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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.

FRIDAY, DEC. 16  ■  Randy Loomans leaving WSLC to join IUOE Local 302

Previous weeks' news: Dec. 5-8 --  Nov. 28-Dec. 2 -- Nov. 21-23

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2005
Randy Loomans leaving WSLC to join IUOE Local 302

Randy Loomans, one of the Washington State Labor Council's team of legislative lobbyists who has served on the Council staff since 1996, has resigned to accept a position as Director of Government Affairs for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2005
Majority of Americans say nation is on the wrong track
AFL-CIO launches "Who's on Our Side" campaign to hold Congress accountable

Some 56 percent of voters think the United States is on the wrong track domestically, while only 29 percent believe the nation is moving in the right direction, according to a new poll by Peter D. Hart Research Associates. In the same poll, respondents gave Congress a failing grade on the issues that most concern working families.

As the watchdog for America’s working families, the AFL-CIO yesterday announced the launch of a “Who’s on Our Side Campaign” to hold members of Congress accountable for the choices they made this year on issues vital for working families.

The public’s concern over the nation’s direction crosses economic, political and geographic lines. Among employed adults surveyed, 58 percent say the nation is on the wrong track, as do 64 percent of working women and 63 percent of members of working families with incomes of less than $40,000.

Many media commentators have attributed recent public dissatisfaction to the war in Iraq, but the Hart poll, conducted for the AFL-CIO, shows working families hold deep concerns over the nation’s domestic course, especially in five areas: health care (69 percent), retirement security (65 percent), fair taxes (57 percent), education (53 percent) and jobs and the economy (47 percent). The survey also finds 63 percent of seniors ages 65 and older dissatisfied with the new Medicare prescription drug benefit plan that opened to enrollees Nov. 15 for coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2006. 

AFL-CIO Issues Report Cards Scoring Performance of Members of Congress

The federation is issuing report cards scoring the performance of U.S. senators and representatives in five areas: jobs and wages, retirement security, health care, tax fairness and education. Within these categories, the AFL-CIO examined the votes cast by members of Congress on trade, the minimum wage, job creation and community wage standards, child labor standards, protection for overtime pay, the freedom to form unions, pension and Social Security protections, Medicaid, health care, consumer protections, tax cuts for the wealthy, student loans and funding for public education. 

The report cards, issued as Congress completes the first half of its term, are part of a union movement-wide drive to hold lawmakers accountable. In coming months, working families will hold workers’ roundtables, grassroots mobilizations and other actions to put elected leaders on notice that they need to support issues that matter to working families. In 2006, Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate, will talk with an average of 25,000 working families each week on the issues that matter to them.

“Working families, with the facts in hand, have the power to take back the country and make sure we are represented by leaders who are fighting for our best interests—not special interests—every day,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, speaking to reporters in a Dec. 13 news conference call to release the poll results.

Congress and President Get Failing Grades

Nearly three in five voters surveyed in the Northeast (59 percent), Midwest (60 percent) and West (58 percent) say the country is on the wrong track, according to the poll. Among Southern voters, some 48 percent say the nation is on the wrong track, while 35 percent say we’re going in the right direction.  

Congress gets a failing grade from voters, according to the Hart poll. Only 30 percent approve of the job Congress is doing, while 56 percent disapprove -- a sharp drop from the 41 percent approval rating cited in an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll last January, according to the Hart survey. A major factor in the disapproval of the nation’s direction is the strong belief that both Congress (66 percent) and President George W. Bush (59 percent) are out of step with working families’ priorities.

Demonstrating how out of step they are with mainstream Americans, members of Congress last week approved President Bush’s massive give-away to the rich, passing a bill that cuts taxes on capital gains and estates -- a move that follows a $50 billion package of spending cuts in working family programs Republican leaders squeaked through by two votes in November with the assistance of all three Washington Republicans, Reps. Dave Reichert, Cathy McMorris and "Do-Nothing Doc" Hastings).

