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November 16, 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.
THURSDAY, NOV.
16 ▪
Korean workers return
from Seattle protests to raids, prison -- After
protest marches in Seattle on Sept. 4-9 opposing the Korea-U.S. Free Trade
Agreement -- which included the arrests of 15 Korean and U.S. protesters
(including WSLC staffers Robby Stern and Jeff Johnson) -- South Korean union
members returned home to a wave of police repression, including raids against more than 80
now-closed union halls, jailing of more than 100 union
members, and violent tactics resulting in the death of at least one worker,
Ha Joong Keun. REMINDER:
▪
WSLC
Seamen's Club luncheon Friday in Seattle -- The
WSLC hosts
its annual holiday luncheon tomorrow from
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at
the Catholic Seamen's Club, 2330
1st Ave. As always, there will be a raffle with lots of great
prizes, good food, great company, and cheap wine. The cost is $10 and
all union members, staffers and leaders are invited to attend. Pay
at the door, but contact Carol at the Seamen's Club 206-441-4773 to reserve
seats.
"We
Suck" update: Local
news: Grand
Ol' Party news: Other
election news:
National
news:
▪ Today
from Yahoo News -- Strike
may cost Hyundai 1,500 vehicles in lost production -- More than 150,000
metal and auto industry workers in South Korea stage a "warning
strike" for four hours.
▪ In
today's NY Times --
Trade
bills now face tough odds (analysis)
-- The failure by the House to pass Bush's Vietnam trade
bill shows how much harder it will be to win approval of trade bills from
now on. Trade officials will be under more pressure to get trading partners
to crack down on sweatshops and labor abuses and to respect environmental
standards in their countries.
▪ Today
from AP -- Little
harm seen to economy from minimum wage increase -- A new study by Wash.
State University finds the increase will have a mostly positive effect on
the economy, which absorbs the wage increases with little job loss, while
workers benefit with more money.
▪ At
SBSC.org -- Washington
state ranks 5th best in nation for small-business friendliness -- The
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council ranks the states according to
the taxes, regulation, spending, and other governmental costs affecting the
entrepreneurial sector of our economy.
▪ In
the Peninsula Daily News --
Nurses'
pact near at Port Angeles hospital; SEIU cancels picket
▪ In
the Bellingham Herald --
Brown
& Cole worth saving (editorial) -- The
grocer’s contributions to this area have been important. Now its leaders
and workers face a time of uncertainty. We wish all of them well and hope
Brown & Cole emerges from bankruptcy a stronger and better company.
▪ In
today's Seattle Times --
Transit
report urges tolls, not taxes -- The commission also
says the region's six separate transit agencies -- Sound Transit,
Metro, Pierce Transit, Kitsap Transit, Community Transit and Everett Transit
-- should possibly be merged into one mega-agency.
▪ In
today's Everett Herald --
House
Republicans see tense vote ahead -- The fractured caucus will pick a
leader Friday. Current Minority Leader Richard DeBolt (R-Chehalis) seeks
another term against Rep. Mike Armstrong (R-Wenatchee), his top deputy in
2006; and Rep. Bruce Chandler (R-Granger), whom DeBolt ousted from the
minority leader job a year ago.
Says Rep. Chris Strow (R-Freeland): "We have so much
animosity inside our caucus, whoever our leader is will be hamstrung from
the first day. I really believe it is a deeply dysfunctional situation right
now."
▪ In
today's Yakima H-R -- Rep.
Clements gains support in State Senate bid --
Rep. Mary Skinner (R-Yakima) and
legislator-elect Charles Ross of Naches said they are encouraging Clements
to seek the appointment to the seat of retiring Sen. Alex Deccio (R-Yakima).
▪ In
today's Seattle Times --
The
lone Republican (editorial)
-- (WSLC-endorsed) Rep. Fred Jarrett is a survivor, an
endangered species and the last Republican lawmaker serving on the shores of
Lake Washington because voters know he is a thoughtful person who doesn't
buy harsh partisanship.
▪ In
today's Seattle P-I --
P-I
likes one-party rule, but only if it likes the party (Sen.
Hewitt op-ed)
-- The P-I's Friday "Memo
to Dino" editorial certainly caught people's attention -- not for
its erudition but for its utter lack of charity... taxpayers had better hope
that Rossi considers taking another run.
▪ In
today's News Tribune --
Follow
the money to clean up court races (editorial)
-- About $4 million was spent on the three state Supreme
Court races on the ballot -- triple the record set in 2004. The Legislature
should look at patterning new rules after federal campaign laws that
prohibit corporate and labor groups from engaging in a slugfest in the weeks
proceeding an election.
▪ Today from AP -- It's
official: Nancy Pelosi is new House Speaker -- Her fellow Democrats
remain divided by a family feud over whom to select as her top lieutenant
(Murtha or Hoyer).
