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Reports for December 1-3, 2004

Previous weeks' news: Nov. 15-19 -- Nov. 8-12 -- Nov. 1-5

FRIDAY, Dec. 3 -- Support the manual recount effort in governor's race
UPDATE: The State Democrats announced this afternoon that they have raised enough money to finance a full statewide manual recount. Plus, the WSLC has determined that union organizations can release staff to help monitor the recount starting next week. Learn more.
— In the Skagit Valley Herald -- Errors in Skagit vote count point to statewide problem 
— Today from AP -- Gregoire says it's all or nothing; tells party she doesn't want partial recount
— In today's Seattle Times -- A full count, or none -- Editorial: Gregoire is right. Count them all or none.
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- Time to end haggling over governor's race -- Editorial urging concession.
Also today -- WSLC seeks nominations for Vice President in 6th District
— "We suck" ™ business-climate update -- State ranks 9th in job growth; projected to rank 6th next year
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Big growth at Port of Tacoma -- A major expansion has port officials and labor leaders pointing to new trade-related jobs and the need for more infrastructure investment.
— In today's Seattle Times -- Boeing hard at work to cut costs, keep 777s rolling out -- Good plane "costs too much," so Boeing aims to reduce its manufacturing costs by 7%, 7% and 15% in the next three years and to shrink the time it takes to assemble each 777 jet from 26 days to just eight.
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- Judge agrees to block Hanford waste initiative after U.S. challenge
— In yesterday's Columbian -- Public opinion goes against teachers union (column by WEA-hater)
— In today's Salem S-J -- Pay rises for Washington, Oregon agricultural farm workers 
At AFLCIO.org -- Unions spearhead investment in worker training
— Today from Reuters -- November job growth unexpectedly soft -- "Four more years! Four more years!"
— In today's NY Times -- From Bush aide, a warning on Social Security -- Gregory "Outsourcing-Is-Good" Mankiw assigned to deliver the bad news: The only way to finance Bush's privatization scheme is to cut benefits drastically for future retirees. So the adviser paints a grim -- and untrue -- forecast saying, future benefits are "empty promises" for the majority of us paying Social Security taxes.
...plus -- A false start on Social Security -- Editorial: Unwilling to raise taxes, Congress and the Bush administration will have to borrow well over $1 trillion (to pay for Bush's plan). For a country that already needs to borrow $2 billion a day just to stay afloat, that gargantuan price tag for privatization is one reason it's a bad idea. It is far from the only reason, and arguably not even the main one.
— Today from AP -- US Airways moves to halt strike; unions threaten to walk if judge voids contracts
— Today from AP -- Flight attendants union seeks strike authorization against United Airlines
— In today's SF Chronicle -- From walkout to lockout: Hospitals retaliate for one-day hospital strike
— In today's Washington Post -- A rough ride for Schwinn Bicycle -- "We're missing a big, important part of our society. Either everyone has to go to college or everyone has to have very low-paying jobs," said Richard Schwinn of the last generation to run the family firm. "I'm not sure that's a great balance."

THURSDAY, Dec. 2 -- Memo to "we suck" crowd: Put up solutions or shut up -- Local CEO complains about the business climate, but accepts his share of the blame. It's time for these leaders to stop whining and get specific: Whose taxes would you raise? Which services would you cut? 
— In today's Seattle P-I -- To tax or to cut -- Editorial: Since Gov.-elect(?) Rossi says he won't raise taxes, he owes us a clear and specific idea of where and how much he would propose to cut.
...plus -- Kerry backs recount effort in governor's race, donates $200,000 to state Dems
— In today's Olympian -- Count every ballot in every county (editorial)
— In today's News Tribune -- Boeing gives jobs to the South; Washington state not invited to compete
— In today's Everett Herald -- 7E7 suppliers say they'll build fuselage plant in South Carolina
...plus -- Subsidies give Airbus an unfair lift vs. Boeing (editiorial)
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Tentative agreement reached in 911 dispatcher contract dispute
— Today from the Associated Press -- AFL-CIO's Sweeney to meet with corporations, officials in China
— In today's NY Times -- No cure seen for rise in employer health costs
— In today's LA Times -- Corporate-governance activist chief is voted out at CalPERS