Because so many Americans are dissatisfied with the positions of Congress and President Bush on working family issues, the public strongly supports a change in the leadership of the nation, the poll reveals. By the largest margin in 11 years of similar Hart polling, voters say they would prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress: 45 percent to 34 percent. Among those undecided about their preference for control of Congress, more than three of five say they think the nation is on the wrong track (60 percent) and say President Bush (61 percent) and Congress (62 percent) are out of step with their priorities.

The survey was conducted Dec. 1-4, 2005, among a representative sample of 801 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2005
Public School Employees join SEIU to form WA's largest union

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2005
Laidlaw school bus drivers in Seattle vote to join SEIU 925

Seattle school bus drivers win union representation
Higher standards for student safety are a top priority

Bus drivers for Laidlaw Education Services, a private company that contracts with Seattle Public Schools to provide school bus services, won union representation on Monday, December 5th, when a local labor arbitrator certified that 78 percent of Laidlaw's Seattle drivers had signed union membership cards with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 925. 

“This is a huge victory for the workers and the special needs students we serve," said Carole Hiatt, who has driven Seattle special needs students for 33 years. “After a long hard struggle of nearly four years, involving a number of bus contractors, we have our union. This means more good drivers will be able to stay on the job.”

Laidlaw bus drivers say they are eager to work in partnership with the company and the school district to raise safety and service standards, and to improve employment conditions for the workers who transport Seattle students each school day.

Laidlaw and the SEIU had entered a “card check agreement,” under which Laidlaw said it would recognize the union if a majority of workers submitted signed cards designating the union as their representative.  Such agreements are becoming more common as a way for unions and employers to avoid potentially divisive battles over the issue of unionization. According to many drivers, high driver turnover rates, caused by low employment standards, are among the causes of poor school bus services.  They believe that unionization will help.

Many parents and community members have raised concerns that high driver turnover at private bus companies serving Seattle has led to numerous late pick-ups, missed routes and safety problems. 

Seattle School Board member Sally Soriano is confident that with a union for bus drivers, things will turn around.  “I hope that with a union, driver turnover will be lowered and that parents, students and teachers will receive a safer, more dependable service,” said Soriano.

Drivers began organizing their union while they were working for Durham School Services, which lost its school bus contract with the Seattle School District in April 2005. Laidlaw, which was awarded a portion of the district's school bus work when Durham’s contract was terminated, had agreed that it would not oppose workers’ efforts to form a union.

“Being union means that we can advocate for improved safety conditions without fear of repercussions; and a stable workforce will mean that Seattle’s special education students will have reliable service,” said Jeff Acorn, a special needs driver, and veteran bus driver of 25 years.

For more information, contact Emily Paulin, Organizer, at 206-568-7113 (office)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2005
King County facilities project managers join IFPTE 17

The following press release was distributed Friday by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 17:

International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 17 is pleased to announce that the Facilities Project Managers in King County's Facilities Management Division have joined Local 17.

These 15 employees are responsible for many of the highest profile capital development projects undertaken by the county, such as the installation of wireless internet at Marymoor Park, the 101 Ballfields Project, and the Play Area Rehab Project.

In 1993, Councilmember Larry Phillips and then-Councilmember Ron Sims centralized the function of this group in order to ensure professionalism, accountability, and independent oversight. This centralization has proved a tremendous success leading to efficiencies of scale and expertise that have been a great benefit to the citizens of King County.

"This structure has been a model of how to deliver projects on-time, and under budget because it shields the project managers from the day-to-day political pressures department directors often find themselves facing," said Union Representative Ray Goforth. "Because of the foresight shown in 1993, the Facilities Project Managers have brought to fruition many of the jewels of the King County parks system."

As King County employees and Local 17 members, they take pride in providing and maintaining natural areas, and parks and recreation programs so that King County residents will continue to enjoy a high quality of life. King County Parks is known for its diverse and wide-ranging opportunities for recreation. The current structure has helped deliver these quality services that citizens are accustomed to.

