WSLC Reports Today -- June 30, 2006

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WSLC Reports Today
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Links are functional at date of posting, but sometimes expire. Some links require free registration. WSLC Reports Today links to stories of interest to organized labor; some positive, some negative. The intention is to inform.

FRIDAY, JUNE 30 ▪ Contact Congress: Bush Labor Board refuses to hear us -- Demand that Bush's NLRB allow oral arguments in Kentucky River decisions, which could take away millions' of American workers' right to form unions and bargain collectively for a voice at work.
▪ In Mother Jones -- A new assault on workers' rights -- Bush's NLRB is the most anti-worker labor board in history and has lost few opportunities to turn back the clock on workers' rights, but even against this sorry backdrop, the scope of what they now are contemplating is breathtaking.

Update/Reminder: ▪ Reichert declines to attend forum on working families issues -- Both Reps. Jay Inslee (D-1st) and Dave Reichert (R-8th) were invited to "A Conversation With Your Congressman" on Thursday, July 6 at a Bellevue senior center on the border of their adjoining districts. Inslee accepted that invitation, but Reichert has now declined. Please plan to attend!

Political news: ▪ Union members: Download a new 4th CD candidate comparison leaflet -- A flier comparing Democrat Richard Wright and Republicans Claude Oliver and "Doc" Hastings is now available to union members.
▪ Today from AP -- Eyman still a clown; press still eats it up -- Costumed initiative profiteer submits signatures for yet another $30 car tab initiative that would cut billions in transportation spending. Estate tax repealers, and three other campaigns, plan to submit petitions as well.
▪ Today from AP -- Special legislative session denied -- GOP request to deal with emergency property tax issues is DOA at the governor's office. GOP Boss Tebelius: It's "bold leadership." Gregoire: It's premature appropriation.
▪ In today's News Tribune -- Still kicking your dog, are you? -- Outlawing lying by politicians might seem as futile as making it illegal for the Mariners to blow a lead. But the state is still trying to do it, despite several court rulings supporting the right of political deceit.

Boeing news:
▪ In today's Seattle Times -- Boeing's $5,500 bonuses: Windfall for region -- "(The bonuses are) testament to the hard work and productivity of all Boeing employees," says IAM 751 President Mark Blondin. "They've worked hard to make the company successful through the downturns and this upswing." Employees should receive their bonuses by mail in early August.
▪ In today's NY Times -- Boeing ethics woes take toll on bottom line -- The company will take up to $1.15 billion in charges as a result of a settlement of ethics investigations with the federal government and delays in a surveillance aircraft program for Australia and Turkey.

Local news:
▪ In today's Tri-City Herald -- Hanford budget one step closer -- Senate Appropriations Committee approves Hanford's fiscal year 2007 budget with no changes from the subcommittee version that includes full funding of $690 million for Hanford's vitrification plant.
▪ In today's Yakima H-R -- New L&I director fosters a more helpful approach to safety -- Meet Gary Weeks' kinder, gentler state Department of Labor & Industries... It's not that L&I has gone soft. Weeks promises that unannounced inspections will continue and citations will be issued when necessary. But he said L&I in the past had been too enforcement-oriented.

National news:
▪ In today's Washington Post -- Immigration deadlock revisited -- Republican Senate leaders are considering how to revive immigration legislation and cut a deal with the more hard-line House, fearing that inaction on the emotionally charged issue could hurt the party with voters.
▪ In today's LA Times -- More firms offer benefits to same-sex partners -- The number of Fortune 500 companies offering this benefit has doubled in six years, report says. Large firms more readily granted benefits to workers' same-sex partners than had state and local governments.
▪ In today's Washington Post -- Unions oppose Senate's pay-for-performance plan -- A Senate bill that would deny pay raises to federal employees who get poor job evaluations is endorsed by the Bush administration and draws opposition from AFGE and NTEU at a hearing.
▪ In today's Atlanta J-C -- Aiming to oust its director, AFL-CIO presses Home Depot on options
▪ In today's LA Times -- Ralph's expects plea deal on illegal hiring during SoCal grocery strike
▪ In today's NY Times -- Wal-Mart's British unit agrees to a union contract -- Blimey!

Earlier this week: MONDAY, 6/26 -- TUESDAY, 6/27 -- WEDNESDAY, 6/28 -- THURSDAY, 6/29

FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2006
Contact Congress: Bush Labor Board refuses to hear us
NLRB, without a hearing, poised to take away right to join unions for millions

Rally with Virginia Mason nurses on July 10 in Seattle

Even as the Bush Labor Board prepares to re-label millions of American workers to be "supervisors" and take away their right to join unions, the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle is already attempting to declare ALL 600 of its registered nurses "supervisors." Virginia Mason wants to take away their ability to speak with a united voice about quality patient care and working conditions through the Washington State Nurses Association.

Union members in all industries and their supporters will join nurses from Virginia Mason and hospitals and medical centers around Washington for a rally on Monday, July 10 from 4 to 5 p.m. outside Virginia Mason Medical Center, 1100 9th Avenue in Seattle. We will demand that Virginia Mason -- and our government -- protect American workers' freedom of association and right to bargain collectively for a voice at work.

Learn more.

At a time when working people are squeezed as never before, and Washington isn’t listening to America’s workers, the Bush administration is making things even worse by slashing workers’ rights at every turn.

The National Labor Relations Board appointed by President Bush has refused to hear oral arguments as it considers three cases that could reshape basic workplace rights and further erode our freedom to form unions. This is an outrage that must be reversed!

The cases focus on the definition of “supervisor.” If that definition is broadened to include skilled, experienced workers who sometimes instruct co-workers, hundreds of thousands of workers could lose their contract protections and union rights. As vital as these cases are, and despite pressure from Congress and the public, Bush’s labor board has refused to hear oral arguments. In fact, the Bush board hasn’t heard ANY oral arguments since 2001.

Please urge your members of Congress to tell NLRB Chairman Robert J. Battista to reverse the decision not to hear oral arguments in these critical cases.

Very soon, the NLRB will decide on the three cases, together known as the “Kentucky River” cases, that will determine the definition of supervisor. Because workers classified as supervisors do not have federal labor law protections, the basic union rights of hundreds of thousands of workers are at risk -- from charge nurses to workers in the building trades, broadcast, energy, shipping and other industries.

The NLRB’s arrogant refusal to hear workers’ voices through oral arguments is just another example of the Bush-appointed, corporate-loving board working to throttle the power of working people. Bush’s labor board has a history of conducting its business without the thorough public debate that oral arguments provide.

TAKE ACTION: Please click here to urge your members of Congress to tell Chairman Battista to listen for a change and hear oral arguments in the Kentucky River cases.

FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2006
Reichert declines to attend forum on working families issues
Rep. Inslee will attend "Conversation With Your Congressman" in Bellevue on July 6

Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans is hosting "A Conversation With Your Congressman" at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 6 at the North Bellevue Community Center, 4063 148th Ave. N.E. This event is open to the public; union members and their families are invited and encouraged to attend.

Both U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee (D-1st) and Dave Reichert (R-8th) were invited to attend the event being held during a congressional recess at a site on the border of their adjoining congressional districts. Rep. Inslee has accepted that invitation, but Rep. Reichert has declined.

Given the critically important working families issues before Congress, it is frustrating that citizens have such a difficult time figuring out where their U.S. Representatives even stand on those issues. Too often, their positions are presented in cookie-cutter "thank you for contacting me" response letters, or in sound-bite friendly talking points -- both seemingly vetted by political consultants -- that inspire more questions than they answer.

So at the "Conversation With Your Congressman" event, Rep. Inslee will be given (and Rep. Reichert would have been given) the opportunity to describe his positions and answer questions on the following four working families issues: the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, offshore outsourcing of American jobs, the Employee Free Choice Act labor law reform, and the estate tax.

This is not intended to be a political debate. In fact, this forum very deliberately seeks to avoid that, which is why election opponents were not invited. Each issue will be briefly summarized by experts on that topic, audience members will describe their personal experiences on the issue, and the congressmen will explain their positions and answer audience questions.

The format is intended to create an opportunity for our elected U.S. Representatives to listen to their constituents' concerns, describe where they stand on important issues in a clear and substantive way, and respond directly to citizens' questions -- all outside the politically charged environment of an election debate.

Along with the Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans, the "A Conversation With Your Congressman" event is co-sponsored by Washington Citizen Action, the Washington State Labor Council, and the Washington Tax Fairness Coalition.

For more information, contact the ARA's Steve Dzielak at (206) 718-0770 or the WSLC's Benjamin Lawver at (206) 281-8901.

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.