MONDAY, JUNE 4  ▪  AFL-CIO Regional Diversity Dialogue July 14 in San Francisco

Local news:
▪  In Saturday's Spokesman-Review -- Triumph workers go on strike -- About 370 Machinists union members at Spokane's Triumph Composite Systems plant walked out in a labor dispute Friday, saying they'll continue the strike indefinitely until they get a better contract offer.
▪  In Saturday's Oregonian -- Carpenters union strike interrupts work sites -- It remains unclear if other unions will continue to stay off the jobs next (this) week if drywallers and their employers in Oregon and Southwest Washington fail to agree on future wage increases.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Light-rail debt a 50-year ride -- Extending light rail far beyond Seattle would cost more than $23 billion by 2027, but taxpayers would still owe an additional $14 billion.
▪  In today's Olympian -- Law aims to make mental health calls safer -- Community mental health workers can bring a second worker on calls to consider detaining seriously disturbed patients.
▪  In the PS Business Journal -- Port of Seattle expects cargo surge so there's plenty to share 
▪  From AP -- DSHS: Funding shortfall will lead to 37 job cuts -- The agency says 21 workers at medical-assistance units will be laid off July 1, and another 16 jobs will also be cut.
▪  In the Seattle Times -- Support working families in South King County -- The growing inequality between income classes points to major systems that are broken and need to be fixed.

Local politics:
▪  In Saturday's Seattle P-I -- State Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge is retiring at year's end   
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Three vie for Rep. Lovick's suit -- Former Snohomish Mayor Liz Loomis, Snohomish County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Hintz and 2006 senate candidate Lillian Kaufer are gathering support for an appointment to the seat if Lovick wins his sheriff race. 

Southern California grocery talks:
▪  In Saturday's LA Times -- Grocery talks clear big hurdle -- Negotiators have agreed on a plan to improve health insurance for the 33,000 "second-tier" workers who were hired after the 2004 accord and get reduced wages and benefits. Some believe a deal will be concluded by July 4.
▪  In Sunday's SF Chronicle -- Union: No deal with grocers on health benefits -- UFCW leaders say that reports they had reached a tentative deal on the tough issue of health benefits were false.

Immigration news:
▪  In today's News Tribune -- Like many people, state Hispanics find immigration bill controversial -- It’s a tale of two states, but from Microsoft’s corporate offices in Redmond to farmers in the fruit orchards of the Columbia Basin, details of the proposed reforms are under fierce examination.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Backers of immigration bill more optimistic -- The Senate architects of a delicate immigration compromise are increasingly convinced that they will pass it this week.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Immigration sabotage (editorial) -- The Senate must ensure this flawed bill doesn’t get worse. That means beating back a noxious amendment from Sen. Cornyn of Texas.

National news:
▪  In Saturday's Boston Globe -- Freedom to unionize (John Sweeney op-ed) -- Would the United States still be a beacon of democracy if on the way into the voting booth a politician pulled us aside, one-on-one, and threatened, intimidated, and coerced us about what horrible things would happen if we didn't vote the "right" way? Of course not. We'd be a despicable banana republic, not a beacon of democracy. But that is the reality in union elections today in America.
▪  In Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- Resurgent workers (op-ed) -- The Employee Free Choice Act would shift the balance of power back toward labor unions and help preserve the middle class.
▪  At AFL-CIO Now -- New Hampshire workers jump through hoops for EFCA -- One day after the New Hampshire legislature approved a bill allowing state employees to form unions through majority sign-up, hundreds of workers rallied for a national law making it easier to join a union.
▪  From AP -- Wal-Mart is scaling back -- The world's No. 1 retailer tells shareholders what they want to hear: It will reduce the number of new store openings to improve its lagging sales.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Show us the money (op-ed) -- Congress should mandate that all workplaces require companies to post salaries. It makes sense, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s decision requiring employees to file pay discrimination complaints within 180 days.

Election 2008 news:
▪  In Saturday's Seattle P-I -- Obama fires up crowd in Seattle -- His speech spans his life story, his perspective on the civil rights movement and his views on the Iraq war, health care, education and the environment. He infused it with humor and idealistic talk of change, and sought to set a tone of down-home charm, youthfulness and optimism.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Romney's political fortunes tied to riches he made in business -- He never ran a corner store or a traditional business. Instead, he excelled as a deal maker, a buyer and seller of companies. But his career also exposes him to criticism that he enriched himself excessively, sometimes by cutting jobs to increase profits.
▪  In today's LA Times -- Obama, Edwards clash sharply on war in 2nd Democratic debate 

Last Throes update:
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Attacks kill 14 U.S. soldiers in three days in Iraq 
▪  In today's NY Times -- Commanders say Baghdad push short of goal -- Three months after starting a security plan that added thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops to the capital, they control fewer than one-third of the city’s neighborhoods, far short of the initial goal for the operation.
▪  Of the 3,495 U.S. troops killed in Iraq so far, 3,356 have died (see a list) since President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" and an end to major combat operations in May 2003; 3,034 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. 
▪  At AFL-CIO Now -- Nation's first Iraq-Afghanistan memorial built union -- A memorial fountain and statue in Salem, Ore., is conceived, designed and built with volunteer union labor.