▪ In
today's NY Times --
Democrat
wins House seat after recount in Connecticut -- Joe Courtney is declared
the winner against the three-term Republican incumbent, Rob Simmons, by 91
votes.
▪ In
today's Washington Post --
The
economic agenda (editorial)
-- While corporate profits and pay for people at the top
have risen, the majority of the workforce has experienced a stagnation of
pay that stretches back to around 1980. The Republicans veered between
denying the data and acknowledging middle-class anxiety while offering
nothing to assuage it. The Democrats have understood the nation's economic
insecurity, and have been rewarded. They need to come up with policies that
address inequality while not damaging growth, starting perhaps with tax
reform.
▪ Today
from Bloomberg -- U.S.
files new WTO complaint over state subsidies to Airbus
▪ In
today's LA Times --
Los
Angeles airport hotels ordered to pay "living wage" -- Workers
celebrate the City Council's vote. Businesses say they'll seek a referendum.
▪ In
today's LA Times --
California
workers' comp fund directors resign -- Two resign amid concerns about
possible conflicts of interest because their insurance firms collect fees
from the agency.
▪ In
today's Washington Post -- Some
Americans lack food but USDA won't call them hungry -- The U.S.
government has eliminated the term "hunger" from the categories it
uses to describe impoverished households and replaced it with "very low
food security."
THURSDAY,
NOVEMBER 16, 2006
Korean workers return from Seattle protests
to raids, prison
Seattle labor and community leaders denounced the South Korean government’s violent attack on trade union members at a news conference Tuesday, and prepared to send off a delegation traveling to Seoul in support of popular protests.
Some
55 delegates from South Korean unions and organizations who helped lead
September protests in Seattle against the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement
(KORUS-FTA) are facing a massive wave of government repression against labor
unions, according to Dave Freiboth, Executive Secretary of the Martin Luther
King, Jr. County Labor Council.
"Two months ago, Korean and US workers and farmers joined together in our city to protest undemocratic trade deals like the proposed KORUS-FTA," Freiboth said. "While we successfully delivered our message that secret agreements dismantling worker protections hurt the vast majority of people in each country, the South Korean government’s actions have revealed some of the true intentions behind KORUS-FTA -- to help crush the movement for workers’ human rights."
After a week of high-profile protest marches Sept. 4-9 in Seattle -- which included the arrests of 15 Korean and U.S. protesters outside the convention center opposing KORUS-FTA -- U.S. and Korean trade officials gave up on signing the deal until negotiations could reconvene at a later date in Korea. Within 12 days of protestors returning home, South Korean police launched raids against and shut down more than 80 union halls, jailed more than 100 union members, and used violent tactics resulting in the death of at least one worker, Ha Joong Keun.
Today marks the first day of a nationwide general strike called by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), in which more than 1 million people are expected to participate between now and Nov. 22, a national day of action against KORUS-FTA.
"The recent repressive
actions of the South Korean government under the Roh Moon Hyun
administration clearly shows that South Korea has failed as an economically
developed democratic country in ensuring fundamental trade union rights
according to international labor standards," said Changgeun Lee,
KCTU’s International Director and one of the leaders in the Seattle
protests.
"Whether the attacks against us come in the form of police violence and prisons or new trade agreements rewarding companies and governments which repress workers’ rights," said Herald Ugles, President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 19, "we stand united across borders with our Korean Sisters and Brothers in full solidarity with this general strike."
"ILWU members know from our own experience fighting for justice at companies like Blue Diamond Growers, which is pushing hard to shove KORUS-FTA through, that bigger profits for large corporations do not benefit working families unless labor and human rights are respected -- something neither the South Korean state nor KORUS-FTA does," he added.
Next week, a delegation of 17 representatives from Koreans Against War and Neoliberalism (KAWAN) chapters and ally organizations across the country will head to Seoul on an "Eyewitness Mission" to join the national mobilization against KORUS-FTA. Seattle delegates will include Soya Jung Harris of KAWAN and Xuan-Trang Tran-Thien of Service Employees International Union Local 775, who will meet up with other national delegates including Cindy Sheehan of Gold Star Families for Peace.
"Each November, Korean unions commemorate the self-sacrifice of garment worker Chun Tae-il who set himself on fire in 1970 to protest illegal working conditions in South Korea’s sweatshops," said Mijo Lee, a representative of the Seattle KAWAN chapter which co-organized the September protests, "usually with mass labor demonstrations."
"As Korean Americans, KAWAN will stand in person this year with KCTU and the majority of the Korean population in the fight against this undemocratic KORUS-FTA -- not in solidarity but as Korean people ourselves."
Just as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) lowered real wages in both the U.S. and Mexico, so too will this trade deal hurt workers and farmers in both countries, according to KAWAN. Similar to post-NAFTA displacement in Mexico, as many as 3.5 million rice farmers in South Korea likely would be driven off their lands.
Lee added, "As Americans,
we call on our own government, with the most powerful economy in the world,
to stop KORUS-FTA negotiations now."
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