WSLC Reports Today -- October 12, 2006

October 12, 2006

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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.

THURSDAY, OCT. 12 ▪ What have Bush's tax cuts cost YOU so far? -- George Bush, Dave Reichert and Cathy McMorris are taking billions of dollars from the pockets of working families -- now, but especially in the future -- and handing it over to the richest 1% of Americans. And they are doing this in what should be a time a shared sacrifice, when our nation is at war.

Local news:
▪ In today's Seattle Times -- Uneven labor standards undermine community colleges (Jacoby op-ed) -- Part-time faculty employment epitomizes policies touted by human-resource specialists who believe increased labor flexibility will increase America's productivity and competitiveness. This is a dubious proposition, and it is especially wrongheaded when it comes to education.
▪ In today's Yakima H-R -- Suit accuses Evans Fruit of illegal hiring -- A Chicago attorney returns to sue a second fruit grower for allegedly hiring hundreds of undocumented workers to lower wages.
▪ In today's Seattle P-I -- Longview Fibre closing 100-employee Leavenworth mill (brief... scroll down)
▪ In today's Everett Herald -- Singapore Air may double its 787 order

I-933 news:
▪ In today's Seattle Times -- I-933 applies to personal property -- It doesn't just apply to land, it applies to animals, cars, boats, businesses, stocks, bonds, trademarks and copyrights. That means it could undermine state and local rules regulating everything from food safety and auto emissions to professional qualifications for doctors and accountants.
▪ In today's Yakima H-R -- Vote No on I-933: It's just too costly (editorial) -- We think voters should turn it down and then insist the Legislature address the issues it raises.
▪ In today's Yakima H-R -- Legislature must address issues raised by I-933 (editorial) -- I-933 should be defeated and the issue it raises placed before the Legislature, where it properly belongs.
▪ In today's King Co. Journal -- "Tractorcade" to hit streets in support of "pay of waive" I-933

More political news:
▪ In today's Everett Herald -- Cantwell, McGavick to square off in first debate today -- But for all the preparation and anticipation, it is unlikely to cause a major shift in the dynamics of the race.
▪ In today's Oregonian -- Keep Baird in Congress (editorial) -- His understanding and effectiveness on issues of transportation, sales tax deductibility and foreign policy argue for his re-election.
▪ In the Daily News -- Sid Snyder endorses Hatfield to replace Sen. Doumit -- Meanwhile, Longview labor leader John Philbrook (ILWU 21) says he might make a bid for the open seat.
▪ In today's Oregonian -- Saxton ads fuel scrutiny of farm's labor -- Attacks on Gov. Ted Kulongoski over illegal migrants have drawn attention to the GOP hopeful's own past hiring of migrants.
▪ In today's NY Times -- Political climate warms to Lieberman's favor -- The new Independent is comfortably ahead of his Democratic challenger Ned Lamont in their general election rematch, and many Democrats have reassured him that he will not be stripped of his seniority if he wins.
▪ In today's Seattle Times -- A case of buyer's remorse for the American electorate (Broder column) -- The voters have been pointing a symbolic gun at the Republican regime in Washington for many months now. All that remains for Election Day is to pull the trigger.

National news:
▪ Today from AP -- Economists call for higher minimum wage -- More than 650 economists, including five Nobel Prize winners, call for an increase in the federal minimum wage.
▪ In today's St. Petersburg Times -- The campaign against unions (editorial) -- In a time of growing income inequality, union membership seems to be one of the few ways workers can still get ahead... For the NLRB to stretch the definition of a supervisor in order to exclude a large swath of the labor force from these potential benefits is just another way that workers are being stripped of their leverage in the workplace.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2006
What have Bush's tax cuts cost YOU so far?
Reichert, McMorris voted to borrow money FROM US, and give it to the rich

Back i n May, U.S. Reps. Dave Reichert and Cathy McMorris voted for President George Bush's wartime $70 billion tax cut targeted to the wealthiest Americans. It was just the latest in a series of upper-class tax cuts passed by the Republican-controlled Congress, and like all the rest, it was paid for by our children -- with borrowed money.

Meanwhile, with both McMorris and Reichert's support, Republicans in Congress are allowing a middle-class tax break to expire -- the sales-tax deduction that saves Washington families an average $500 a year. They held that tax break hostage in a failed attempt to permanently repeal the estate tax for the richest multi-millionaires in the nation. Their gambit failed and Congress adjourned without renewing the sales-tax break. (Learn more in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's "Tax increases: Thank the Republicans" or the Tri-City Herald's "Political games unfairly increasing your tax bill.")

But these tax breaks for the rich are costing Washington working families much more than that.

Citizens for Tax Justice has released a state-by-state breakdown of the combination of tax cuts approved by Congress in the past six years. They are tax breaks for capital gains and dividends, reductions in personal income tax rates, estate tax cuts and an array of corporate tax loopholes, and the CTW summarizes their effects on state residents at different income levels. Its key findings:

First, the tax breaks enacted since 2001 are heavily skewed toward the very wealthiest few. Second, because the tax cuts are being paid for with borrowed money, the cost of paying the added national debt more than wipes out any benefits from the tax cuts for 99% of residents in each state. Only the best-off one percent are net winners from the President’s fiscal policies.

SKEWED TOWARD THE WEALTHIEST: Between 2001 and 2010, the wealthiest 1% of Washington residents, who have an average income of $1,660,500 in 2006, will receive more than 40% of the benefits of the Republican tax cuts. This richest 1% will save an average $68,645 per year between 2001-2010 on their taxes.

What did YOU get? The majority of Washingtonians -- the 60% on the low end of the income scale -- get an average annual tax cut of only $444 over that 10-year period, which is LESS than what we are losing with the sales-tax deduction that expires in 2007.

WHAT WILL IT COST YOU? For the 99% of Washington residents who aren’t in the wealthiest top tier, our share of the added debt accumulated from 2001 through 2006 outweighs our tax cuts by an average of $7,079 per person. So 99% of us have received an average tax break of $2,830 per person over the six-year period, but our added debt burden averages $9,090 per person.

Bottom line: George Bush, Dave Reichert and Cathy McMorris are taking billions of dollars from the pockets of working families -- now, but especially in the future -- and handing it over to the richest 1% of Americans. And they are doing this in what should be a time a shared sacrifice, when our nation is at war.

Read the Citizens for Tax Justice report for Washington state.

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.