FRIDAY, APRIL 13  ▪  Union Member Town Hall with John Edwards May 1 in Seattle -- As part of the AFL-CIO's new member-focused presidential endorsement process, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has chosen Seattle as the location for his Town Hall with Union Members. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 1 at noon at the IAM Hall in Seattle.

Legislative news:  ▪  TODAY at 5 p.m. is the cutoff deadline for bills to pass both houses of the State Legislature. Check out the WSLC Legislative Tracker™ for status reports on labor bills.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Reduced paid-family-leave bill surfaces -- The legislation has been scaled back and now only covers parents who take time off to bond with children. What remains in doubt is how to pay for it. Senate leaders want a small payroll tax -- slightly less than 1 cent per hour -- on all workers. But a House version has surfaced that would put off any funding decisions until next year and instead create a task force to study options. The House is expected to vote on the measure today.
▪  In today's Olympian -- Lawmakers must pass family-leave bill (letter) -- I know many parents who save up sick and vacation leave so that they can spend time with their newborns, but this isn't an option for many low-wage and part-time workers.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Voters will decide simple majority on school levies -- The Senate votes 33-16 to let voters to decide whether to eliminate the 60% supermajority for school levy approval.
▪  Today from AP -- House easily passes health care reform bill -- Supporters say would improve Washington's system, but "heartbroken" AWB says it'll do nothing to help small businesses.
▪  In today's Olympian -- Health bills affect plans -- Sprawling changes to the way Washington residents find and pay for health insurance are closer to reality under bills passed Thursday.
▪  In today's Olympian -- SEIU 1199NW seeks mental-health funding -- About 350 workers rally for increased funding for the nonprofit mental-health centers where they work. The rally was part of a regional strike by 1,000 Western Washington union members.
▪  In today's Olympian -- Truckers' co-op rallies -- Log truckers travel from Hoquiam to demand the right as a state-registered co-op to collectively bargain the prices they charge timber companies.
▪  In the Daily World -- Harbor log truckers take their case to the streets -- The 12-day work stoppage involves about 135 Grays Harbor truckers who say they’re not getting a fair hauling rate from timber companies and contractors -- rates they say haven’t changed since 1984.

Oregon news:
▪  In today's Salem S-J -- Oregon labor commissioner to push for overtime issue on ballot -- State Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner's proposal to reinstate overtime pay when hourly workers toil more than 8 hours in a day is running into resistance in the Legislature. As a result, Gardner and the Oregon AFL-CIO will announce a potential ballot measure campaign today.
▪  In today's Salem S-J -- SEIU hopes to unionize adult foster-care providers -- Oregon's largest state-workers union aims to unionize the state's 2,600 adult foster-care providers, who offer around-the-clock nursing care in their homes for up to five frail seniors or disabled people.
▪  In today's Oregonian -- Green plans have some seeing red -- Oregon timber employers and unions go head to head against leaders in the green building movement in a rare confrontation over how far the state should go in setting Earth-friendly construction standards.

Local news:
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- State port business slowly slips south -- Container ports are losing their tenuous grip on the West Coast market share. Shippers blame low productivity at the Port of Seattle, but ILWU 19 notes the "checkerboard" effect of partial loads/unloads in Seattle.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Tardy 787 parts no concern -- One analyst says a new line of jets can be tough to get rolling, so Boeing might hit more bumps as it nears the 787's July 8 rollout.
▪  In the Daily World -- Aberdeen council approves 4% raise in one-year contract for firefighters 

National news:
▪  From Reuters -- Colombia, Peru seek Wall Street push on U.S. trade -- The AFL-CIO says the free trade pact with Colombia is "not fixable" because of the country's "atrocious" record of violence against unionists, 200 of whom it says have been killed since trade talks began in 2004.
▪  In the Boston Globe -- Bring jobs back home (op-ed) -- The outsourcing trend is reaching its end and being reversed by business-savvy companies that care about their customers and regional economies. They're "backsourcing" by no longer shipping jobs overseas and rehiring locally.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- A stamp of disapproval for Postal Service contracting -- Forget the rain, sleet and snow. Outsourcing is what worries a major postal workers union.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Four years worth of Rove email sought by Congress may be missing

Retracted news:
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Yesterday's story on H1-B visas incorrect -- The report that 9 of 10 applicants for the controversial H-1B work visa did not have graduate degrees was incorrect.