TUESDAY, APRIL 10  ▪  Will big employers get off the hook?  (Legislative Update)
Progress has been made on health-care issues except in one area: large employers that are deliberately shifting their employee health costs onto taxpayers... Plus, updates on Family and Medical Leave Insurance and other labor-supported bills.

Also today  ▪  Gregoire to sign crane safety bill (HB 2171) today
▪  In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Crane safety on the books (editorial) -- For years, the construction industry relied on self-regulation and a veneer of regulatory oversight. Now, with commendable speed, the Legislature has answered a public outcry for more predictability and protection.
▪  In Friday's Seattle P-I -- Crane safety: Taking initiative (editorial) -- It's impressive when the Legislature actually tackles an issue, as it has with construction crane safety.

Other legislative news:
▪  Today from AP -- Family leave compromise considered -- Lawmakers are considering covering only paternity and maternity leave for newborns or newly adopted children as an alternative to putting the Senate-approved Family Leave Insurance measure to a referendum this fall.
▪  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Family leave needs thorough debate (editorial) -- It would be better if any increase in the tax and payout were made by legislators, instead of automatically. Also, voters should be the ones who ultimately decide if a tax such as this is warranted.
▪  In today's Olympian -- Foster care bill passes Senate -- Foster parents teamed with the Wash. Federation of State Employees last year, saying the state has failed to address their concerns about the foster care system. The bill requires the state to recognize a foster parents union. 
▪  In The Columbian -- Stabilize pensions by eliminating gain sharing (editorial) -- Rep. Fromhold's HB 2391 would create initial biennial savings of $147 million for the state. Coupled with $55 million in new benefits for state workers who would lose gain sharing profits, the net savings would be $92 million per biennium. It is a carefully prepared solution that deserves legislative support.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Farm labor: Decent protection (editorial) -- It's disappointing that the 2007 Legislature failed to act on measures to tighten licensing requirements for farm labor contractors.
▪  Today from AP -- Both houses OK online voter registration -- Washington would become the second state in the country to allow it under a measure passed Monday.

Meanwhile, in Oregon...
▪  In today's Salem S-J -- Oregon labor bills get OK from House committee -- The bills would enable public-sector unions to bypass union recognition elections if they secure signed cards from a majority of the work force authorizing the union to represent them; prohibit use of state funds to deter or assist labor-organizing drives; bar employers in the public and private sectors from holding mandatory employee meetings to discuss union-organizing drives or other political or religious topics; and urge Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

Meanwhile, in Maryland...
▪  At AFL-CIO Now -- Maryland is the first state to pass a living wage -- Maryland becomes the first state to require contractors to pay workers a living wage, the fruit of a months-long coalition campaign that included union members, religious leaders and civil rights advocates.

Immigration news:  ▪  Rally, march Wednesday in Seattle for children of immigrants
▪  In today's Tri-City Herald -- UFW leader foretells of next civil rights crusade -- United Farm Workers of America President Arturo Rodriguez tells a crowd of Whitman College students, "It's important we all get a chance to learn about the struggles of farm workers in our nation and what they're going through to make sure that we are the best-fed nation in the world."
▪  In today's Yakima H-R -- Initiative focuses on benefits eligibility -- A local effort begins to gather signatures for I-966, a statewide initiative to require government officials to verify the identity and status of every person applying for state and local benefits. ID cards, including driver's licenses, issued without verification of immigration status would not be accepted to establish eligibility.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Looking the other way on immigrants -- A growing list of cities are enacting no-questions-asked policies on immigration status, allowing undocumented residents to interact with local police and access city services without fear of being reported to the feds.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Bush makes push to resolve status of illegal workers -- Bush outlines the latest version of his plan to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, renewing his support for a guest-worker program for those with low skills and issuing a vague call for a resolution of the legal status of the estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the country.
▪  In today's LA Times -- Guest workers: A worn out labor idea (Sweeney-Alvarado op-ed) -- Corporate America has made an expanded guest worker program the cornerstone of its preferred brand of immigration reform, and no wonder: It will assure a flow of cheap labor from indentured workers too afraid of being deported to protest substandard wages and unsafe working conditions.
▪  Today from AP -- Immigration activists call for boycott -- Immigration activists are calling for a repeat -- on May 1 -- of last year's boycott and massive marches for immigrants' rights that drew more than 1 million people to the streets in dozens of cities nationwide.
▪  In the USA Today -- McDonald's pays more for tomatoes; workers to benefit -- The action follows a two-year campaign by an advocacy group calling for the wage increase for migrant workers.

