vote efforts are likely to determine the outcome.

Help us demonstrate that people-powered politics can defeat the cynical money-driven negative campaigning of special interest groups. (What a great lesson for our children!)  Here are the activities planned on Election Day, and who you should call for more information:

KING COUNTY Staging Area: IBEW Hall, 2700 1st Ave., Seattle -- Contact Mitch Seaman - 360-789-8806

7-9 a.m. -- Sign Waving
10 a.m.-8 p.m. -- GOTV Phonebanking
Noon-7:30 p.m. -- GOTV Doorbelling/Leafletting

PIERCE COUNTY Staging Area: Pierce County Labor Council, 3049 S. 36th St., Tacoma -- Contact Ryan Mello - 253-861-8356

7-9 a.m. -- Sign Waving
10 a.m.-8 p.m. -- GOTV Phonebanking
Noon-7:30 p.m. -- GOTV Doorbelling/Leafletting

SNOHOMISH COUNTY Staging Area: Everett Labor Temple , 2812 Lombard Ave., Everett -- Contact Leonard Kelly 425.319.5453

7-9 a.m. -- Sign Waving
10 a.m.-8 p.m. -- GOTV Phonebanking
Noon-7:30 p.m. -- GOTV Doorbelling/Leafletting

SPOKANE COUNTY Staging Area: Spokane Labor Council, N. 1522 Washington, Spokane -- Contact: Beth Thew 509-327-7637

7-9 a.m. -- Sign Waving
10 a.m.-8 p.m. -- GOTV Phonebanking
Noon-7:30 p.m. -- GOTV Doorbelling/Leafletting

THURSTON COUNTY Staging Area: Thurston County Labor Temple, 119 ½ Capitol Way, Olympia -- Contact Raechelle Turner 206.718.2022

7-9 a.m. -- Sign Waving
10 a.m.-8 p.m. -- GOTV Phonebanking
Noon-7:30 p.m. -- GOTV Doorbelling/Leafletting

ALL OTHER COUNTIES: Do it on your own!  You don't need organized get-out-the-vote activities to make a difference.  Please download, print and distribute the camera-ready fliers posted online to your family, friends and neighbors. Or simply call your friends and family and urge them to vote No on I-841.

PARTY on Election Night!  Election Day volunteers and others who have supported the effort to defeat Initiative 841 who are in the Seattle area are invited to stop by the Seattle Hilton, 1301 6th Ave. (at University Street) for a celebration. There will be a large-screen TV to watch election returns as they come in, plus food and beverages.  Please bring along the volunteers and staff from your organization who have helped on this campaign.

PLEASE "copy and paste" this message to your staff, shop stewards, co-workers, friends and neighbors who might be willing to volunteer a few hours on Election Day to help defeat the anti-worker, anti-safety Initiative 841.  Thank you!