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May 3, 2007 |
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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, MAY 3 ▪ Rally TODAY in SeaTac for federal workers' right to organize
Legislative
news:
▪
Today
from AP -- 20
health bills turn into laws -- Gov. Gregoire signs an array of health
care measures, putting the final stamp on a major priority for the
Democratic-controlled Legislature.
▪ In
today's Everett Herald -- Try
for better paid family leave program (editorial) --
The Governor can, and should, veto all but the section
of the bill that creates a private/public task force. The business community
is saying it's OK with some form of paid family leave.
▪ In
today's Everett Herald -- Rep.
Lovick announces bid for Snohomish County sheriff -- The five-term state
representative from Mill Creek cites his years of experience with the State
Patrol.
"George
Bush doesn't care about black Union people:"
▪ Today
at AFL-CIO -- "No
trade deal with corrupt regime" -- Colombia is the most dangerous
country in the world for trade unionists. Nearly 2,300 union leaders and
members have been murdered there since 1991 and the government routinely
ignores or violates internationally recognized workers’ rights. Last year
alone, 72 trade unionists were murdered in Colombia, many by paramilitary
troops linked to the government of
▪ From AP -- Bush urges approval of Colombian trade deal -- "It is very important for this nation to stand with democracies that protect human rights and human dignity, democracies based upon the rule of law," says President Bush, standing beside Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
$3.00-a-gallon
news:
▪ From
BusinessWeek -- Oil
companies' production lows, profit highs -- Where's the gas? Pump prices
are testing $3 as production wanes at aging plants. Refiners haven't built
an entirely new plant since 1976. Meanwhile, the price difference between a
barrel of crude and a barrel of refined gasoline are the fattest the
industry has ever seen -- 50% higher than last year, when margins at the
time hit historic highs. "Refiners are making a bundle now," says
one analyst.
▪ At
AFL-CIO Now -- Where
have all the corporate profits gone? --
▪ In today's Seattle Times -- Keiser asked for probe of gas prices -- AG McKenna's announcement that he will investigate Washington's record high gas prices surprised Sen. Keiser. A year ago, she asked McKenna to investigate, and was given a list of reasons why that wouldn't happen.
Local
news:
▪ In
today's Olympian -- State
likely to trim timber harvests -- The annual level on state forestland
is likely to decline in the years ahead to better protect older forest
habitat for imperiled species.
▪ In
today's Oregonian -- At
Portland labor hall, Edwards calls for U.S. exit from Iraq -- Oregon
AFL-CIO President introduces Edwards as "a blue-collar president for a
blue-collar America."
National
news:
▪ In
today's NY Times -- Major
parts makers in talks with auto unions -- Magna International, which is
considering a bid for Chrysler, is in talks with Canadian and American auto
unions about adding Magna’s tens of thousands of workers to their ranks.
▪ Today
from Reuters -- Stay-at-home
mother's work worth $138,095 a year -- (This report begs the question,
then why do we pay day-care and child-care workers poverty wages in this
country?)
Last
Throes update: ▪
“We won this war
four years ago. The question is when we end the occupation.” --
Sen. Jim Webb (D-Virginia), in
a floor speech supporting the Iraq withdrawal
bill.
▪ Today
from AP -- Iraq
lawmakers' vacation plans draw fire -- The
parliament's two-month summer recess would likely come without reaching
agreements key to easing sectarian tensions.
▪ In
today's Seattle P-I -- 3
U.S. soldiers killed, 2 hurt in Baghdad -- At least 85 Iraqis were
killed or found dead nationwide on Wednesday. Despite the latest carnage,
U.S. and Iraqi officials presented an upbeat picture of the security
situation in the capital.
▪
Of the 3,355
U.S. troops killed in Iraq so far, 3,216 have died (see
a list) since President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished"
and an end to major combat operations in May 2003; 2,894 have died
since Saddam's capture. Five-and-a-half years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is
at large.
▪ The
WSLC's affiliated unions have called for an end to the U.S. occupation of
Iraq.
THURSDAY,
MAY 3, 2007
Rally TODAY in Seatac for federal workers' right to organize
All union members and community supporters are urged to join the American Federation of Government Employees and Washington State Jobs with Justice for an important informational picket to support the right of Transport Security Officers (also known as airport screeners) to collective bargaining. The rally and picketing will be TODAY -- Thursday, May 3 -- at 5:30 p.m. at S. 188th St. & International Blvd. (on the N.W. corner, across from Doubletree Hotel) in SeaTac near the airport.
Click here to confirm you'll be there!
The Bush administration claims that national security is at risk when workers are represented by a union. Join TSOs and their supporters to show the public that unions are a check and balance in a democracy, and that workers' rights are consistent policies provide REAL national security and serve the public interest.
Since 9/11, the Bush administration has used that tragedy as an excuse to attack federal workers and their right to organize. Part of that efforts has been the National Security Personnel System, an ongoing effort to deny workers in the Department of Defense the right to meaningful union representation. Another part has been an assault on the rights of TSOs, the women and men who provide screening security at our nation's airports.
The Bush administration stripped TSOs of the right to any union collective bargaining, arguing that national security and collective bargaining are somehow incompatible. This is a horrible insult to the memory of the brave men and women -- almost all union members -- who risked and sacrificed their lives at the World Trade Center. Legislation has passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and is pending before the U.S. Senate, to restore the right of collective bargaining to TSOs. Bush has threatened to veto the legislation.
AFGE reports that, without collective bargaining rights, the Transportation Security Agency has been the subject of more Equal Employment Opportunity complaints than all other federal agencies combined. These are most often gender or disability discrimination complaints, focusing on issues like pay equity and sex discrimination. TSA suffers high attrition rates, due to poor working conditions and military-style management. It's no wonder that the federal Office of Professional Management has found that TSA is at or near the bottom for every employee morale issue.
Please join us to support the organizing efforts of TSA employees, and demand their right to bargain. Join us at 5:30 p.m. See you there!
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 © 200
7 Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO