Strike update:  ▪  Support striking IUOE 302 members; join the picket lines! (Aug.16 post)
▪  In today's King Co. Journal -- Concrete workers reject new proposal; strike will continue -- The dispute grows more acrimonious after IUOE Local 302 members resoundingly reject a new proposal that offered them even less money than a contract they rejected weeks ago.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Concrete workers reject offer (brief)
▪  In the PS Business Journal -- Idle job(s) await concrete -- A day before on firm's subcontractors were scheduled to pour concrete for the second floor of a 18-unit condominium project, operating engineers went on strike against four concrete companies in King County. The walkout -- which began at midnight July 31 -- shut down scores of construction sites.

Local news: 
▪  At the Tri-City Herald blog -- EFF clowning around with union dues issue -- The right-wing, anti-union EFF -- funded by the Walton Foundation, among others -- has posted a circus-themed "game" on its web site called "The Greatest Scam on Earth" depicting wand-waving AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and National Education Association President Reg Weaver in top hats.
▪  In Saturday's Tri-City Herald -- Gregoire taps rapid response team to help in Tyson layoffs
▪  In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Medicare drug-plan "doughnut hole" trips up many older Americans
▪  In Sunday's Everett Herald -- Stop playing games with sales-tax deduction (editorial) -- Holding the deduction like a carrot on a stick in front of senators from states that have no income tax isn't deal-making. It's legislative extortion, and it needs to stop.
▪  In Sunday's Olympian -- Low morale no benefit to kids (editorial) -- A recent survey of Children's Administration employees shows a wide divide between agency leaders and the men and women working with the state's most vulnerable children.
▪  In Sunday's Everett Herald -- Snohomish Health District snuffs smokers -- A contentious new policy forbids newly hired employees from using tobacco.
▪  In Sunday's Everett Herald -- As contract talks drag, will start of school lag? (Muhlstein column) -- Everett is one of three districts in Snohomish County still negotiating contracts .
▪  In today's Kitsap Sun -- Passenger-only ferries are in our hands (editorial) -- Marine Transportation Assn. of Kitsap held the first of a series of five public meetings on Kitsap Transit’s foot-ferry plan.

Political news:
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Cantwell, McGavick lead pack in Senate race -- Republican Mike!™ again expresses his strong support for the tip-penalty bill rejected by Cantwell.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Frist joins long list of protested politicians (Connelly column) -- Demonstrators during the Republican leader's recent fundraising trip for Mike!™ were mostly hotel waiters, protesting his effort to let employers subtract their tip earnings in figuring the minimum wage.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Unopposed candidates a cause for concern? -- Almost one-third of state legislature candidates face no opposition. Critics say that's a serious flaw in the system.
▪  At the Horses Ass blog -- Incumbency not much of an advantage for Reichert 
▪  In Sunday's Washington Post -- GOP's financial edge shrinks; challengers gain on incumbents
▪  In the Tri-City Herald blog -- Religious group offers judicial voters' guide in Washington

National news:
▪  In Sunday's NY Times -- Vacation? Americans are laying it to rest -- Even before a full tank of gas was considered an indulgence, Americans had begun to sour on the traditional summer vacation. But this summer, a number of surveys show that U.S. workers, who already take fewer vacations than people in nearly all industrial nations, have pruned their leisure days even more.
▪  In Sunday's NY Times -- Rural Oregon town feels pinch of poverty -- The town of Oakridge is an acute example of a national trend, the widening pay gap between urban and rural workers.
▪  From AP -- Ford slashes production -- Ford says 10 plants in the United States and Canada would temporarily cease production at times through the end of the year, moves that will have a ripple effect on workers, car dealers and the communities where Ford builds vehicles. 
▪  From AP -- Wal-Mart coping with battles on several fronts -- Its woes range from high energy prices, to setbacks in its international strategy, to public relations stumbles like this week's sudden resignation of civil rights icon Andrew Young as its public ambassador.

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.

Copyright © 2006   Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO