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June 26, 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.
TUESDAY,
JUNE 26 ▪
Republicans block vote on Employee
Free Choice Act
The
battle for the Employee
Free Choice Act moves to the 2008 election after a handful of
obstructionist senators have blocked a vote on the bill. On a vote of
51-48, the Senate voted for cloture, that is, shutting off debate.
Sixty votes were needed to invoke cloture and end the debate and move
to a vote on the bill. So even though a majority of the Senate voted for
cloture, a small group of Republicans denied workers a free choice to join a
union.
Also
today:
▪ Bill
Messenger injured in fishing accident
The
WSLC's Labor Liaison for the Workforce Investment Act is recovering from a
harrowing boating accident where he had to cut off his fingertips to free
himself from his sinking boat.
Legislative
news:
▪ In
today's Olympian -- State
workers' union may sue over repeal of gain sharing -- The Washington
Federation of State Employees plans to file a lawsuit later this week in
Thurston County to overturn HB 2391. Two other unions, the WEA and WPEA/UFCW
365, have already filed suits.
▪ In
today's Oregonian -- Paid
family leave survives vote in Oregon House -- Workers
in Oregon would begin paying $21 a year in 2009 and be eligible for up to
six weeks of paid family leave benefits under legislation approved Monday by
the House. The paid leave would provide $250 a week to qualifying employees
while they take time off to deal with major family events such as births,
serious illnesses, adoptions, a foster child or aging parents. The measure
moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass, and then to the governor,
who is expected to sign it.
▪ In
today's News Tribune -- State
health insurance for kids: There are limits (editorial)
-- A good fiscal argument can be made for covering
undocumented children. But the concern about poor adults is not misplaced.
It seems odd that the new subsidies will be extended to households earning
as much as $62,000 while adult Washingtonians with much lower incomes are
frozen out.
▪ In
today's Seattle P-I -- Gregoire
calls in mediators on 520 bridge dispute -- Two Colorado mediators with
a fresh perspective have been hired for one of the state's most daunting
tasks: Build community consensus so the aging Evergreen Point Bridge can be
replaced.
Highway
construction fatality:
▪ In
today's Seattle P-I -- Patrol
may require more troopers on highway projects -- New
requirements for posting the State Patrol at highway construction scenes may
result from investigations into an accident Friday that left one worker dead
and another injured.
▪ In
the Bellingham Herald -- After
latest fatal accident, construction workers ask you to slow down --
“Give ’em a brake,” says one worker. “It’s only going to cost you
another 30 seconds.”
Local
news:
▪ In
today's News Tribune -- Union
members unhappy with new prison chief -- Some state workers who
supervise offenders after their release from prison (represented by WFSE)
think the job of Washington prison chief Harold Clarke is too big for him,
and want to hold a no-confidence vote.
▪ In
today's Yakima H-R -- Hanford
cleanup embarrassment must be resolved (editorial) --
People complain about paying $3-plus a gallon for gas to drive their cars,
but don't seem too concerned that the federal government is tossing around
billions of dollars (that's "billions" with a "b") at
the Hanford nuclear reservation for cleanup efforts that drag on while the
costs escalate.
▪ In
today's Yakima H-R -- Police
union, city agree on contract -- They have tentatively settled a bitter
contract dispute, but a key sticking point -- random drug testing -- remains
on the table.
▪ Today
from AP -- Boeing
boosts list prices for jets -- As costs increase for labor and material,
the company has raised its prices for its planes about 5.5%, including the
fast-selling 787.
Political news:
▪ At
Postman on Politics -- Democrats
file complaint against Rossi -- The state Democratic Party files a
complaint with the Public Disclosure Commission claiming Dino Rossi's
non-profit is "functionally indistinguishable to that of a
gubernatorial candidate." The Democrats say Rossi's fundraising and
spending should be subject to the same rules as for political donations.
▪ In
today's Yakima H-R -- Dino
backs Porch Dog -- Rossi backs Sen. Jim Clements at fundraiser.
▪ In
today's NY Times -- Justices
loosen ad restrictions in campaign finance law -- In a 5-4 decision, the
justices rule that McCain-Feingold restrictions on TV advertisements paid
for from corporate or union treasuries in the weeks before an election
amounted to censorship of core political speech unless those advertisements
explicitly urge a vote for or against a particular candidate.
Immigration news:
▪ In
today's NY Times -- Labor
coalitions divided on immigration overhaul -- The bill's supporters say
labor opposition could doom its prospects. The threat has gone largely
unrecognized in part because three prominent unions -- SEIU, UFW, and UNITE
HERE -- have backed the legislation. But that support, advocates say, has
been outweighed by opposition from the AFL-CIO and virtually all other
unions, including the UAW, Teamsters, UFCW, and construction unions.
