MONDAY, JUNE 26  ▪  Labor Dept. promoting Chamber's anti-union PR campaign
▪  At AFL-CIO Now -- Anti-union group has close ties to Bush's Labor Department
▪  At Confined Space blog -- Department of Labor Union Busting -- The law of the land encourages the formation of unions and the DOL was created to improve the working conditions and welfare of working people. Yet, these days the DOL's sole purpose seems to be ignoring workers and acting as if all unions are mafia offspring that deserve about as much sympathy as Al Qaeda.

More Bush Administration news:
▪  In the Eureka Reporter -- NLRB rulings could have serious implications for union members -- The panel appointed by President Bush, could by its ruling broaden the definition of “supervisors” to encompass more positions, effectively diminishing the number of employees eligible to unionize.
▪  At AFL-CIO Now -- Nurses rally to protect freedom to have a voice at work -- In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court's NLRB v. Kentucky River Community Care ruling made it easier for employers to argue that RNs are “supervisors” and therefore ineligible to join unions. The Bush NLRB is expected to decide soon which private-sector nurses should be considered supervisors.

Local news:  ▪  "Tucson 2" will speak TONIGHT at Seattle Labor Temple -- Two volunteers of the Tucson No More Deaths Coalition face felony charges and 15 years in jail  for attempting humanitarian aid and medical evacuation for three critically ill immigrants from the 105-degree heat of the Sonoran Desert. Come hear their story TONIGHT at 6 p.m.
▪  In Sunday's Tri-City Herald -- FFTF's potential worth serious consideration (editorial) -- Politicians who want to be taken seriously in Benton and Franklin counties can't stay on the fence much longer when it comes to Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility. It might not yet be readily apparent, even in the Tri-Cities, but the debate over FFTF's future has shifted to entirely new ground.
▪  In Saturday's Olympian -- Union at fault, but no new vote -- WFSE failed to tell nonunion workers they had a right to vote on contracts that made union dues mandatory, PERC rules.
▪  In Saturday's Kitsap Sun -- Rep. Inslee meets with defense employees -- Workers scored a victory this week with Congress’ move to block spending on NSPS, but the fight isn’t over, he warns.
▪  In the USA Saturday -- USW members ratify 4-year contract with Alcoa -- Some plants voted against the deal, says the USW, but no word on which locals supported or opposed the deal.
▪  In Sunday's Spokesman-Review -- Spokane City Council to consider minimum wage increase (brief) 
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Rural employers should count in Olympia (Rep. Dan Kristiansen op-ed)
▪  In The Columbian -- Departure from Clark College comes with money, silence --  Cash-for-silence deals between the college's president and employees he has pushed out are common.

Political news:
▪  From AP -- Gregoire taps Mulliken for growth management board -- The assignment means the Moses Lake Republican will not seek re-election for her State Senate seat this fall.
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Will television ad attacking Cantwell fly? (Camden column) -- If someone produces a television commercial that puts the head of a senator on the body of a vulture, is it cutting edge, over the top or just plain stupid?
▪  In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Bare-knuckles politician hulks over Senate race here -- Ted Stevens, the most senior Republican in the Senate, is the high priest of bare-knuckle politics. And he's vowed to take out Sen. Maria Cantwell over her opposition to his ANWR oil drilling efforts.
▪  At Postman on Politics -- McGavick's Ted Stevens strategy -- He aims to be the non-incumbent incumbent, taking credit for the good things while criticizing the Congress's dysfunctional nature.
▪  In Sunday's Olympian -- Initiative saga continues (editorial) -- Tim Eyman has a way of elevating public expectations through the initiative process only to see those hopes dashed by the courts. And that's Eyman's fault, not the courts'.

Health Care news:
▪  In the Seattle Times -- Economic equality is the best medicine (op-ed) -- The health of societies mostly relies on political and economic policies, not the individual treatment of disease.

National news:
▪  In Sunday's Tennessean -- Congress stiffs workers (editorial) -- At a time members of Congress take overseas golf trips, get caught with stacks of loot in a freezer, accept pay increases for themselves and grossly mismanage the federal budget, Congress won't even raise the minimum wage. That's what Americans get from this Congress, controlled by Republicans and beholden at every turn to the wishes of businesses and special interests.
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- The business of business (editorial) -- "Corporate social responsibility" has become a buzz phrase, complete with a thriving industry of image gurus and responsibility consultants... (but) corporate efforts to control carbon emissions or discount AIDS medicines will never be a substitute for sensible public policies on climate change or drug pricing.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Escalating prescription drug prices (editorial) -- New surveys of drug prices show a disturbing pattern of increases as the new Medicare drug benefit was getting under way.
▪  In today's Wash. Post -- Senate committee acts to restore protection for federal whistleblowers
▪  In today's NY Times -- City by city, anti-poverty group Acorn plants seeds of change -- It has emerged as the largest neighborhood-based antipoverty group in the U.S., using old-fashioned methods of door-knocking and noisy protests to push for local and national causes.

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.

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