WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25  ▪  Worker Memorial Day commemorations today, Saturday -- Today's events are at L&I headquarters in Tumwater at 2 p.m. and at the Everett Labor Temple at 5 p.m.  Events are also planned this Saturday at noon in Bellingham and Spokane.
▪  In today's NY Times -- OSHA leaves worker safety in hands of industry -- Across Washington, political appointees -- often former officials of the industries they now oversee -- have eased regulations or weakened enforcement of rules on issues like driving hours for truckers, logging in forests and corporate mergers. Since George W. Bush became president, OSHA has issued the fewest significant standards in its history, public health experts say. It has imposed only one major safety rule. The only significant health standard it issued was ordered by a federal court.

Legislative news:
▪  In today's Olympian -- Family leave: Now the hard part -- It begins in October 2009. The estimated $25 million annual cost originally was going to be paid for with a 2-cents-per-hour tax on workers. But Chopp has other ideas that might play better with voters. 
▪  In today's Olympian -- Gregoire saves clauses for real emergencies (editorial) -- The governor has vetoed two emergency clauses that lawmakers had tacked on to the end of their bills. Good for her.
▪  In today's Yakima H-R -- Republican Curtis King plans to challenge Sen. Jim Clements for seat -- Yakima businessman Curtis King has begun raising money for a Republican primary challenge against state Sen. Jim Clements, R-Selah, who was appointed to fill retired Sen. Deccio's seat.
▪  At Postman on Politics -- GOP Minority Leader DeBolt injured, cited in crash -- He suffered minor injuries in a traffic accident that sent his pickup truck flying and landing on its roof. Witnesses said he had run through the intersection without stopping. He was also cited for expired tabs.
▪  In today's Spokesman-Review -- Income tax merits (editorial) -- Washington state's regressive tax system has survived another legislative session. So, once again, state government will lurch forward with a revenue-raising system designed for a previous century, when manufacturing reigned and service-related businesses had yet to gain prominence.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Democratic legislature was progressive, pragmatic (AWB Davis column) -- Today, their legislative record looks like good politics, which does not always mean good policy. But they took risks with the economy and there are likely to be unhappy consequences.
▪  In today's Salem S-J -- Oregon House votes to bar state cash in union campaigns -- The labor-backed bill that bars the use of state money to deter union organizing campaigns.

Local news:
▪  In today's Oregonian -- NLRB orders SEIU 49 to hold off organizing efforts -- One of Oregon's most active labor groups must suspend many of its organizing efforts for six months, as part of a legal settlement with a Portland worker who accused the union of violating labor laws. In a card-check election, SEIU was accused of deceiving and coercing employees into supporting unionization.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Bellevue backs domestic partner benefits -- After years of debate, but within a week of lawsuit being filed by employees, Bellevue is poised to join Seattle, Spokane and numerous other municipalities in offering health and other benefits to the domestic partners.
▪  In today's News Tribune -- Four seek commissioner positions at Port of Tacoma -- They include David Lovell, a Puyallup resident who spent 20 years working for the Teamsters union.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Ethics board to probe ex-Port of Seattle CEO Dinsmore pay dispute
▪  In today's News Tribune -- One lump or two? (sorry) -- A Key Peninsula fire commissioner uses a coffee mug to smash a fellow elected commissioner on the head several times.

Boeing news:
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Big pieces of Boeing's Dreamliner arrive -- The ungainly superfreighter that links Boeing's far-flung manufacturing network made its inaugural delivery Tuesday, landing at Paine Field in Everett with the horizontal tail that will become part of the very first 787
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- First 787 part arrives; Boeing workers could start assembling it today 
▪  Today from AP -- Robust orders for commercial airplanes help Boeing's earnings rise 27% 

National news:
▪  At AFL-CIO Now -- Employee Free Choice Act would lead to better jobs, less poverty -- One in eight Americans is considered officially poor and one in three is low income, says a new report. One-fourth of workers are in jobs for which year-round full-time work will not pay enough to keep a family of four above the $20,516 poverty threshold. Among the report's recommendations: Make it easier for workers to join unions, which would go a long way toward alleviating poverty.
▪  In today's NY Times -- A test for the Roberts court (editorial) -- The Supreme Court hears arguments today in a case that could determine whether a major new leak opens up, one that would allow corporations and unions to pour unprecedented amounts of money into political campaigns. It is important that the court continue to keep this money out.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Getting rich at the public trough (Harrop column) -- Al Lord is a rich man. As head of SLM Corp., he made $255 million in five years. He's now building his own private golf course in a Washington, D.C., suburb. And to think he did it off a federal program that's supposed to help low-income students borrow money. Ahhhhh. The Bush years.
▪  In today's NY Times -- What's really squeezing the middle class? (column) -- Layoffs seem to happen more frequently and workers’ income seems more volatile. The reality may be different.
▪  In today's LA Times -- Top 25 hedge-fund chiefs earn $14 billion -- The pay for these men -- and yes, they're all men -- rose 57% in 2006. The investment environment that is making these men rich (and yes, the top 25 are all men) is coming at the expense of working Americans in the form of job losses, reduced health benefits and depleted retirement savings, says an SEIU report.
▪  In today's NY Times -- SEIU takes a skeptical look at private equity -- In Europe, private equity firms are accustomed to feeling the heat from unions. Now, the temperature is rising in the U.S.