WSLC Reports Today -- October 20, 2006

October 20, 2006

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WSLC Reports Today
Updated DAILY... Almost Every Day™ by 9 a.m.

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, OCT. 20 ▪ Know your rights! Don't let anybody stop you from voting. -- THIS ELECTION IS TOO IMPORTANT to allow partisan political shenanigans or (seemingly) random accidents or to interfere with your vote! Download, print and distribute of the "Washington Voter Bill of Rights" (also available in Spanish) and the "Washington Mail Voter Bill of Rights."

Maria vs. Mike! news:
▪ In today's Tri-City Herald -- Re-elect Cantwell (editorial) -- Experience in government, a prudent sense of restraint on national issues and fidelity to causes important to the Tri-Cities make Democrat Maria Cantwell our choice for the U.S. Senate this year.
▪ In The Columbian -- Cantwell, again (editorial) -- Maria Cantwell has shown herself as nobody's fool and a force to be reckoned with in the U.S. Senate. The first-term Democrat merits re-election.
▪ In today's Seattle P-I -- McGavick returns to politics (candidate profile) -- Mike!: "You da man!" Dino!: No, YOU da man!" Mike!: "No, YOU da man!" (Vomit. Rinse. Repeat.)

Other state election news:
▪ In today's Seattle Times -- Reichert bitten by sound bite -- Rep. Reichert admits he sometimes votes the way Republican leaders tell him to. (Read more about Rubberstamp Reichert.)
▪ In today's Seattle P-I -- I-933 is a machine-gun approach (op-ed) -- ("With great land, comes great responsibility.") While the responsibilities shouldn't unfairly burden citizens in the effort to protect public interest, the rights of property owners should not be unbridled. I-933 takes off the bridles.
▪ In today's Seattle P-I --- Yes on I-937 (editorial) -- Washington has a proud tradition of environmental health and economic innovation. I-937 builds on the strengths of those state traditions. Vote yes.
▪ In today's Seattle Times -- I-937: Vote "yes" for a clean energy future (editorial) -- We've been living off the wise renewable-power investments of our parents and grandparents for decades. Let's do as well for our kids and their kids, and pass I-937.
▪ In today's Seattle P-I -- Kauffman for State Senate in the 47th (editorial) -- Claudia Kauffman, a working parent, foster parent and member of the board of trustees at The Evergreen State College, has a clearly superior grasp of and depth in the issues than her Republican opponent.
▪ In today's Spokesman-Review -- Ad alleging sex-crime cover-up heats up 6th LD Senate race -- Postcards say that Sen. Brad Benson "voted to cover up sex crimes against our children."
▪ In today's Seattle P-I -- Lawmakers still let firms pay travel tab -- McDermott took the most trips (10) for the most money (more than $40,000). Sen. Maria Cantwell was the only one whose office reported no outside travel. Rep. Reichert took no trips himself but had four staffers who did.

National election news:
▪ In today's NY Times -- Confident Democrats draft broad health care agenda -- They want federal officials to negotiate directly with drug companies to get lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. Pelosi says if Democrats are in control, they'll try to repeal that ban in the first 100 hours.
▪ In today's NY Times -- Republican woes lead to feuding by conservatives -- Tax-cutters are calling evangelicals bullies. Christian conservatives say Republicans in Congress have let them down. Hawks say Bush is bungling the war in Iraq. And then there's Rep. Mark Foley and the pages.
▪ Today from AP -- Poll says Lieberman's lead over Lamont has grown to 17 points in Connecticut

Local news:
▪ From AP -- Supreme Court backs worker ergonomics protections -- A 2003 initiative that repealed the state’s workplace ergonomics rules doesn’t mean the state can’t protect workers under existing state law, the court rules. (BIAW Boy Jim Johnson: Well, re-cuuuuse me!)
▪ Today at Postman on Politics -- Bipartisan income tax talk sounds serious -- Conservative Republican Rep. Cary Condotta working with Democrat Rep. Jim McIntire on a tax overhaul.
▪ In today's Spokesman-Review -- More working families need help -- Nearly 80% of food-bank recipients have a high school diploma, and two-thirds had a working adult in the household.
▪ In today's Everett Herald -- Study: Quakes pose little risk to Brightwater sewage treatment plant

Last Throes update:
▪ In today's Seattle Times -- U.S. general admits campaign to curb violence in Baghdad has failed -- Maj. Gen. William Caldwell says that instead of quelling violence, the campaign, code-named Operation Forward Together, had contributed to a spike in U.S. military deaths.
▪ Today from AP -- Shiite militia seizes control of Iraq city -- The Shiite militia run by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr seizes total control of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by one of the country's powerful, unofficial armies.
▪ Today from AP -- White House pre-empts possible Iraq commission proposals -- The Bush administration says a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops and a suggestion to divide Iraq into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish regions are both “nonstarters.”
▪ The WSLC's affiliated unions have called for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Between 44,043 and 48,914 Iraqi civilians -- roughly the populations of the cities of Olympia or Pasco -- have been killed since the invasion. Of the 2,786 U.S. troops that have been killed there so far, 2,649 have died since President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" and an end to major combat operations in Iraq on May 1, 2003, and 2,320 have died since Saddam's capture. More than five years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still at large.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2006
Know your rights! Don't let anybody stop you from voting.