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1 -- Vindication for caregivers at Providence St. Peter Hospital
— In today's Seattle Times -- Rossi named governor-elect; funds flowing to Democrats for hand recount
— In yesterday's Walla Walla U-B -- State must unite behind new governor -- Editorial: Does it really matter whether Washington state has a new governor by Christmas? Not to most of us. What counts is that the people of the state get behind the next governor... All this counting has to be allowed to play itself out so that it is clear the election was accurate. So far, it appears there is doubt.
— In today's News Tribune -- Gregoire should seek statewide recount -- Editorial: A hand recount limited to Democratic turf would fuel charges that she is trying to game the process. (Yakima H-R agrees.)
— In today's Olympian -- Locke warns of tax increases -- Eyman responds; no one but reporter cares.
...plus on Monday -- Agency workers weigh pros, cons of union -- Upset by the contract's union-security clause, some seek to decertify union. EFF offers to provide legal assistance to dissidents.
— In the Pacific Business Journal -- Matson to add ships, outsource crew jobs to non-union company
— In today's Seattle Times -- State Supreme Court takes Times-P-I newspaper fight
— In yesterday's Daily News -- Alcoa gears up for restart in Wenatchee (AP)
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Justice Department to fight Hanford initiative in court (AP)
At AFLCIO.org -- Recent NLRB decisions threaten right to organize unions, Sweeney says
— In today's Seattle Times -- Temporary workers lose bargaining rights
— In today's SF Chronicle -- 6,700 workers strike Sutter Health hospitals -- SEIU stages one-day strike at nine hospitals, which have hired temp scabs and will bar strikers from returning until Monday.
— In today's NY Times -- Calpers corporate-governance activist Harrigan expects to be ousted
— In today's LA Times -- US Airways union (CWA) readies for strike by ticket, gate agents
...plus -- 17 Wal-Mart workers in Colorado look to unionize (AP)
— In today's Washington Post -- Wal-Mart loves unions (in China) -- Meyerson column: Wal-Mart says that if its "associates" in China wanted a union to represent them, that would be hunky-dory -- as long as the union was affiliated with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, a body dominated by the Chinese Communist Party that seldom seek wage increases or safety improvements. Indeed, the locals are often headed by someone from company management. When America's largest employer feels more affinity for the political legacy of Mao Zedong than for that of Franklin D. Roosevelt, it's time to start democratizing our own back yard.

Previous weeks' news: Nov. 15-19 -- Nov. 8-12 -- Nov. 1-5

LATE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3
Support the manual recount in the governor's race

The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is urging all affiliated union locals and councils to support efforts for a statewide manual hand recount in the governor's race. With nearly 3 million votes counted by machines, Republican Dino Rossi got just 42 votes more than labor-endorsed Democrat Christine Gregoire. With an election this close, the error rates of the vote-counting machines make them unable to determine an accurate result. In addition, questions have been raised about the current count, including thousands of uncounted ballots, differences in how counties counted ballots, reporting mistakes and more.

After Christine Gregoire insisted that any recount be statewide and not selective, the Washington State Democratic Party announced Friday afternoon that it has raised enough money to finance a statewide manual recount.

The Washington State Labor Council supports the manual recount. Whatever the outcome, this recount will grant our next governor the legitimacy necessary to serve by giving Washington citizens faith that their vote was fairly counted. The winner will be declared by people, not machines with error margins that could sway the outcome.

But your help is needed in this manual recount happen!  Here's what you can do:

CONTRIBUTE TODAY!  Although the state Democratic Party has raised the $700,000-plus necessary to make a deposit for the manual recount, the ultimate cost including attorney fees is expected to be well over $1 million so contributions are still being sought. You can contribute online at www.wa-democrats.org or call 206-583-0664 to make a pledge and get instructions on where to send a check.

VOLUNTEER!  Volunteers will be needed in every county of the state to oversee the manual recount.  It is expected to begin next Wednesday, Dec. 8 with large counties counting for up to two weeks. Paid staffers can be released by union organizations to help monitor the recount (click here for details).

You can sign up to serve as a Democratic Party observer for this count by e-mailing count@wa-democrats.org. In addition, there will be trainings this weekend to prepare volunteers for the effort. To attend, please RSVP to count@wa-democrats.org or 206-328-2969. Here is the training schedule:

Saturday, December 4

• BELLINGHAM -- 8 to 10 a.m. @ Bellingham Labor Temple, 1700 N. State St.

• SEATTLE -- Noon to 2 p.m. @ Aerospace Machinists Hall, 9125 15th Pl. S.

• OLYMPIA -- 4 to 6 p.m. @ State Employees’ Office, 1212 Jefferson St. SE, First Floor Conference Room

Sunday, December 5

• VANCOUVER -- 9 to 11 a.m. @ Carpenters’ Hall, 612 E. McLoughlin Blvd.

• YAKIMA -- 2 to 4 p.m. @ Carpenters’ Hall, 507 S. 3rd St.

• SPOKANE -- 7 to 9 p.m. @ Carpenters’ Hall, 127 E. Augusta Ave., Ste. 103

WRITE YOUR NEWSPAPER.  Send a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper expressing your support for the manual recount and ensuring an accurate result in this election. The Republican Party has already launched an aggressive media campaign to label Gregoire as a "sore loser" and pressure her to forgo her legal right to a manual recount. The GOP is threatening to unleash White House and other party attorneys in every county just like they did in Florida in 2000. Here's a sample Letter to the Editor:

---

Dear Editor:

I support Christine Gregoire’s legal right to a manual recount in the governor’s race, and I support her decision to insist on a statewide count.

With nearly 3 million votes counted by machines, Dino Rossi got just 42 votes more than Gregoire. In an election this close, the vote-counting machines’ error margins make them unable to determine an accurate result with certainty.

The choice is, do we accept the latest machine count in the interest of expediency, or do we let Gregoire and the State Democratic Party exercise their legal right to pay for a hand recount?

Clearly, Dino Rossi and the State Republican Party want the former. They have launched an offensive public relations campaign to try to portray Gregoire as a "sore loser" and pressure her to concede and forgo her right to a recount.

What’s the hurry? If Gregoire’s paying for it, who cares if we spend two extra weeks making sure we get an accurate result?

The truth is that nobody is bothered by Gregoire exercising her legal right except those who want Rossi to be our next governor, whether he really won the election or not.

Whatever the outcome, this manual recount will grant our next governor the legitimacy necessary to serve. It will give Washington citizens confidence that their vote was fairly counted and that the winner was declared by people, not machines with error margins that could sway the outcome.

Sincerely, (your name, address and phone number)

---

Thank you for helping in this critical effort to ensure that every vote counts in Washington state.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3
WSLC seeks nominations for Vice President in 6th District

Due to the vacancy created by the passing of Vice President Joe Murphy we currently have one vacancy in the 6th District for WSLC Vice President.  The executive board recommended that nominations will be submitted to the WSLC Executive Board for appointment at the February 23, 2005 board meeting.  Under the guidelines of our constitution, Article V, Sections 25 & 26, I am announcing a vacancy and will be accepting nominations from affiliated local unions in the 6th District beginning immediately. All nominees must be members in good standing within their local union.

All nominations must be postmarked and returned no later than January 31, 2005.  All names submitted will be presented to the Executive Board and they will appoint the next board member who will the vacancy.  The term for this vacancy will be from the swearing in at the May 2005 board meeting until the next election in 2006.

According to the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO constitution, no more than 2 board members may be from the same Central Labor Council within that district.  Therefore, nominations must be for members that live or work within the remaining Central Labor Council jurisdictions of Olympic or Kitsap.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me.

Sincerely,
Alan O. Link, Secretary-Treasurer

Link can be reached via email at alink@wslc.org or by calling 206-281-8901.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2
Memo to "we suck" crowd: Put up solutions or shut up
Stop blaming government; tell us whose taxes you'd raise, which services you'd cut

Despite evidence to the contrary, prominent local business leaders continue to insist that Washington state is a bad place to do business. But with the looming 2005 legislative session, rather than revisit the question of whether (as one prominent exec put it) "we suck," perhaps it would be more constructive to look at what these local business leaders would do to change things. Then maybe we can get past the rhetoric, and Washington citizens can decide for themselves whether the benefit of making the state more competitive in the eyes of local CEOs is worth the price we must pay.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1
Vindication for caregivers at Providence St. Peter Hospital

Vindication for Frontline Caregivers at Providence St. Peter Hospital

Providence St. Peter Hospital Accepts Settlement of Labor Charges, Pledges Not to Interfere with Employees’ Effort to Form Union

Hospital employees at Providence St. Peter Hospital feel vindicated after hospital management accepted a settlement stemming from charges filed last year by employees and Service Employees International Union District 1199NW with the federal National Labor Relations Board. The charges spelled out misconduct by managers during a hospital campaign to interfere with employees’ attempt to form a union.

“A hospital works better if employees have a real voice about decision-making. That’s why we want to form a union. It’s disappointing that Providence interfered and then dragged its feet so long before agreeing to a settlement of these charges. We hope that Providence stops fighting us and starts working with us,” said Walt Simpson, a pharmacy technician at the hospital. 

Technical employees at the hospital had filed a petition to hold an election to form a union in October 2003 but were forced to file charges after an extensive campaign by management to pressure staff not to form a union. The NLRB investigated the charges and found sufficient evidence of management misconduct to move towards scheduling a hearing. A week before a scheduled hearing, Providence St. Peter settled the charges. 

Providence will post notices around the hospital promising not to engage in conduct that marked its previous campaign against its staff. PSPH promised not to: 

• Threaten that staff will lose pay, wage differentials, and premiums if they form a union

• Threaten to take away scheduling flexibility.

• Interrogate employees about their support for forming a union.

• Discontinue respiratory floor services to retaliate against respiratory therapists for supporting a union.

• Reclassify break areas as “work areas” to try to stop employees from distributing discussing pro-union literature.

• Technical employees are now in the process of restarting their campaign to form a union. 

Over 200 PSPH employees in technical job classifications are in the group of employees seeking to form a union with SEIU 1199NW. Over 550 employees at PSPH in service job classifications are already united in SEIU 1199NW.