Local 17 represents more than 8,000 professional, technical, managerial and administrative employees who work in city, county and state governments and do work for the public good.

For more information, contact Ray Goforth at (206) 328-7321 x105.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2005
Big Box Balderdash: Wal-Mart job-creation claims ludicrous

Those of you who aren't familiar with the excellent new online service provided by the New York Times called TimesSelect™, the following piece by NYT columnist Paul Krugman is just a taste of the quality exclusive content you'll get by becoming a paid subscriber!

Big Box Balderdash

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: December 12, 2005

I think I've just seen the worst economic argument of 2005. Given what the Bush administration tried to put over on us during its unsuccessful sales pitch for Social Security privatization, that's saying a lot.

The argument came in the course of the latest exchange between Wal-Mart and its critics. A union-supported group, Wake Up Wal-Mart, has released a TV ad accusing Wal-Mart of violating religious values, backed by a letter from religious leaders attacking the retail giant for paying low wages and offering poor benefits. The letter declares that "Jesus would not embrace Wal-Mart's values of greed and profits at any cost."

You may think that this particular campaign -- which has, inevitably, been dubbed "Where would Jesus shop?" -- is a bit over the top. But it's clear why those concerned about the state of American workers focus their criticism on Wal-Mart. The company isn't just America's largest private employer. It's also a symbol of the state of our economy, which delivers rising G.D.P. but stagnant or falling living standards for working Americans. For Wal-Mart is a huge and hugely profitable company that pays badly and offers minimal benefits.

Attacks on Wal-Mart have hurt its image, and perhaps even its business. The company has set up a campaign-style war room to devise responses. So how did Wal-Mart respond to this latest critique?

Wal-Mart can claim, with considerable justice, that its business practices make America as a whole richer. The fact is that Wal-Mart sells many products more cheaply than traditional stores, and that its low prices aren't solely or even mainly the result of the low wages it pays. Wal-Mart has been able to reduce prices largely because it has brought genuine technological and organizational innovation to the retail business.

It's harder for Wal-Mart to defend its pay and benefits policies. Still, the company could try to argue that despite its awesome size and market dominance it cannot defy the iron laws of supply and demand, which force it to pay low wages. (I disagree, but that's a subject for another column.)

But instead of resting its case on these honest or at least defensible answers to criticism, Wal-Mart has decided to insult our intelligence by claiming to be, of all things, an engine of job creation. Judging from its press release in response to the religious values campaign, the assertion that Wal-Mart "creates 100,000 jobs a year" is now the core of the company's public relations strategy.

It's true, of course, that the company is getting bigger every year. But adding 100,000 people to Wal-Mart's work force doesn't mean adding 100,000 jobs to the economy. On the contrary, there's every reason to believe that as Wal-Mart expands, it destroys at least as many jobs as it creates, and drives down workers' wages in the process.

Think about what happens when Wal-Mart opens a store in a previously untouched city or county. The new store takes sales away from stores that are already in the area; these stores lay off workers or even go out of business. Because Wal-Mart's big-box stores employ fewer workers per dollar of sales than the smaller stores they replace, overall retail employment surely goes down, not up, when Wal-Mart comes to town. And if the jobs lost come from employers who pay more generously than Wal-Mart does, overall wages will fall when Wal-Mart moves in.

This isn't just speculation on my part. A recent study by David Neumark of the University of California at Irvine and two associates at the Public Policy Institute of California, "The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets," uses sophisticated statistical analysis to estimate the effects on jobs and wages as Wal-Mart spread out from its original center in Arkansas.

The authors find that retail employment did, indeed, fall when Wal-Mart arrived in a new county. It's not clear in their data whether overall employment in a county rose or fell when a Wal-Mart store opened. But it's clear that average wages fell: "residents of local labor markets," the study reports, "earn less following the opening of Wal-Mart stores."

So Wal-Mart has chosen to defend itself with a really poor argument. If that's the best the company can come up with, it's going to keep losing the public relations war with its critics. Maybe it should consider an alternative strategy, such as paying higher wages.