THIS ELECTION IS TOO IMPORTANT to allow partisan political shenanigans or random circumstances or to interfere with your vote! Download, print and distribute of the "Washington Voter Bill of Rights" (also available in Spanish) and the "Washington Mail Voter Bill of Rights."

Here is the text of the Washington Voter Bill of Rights.

1. The polls will be open from 7:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. You have the right to vote if you are at the polling place at 8:00 P.M. RCW 29A.44.070, .260.

2. If your right to vote is challenged, you have the right to vote by provisional ballot. RCW 29A.08.820.

3. If you do not have the proper identification with you, you have the right to vote by provisional ballot. RCW 29A.44.205. Proper identification includes driver's license, state, student, tribal, or voter identification, bank statement, utility bill, paycheck or government check, and other government document. RCW 29A.44.205.

4. If you are a qualified voter, but your name does not appear on the poll book, you have the right to vote by provisional ballot. RCW 29A.04.008(5).

5. If you are voting using an electronic voting device, you have a right to receive a paper record of each vote before finalizing your vote. RCW 29A.12.085.

6. If you moved since the last time you updated your voter registration information, you have the right to transfer your registration on Election Day. You should vote at the polling location for your old voting precinct. RCW 29A.08.430. If you cannot vote at your old polling location, you can vote by provisional ballot at your new polling location. RCW 29A.04.008(5).

7. If you changed your name, you have the right to vote by signing a notice of name change on Election Day at the polling location for your voting precinct. RCW 29A.08.440.

8. If you marked your ballot incorrectly, you have the right to return it and receive a new ballot. RCW 29A.44.040.

9. When you are within 300 feet from any entrance of a polling place, you have the right to be free from anyone’s attempt to influence or electioneer your vote. RCW 29A.84.510.

10. If you have a sensory or physical disability and you require assistance in voting, you have the right to choose the person who assists you. RCW 29A.44.240. If you are an elderly or disabled voter, you have the right to an accessible polling place. RCW 29A.16.010, 020.

11. If you do not sign the outside envelope of an absentee or provisional ballot or your handwritten signature is not the same as your signature on file, you have the right to be notified and to correct the procedures for your vote to count. RCW 29A.60.165.

12. If your voter registration has been challenged, you have a right to a hearing and to transfer or reregister until the day before Election Day. RCW 29A.08.840, 820.

13. If you have been convicted of a felony and received a certificate of discharge by the sentencing court, a court order restoring your voting rights, a final order of discharge by the indeterminate sentence review board, or a certificate of restoration by the governor, you have the right to vote. RCW 29A.08.520.

You have the right to bring this document listing your Voting Rights to the voting booth with you.

Here is the text of the Washington Mail Voter Bill of Rights.

WASHINGTON MAIL BALLOT VOTER BILL OF RIGHTS

1. If you are an active voter in a county that is conducting an election entirely by mail, you have the right to automatically receive a mail ballot before the election. RCW 29A.48.010(3).

2. If you are an inactive voter in a county that is conducting an election entirely by mail, you have the right to receive either a mail ballot or an application to receive a ballot before the election. If you receive and return a voted mail ballot, your status will be returned to active. If you receive and return an application to receive a ballot, you have the right to receive a mail ballot and your status will be returned to active. RCW 29A.48.010(3).

3. You have the right to obtain a replacement ballot if your mail ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or never received. You or a member of your immediate family may request a replacement ballot by telephone, mail, electronically, or in person to your county auditor at any time before 8:00 p.m. on election day. RCW 29A.48.040(2); WAC 434-250-080.

4. You have the right to return your ballot by mail or in person. If mailed, your ballot must be postmarked no later than the date of the election. If deposited in person, the ballot must be deposited at the office of your county auditor during normal business hours before the election or from 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on the day of the election. RCW 29A.48.050; WAC 434-250-100.

5. You should sign the outside envelope of your ballot. If you forget to sign the outside envelope, you have the right to sign your ballot after submission and have your ballot counted. If you forget to sign the outside envelope, your county auditor should notify you by first class mail or by telephone. For the vote to be counted, you must either appear in person and sign the envelope or submit a signed copy of the envelope provided by the auditor. RCW 29A.48.060; RCW 29A.60.165(1).

6. If the signature on the outside envelope of your ballot does not match the signature in your voter registration file, you have the right to update your signature and have your ballot counted. If your county's canvassing board determines that the signature on the outside envelope of your ballot does not match the signature in your voter registration file, your county auditor should notify you by first class mail or by telephone. For the vote to be counted, you must either appear in person and sign a new registration form or submit a signed copy of the envelope affidavit provided by the auditor, along with a photocopy of a valid government document that includes your current signature. RCW 29A.48.060; RCW 29A.60.165(2).

7. You have the right to vote by provisional ballot at the County Auditor’s office on election day even if you received a mail ballot. If you return both a provisional ballot and a mail ballot, your mail ballot (not your provisional ballot) will be counted. RCW 29A.08.040; WAC 434-253-047(6).

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.