Local news:
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- UW class looks at balancing profit with workers' needs -- Grad students in business and social work come together to explore how the workplace can best function for all. 

National news:
▪  In today's LA Times -- Southern California grocery workers bracing for a strike -- Grocers and the UFCW may be on the same path they took to a long work stoppage in 2003-04.
▪  Today from AP -- L.A. federation of unions to honor picket lines if grocery strike occurs
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Unionists' murders cloud prospects for Columbia trade pact -- Recent disclosures about the purported role of the Colombian intelligence service in the murder of several union leaders has ignited a political firestorm in Colombia that is reaching Capitol Hill just as President Bush is fighting for congressional approval of a free-trade pact with Colombia.
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Class disparities unfair (Moberg op-ed) -- Imagine a country with 100 people, whose economy generated $1,000 in new income over the year. One guy at the top got $500, the next nine share $250 and the 90 at the bottom get the rest -- less than $3 each, on average. You wouldn't call that country a fair one. But that's what America's economy looks like.
▪  In today's Philadelphia Inquirer -- Trump challenges vote in favor of casino dealers' union -- The Don wants the outcome of a 324-149 vote in favor of unionization at Trump Plaza to be tossed out.
▪  At CBSNews.com -- Meet Rick Berman, A.K.A. "Dr. Evil" -- Morley Safer interviews the most notorious lobbyist in America. (See our story last fall about this union-hater-for-hire.) 

TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2007
Rally, march Wednesday in Seattle for children of immigrants

The following press advisory has been distributed by Washington CAN:

Hundreds of Children have been forcibly separated from their loving mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers by Homeland Security.  The children and their supporters will march from Westlake Park , Downtown Seattle to Federal Building on April 11, 2007 , from 11am-1pm .

Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) and their "Return to Sender" operation have terrorized our communities of color by racially profiling and detaining families.  Hundreds of children are suffering with their parents locked away.  They want their families reunified, and they want Comprehensive Immigration Reform now.

From May 26, 2006 to this date, ICE agents and have apprehended approximately 2,179 people in what they called “Operation Return to Sender.”  Many of them left their children at home, schools or daycares, went to work and never returned.  They were forcibly detained on administrative immigration violation, imprisoned and placed on deportation proceedings.  Bail is so high that most people are unable to post it.  Children were suddenly separated from their families.  The families have been torn apart, the children shocked and traumatized.

When a 10-year-old saw the grief of a lactating baby who had no access to his mother, she suggested that the children be seen and heard.  Children should march to the authorities, she said.  The Children’s demonstration will do just that.  Children will walk in the center of the march, surrounded and protected by adults, so they can explain to the authorities the needs of their families.

The demonstrators march to demand comprehensive immigration reform that will stop shattering families.  They ask that parents and children be reunited, that due process be assured to all and in particular to those arrested by Homeland Security on immigration charges, and to provide a clear and feasible path to US citizenship.

Endorsers: Washington CAN, Hate Free Zone, NWFCO, Children's Alliance , NWIRP, Latino Heat, Washington Association of Churches, Somali Banadir Community Services of Washington, Minority Executive Di rectors Coalition, Community to Community, COMUNIDADES, CASA Latina, Somali Banadir Cultural and Edu cat ion Center , Latino Liberation Movement, Nonprofit Assistance Center and others.

For more information, contact Maru Mora Villalpando at Washington Community Action Network at 206-389-0050 x106.