Boeing news:
▪  At SPEEA.org -- SPEEA charges Boeing with ULP over Early Retiree Medical -- Says SPEEA's Bofferding: “We don’t like dragging Boeing into court to make the company honor promises to employees.  However, it is important for our members that their union holds the company accountable for the gap between statements during negotiations and actions later.”
▪  In the PSBJ -- SPEEA, Boeing at odds over retiree benefits -- The union files a ULP accusing Boeing of failing to keep its word regarding paying retiree benefits for workers who quit at age 55.
▪  In the PSBJ -- 1,200 fighter jet jobs to last -- The 1,200 Seattle-area workers employed under the contract for F-22 Raptor wings now have at least some assurance of five more years of work.

Local news:
▪  In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Democrats and trade (editorial) -- Some Democrats want future trade agreements to include core labor standards recognized by the International Labor Organization: the right of workers to organize, no official discrimination against unions, no forced labor and no child labor. These are standard rules of a modern economy, and acceptable to legitimate business, but going much much beyond this invites trouble.
▪  In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Centralia Tigers provide relief from gloom (read this Jerry Brewer column) -- "What they're doing is proving that we're not quitters," says one Centralia resident. "No matter what we face, we're going to fight until the end and stick together. That's just who we are."

Legislative news:
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- A "to-do" list for the Legislature (editorial) -- (Among other things...) Get rid of the punitive and unfair 60-percent supermajority required to pass public-school levies.
▪  In the PSBJ -- Democrats must run Legislature without arrogance (editorial) -- Too often, unchecked legislative majorities march to the beat of their own ideologies and interest groups.
▪  In Sunday's Columbian -- Sen. Benton will introduce bill to preserve I-747's 1% property tax limits
▪  In Sunday's Columbian -- Benton, Carlson to seek county lobbying job -- Benton presumably would resign his Senate seat if selected to represent the county. (We're rooting for you, Senator.)
▪  In today's Olympian -- Swecker, Parlette, Schoesler move up Senate GOP caucus ranks
▪  In the News Tribune -- State GOP needs centrist plan to mount a comeback (op-ed) -- Lacking a fresh, responsive and inspiring agenda significantly decoupled from the political hackery and boilerplate of the official party platform process, the state GOP will continue to fare quite poorly.

National news:
▪  In today's NY Times -- Wal-Mart says thank-you to workers -- Employee discontent is rising as it  seeks an even cheaper labor force by capping wages, using more part-timers, scheduling more night and weekend shifts, and cracking down on unexcused days off. So the company is saying "thank you" to workers with free shirt (after 20 years of service) and an extra 10% off a single item this holiday. (The rest of us get the company's health care costs -- and no "thank you.")
▪  Today from AP -- Business groups to take aim at U.S. Senate -- They are laying plans to block the Democrats' narrow majority by pushing filibusters, starting with the minimum wage increase.
▪  Today from AP -- U.S. railroads are on recruiting drive -- The companies are targeting Iraq war veterans and laid-off factory workers to replace retiring baby boomers and meet rising demand.
▪  In Sunday's Seattle P-I -- Wake up, America! We've got to pay our bills! (Trahant column) -- We are the American generation that only promises massive debt to those who will follow. It's a "birth tax" -- a stark, absolute tax that cannot be repealed yet is imposed on every American newborn.
▪  Good News/Bad News in today's LA Times -- Gender gap narrows as men's pay erodes

Last Throes update:
▪  In today's SF Chronicle -- Bush digs in at pivotal point in Iraq war -- Like the war itself, the shift is likely to prove a slow and agonizing slide toward an inevitable retreat, rather than the decisive pullout many voters thought they might get when they handed Democrats control of Capitol.
▪  Today from AP -- U.S. military deaths in Iraq hit 2,897 -- Military deaths among the Coalition of the Willing™: Great Britain, 126; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 18; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, 6; El Salvador, 5; Slovakia, 4; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, 2 each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Romania, 1 each.  Iraq civilian death toll: About 150,000.
▪  The WSLC's affiliated unions have called for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.