▪ Today
from AP -- Pivotal
vote looms on immigration -- Senators urging the bill's passage hope to
revive bipartisan support for the embattled measure and push it to passage
by week's end.
▪ In
today's Oregonian -- Bigger
issue than health care? Illegal immigrants -- Only public schools top
immigration as Oregonians' No. 1 concern to tackle, a new poll shows.
National news:
▪ In
today's LA Times -- SoCal
grocery vote may not lead to a strike -- Even though Southern California
grocery workers have given their union the go-ahead to call a strike, that
doesn't mean a walkout or an employer lockout is imminent, analysts say.
Sunday's strike authorization vote may even help jump-start stalled talks
toward a resolution.
▪ Today
from AP -- Number
of uninsured up 6% in 2006, survey says -- The
number of adults without health insurance jumped by 2 million from 2005 to
2006 to 43.6 million last year.
▪ Today
from Bloomberg -- Number
of children with chronic diseases quadrupled, study says -- The trend
portends more disability and higher health costs for a new generation of
adults.
TUESDAY,
JUNE 26, 2007
Senate Republicans block a vote on Employee Free Choice Act
Battle to restore the freedom to
choose unions now shifts to the 2008 election
Although
a majority of U.S. Senators supported the House-approved Employee Free
Choice Act -- included both Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell
-- minority Republicans succeeded today in blocking a vote on the federal
labor law reform on a
51-48 vote. We will link to the roll-call vote as soon as it is
available.
The following was just posted at AFL-CIO Now:
The battle for the Employee Free Choice Act moves to the 2008 election after a handful of obstructionist senators have blocked a vote on the bill. On a vote of 51-48, the Senate voted for cloture, that is, shutting off debate. Sixty votes were needed to invoke cloture and end the debate and move to a vote on the bill. So even though a majority of the Senate voted for cloture, a small group of Republicans denied workers a free choice to join a union.
But the momentum for this bill is growing. The grassroots movement behind this legislation is bigger and more exciting than anyone believed last year. Working families across the country mounted a massive campaign to win passage of the bill. Sixteen governors (including Gov. Chris Gregoire) and nearly 1,300 state and local elected officials expressed support for the legislation in all 50 states. Seven presidential candidates also back the bill.
Working families held more than 100 rallies last week across the country demanding that Congress restore the fundamental freedom to join a union and bargain for a better life. More than 4,500 workers and elected officials rallied on Capitol Hill June 19 to urge support for the legislation. Middle-class Americans generated 50,000 telephone calls to the Senate, 156,000 faxes and e-mails, and 220,000 postcards, including 120,000 delivered to the Senate last week.
The Employee Free Choice Act (S.1041), would have leveled the playing field in the workplace by allowing workers to decide to join a union without employer interference and require arbitration if a timely agreement is not reached on a first contract.
The obstruction of this bill is just one in a series of Republican actions to stall needed legislation. The Center for American Progress recently reported that Senate conservatives have tied up 239 bills passed by the House of Representatives, by “objecting to just about every major piece of legislation that [Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)] has tried to bring up.”
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who sponsored the bill, along with 46 others, said during the debate this morning the issue of workers being free to join a union is not just an economic issue, but also a moral and civil rights issue. He cited the strong support for the bill from religious leaders and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
Reid called on his colleagues to support cloture because the bill will be good for both workers and employers.
Today for far too many Americans, that New Deal has become a raw deal. It’s time to give working families a square deal. A square deal that honors workers and their families by giving them a real chance for a better life.
During the debate, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said the long delays between the time an election is held and the time the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) acts makes the whole process “dysfunctional.”
The NLRB takes so long to act that the election becomes moot—it no longer matters any more. When you look at what the NLRB does, it is totally ineffective.
Presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.). said:
Let there be no mistake about it. The union movement and the middle class are under attack. As the power of labor declined, the economic power of corporate America skyrocketed. It’s time it changed.
It used to be that we had a grand bargain that as labor increased productivity and as industry benefited, they benefited. That basic compact has been broken.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said the time for this bill has come and supporters will not give up because the country wants and needs this legislation:
In (the) 2006 (election), the middle class spoke up. They understand they have not shared in the wealth that’s been produced.
It’s clear the majority of the American people want this legislation. A majority of the House wants it. A majority of the Senate wants it. And we will keep coming back year after year.
TUESDAY,
JUNE 26, 2007
WSLC's Bill Messenger injured in fishing accident
Bill
Messenger, the Washington State Labor Council's Labor Liaison for the
Workforce Investment Act, was involved in a harrowing boating accident
Sunday afternoon on the Wynooche River in Grays Harbor County, where he had
to cut off his fingertips to free himself from his sinking boat. He is
listed in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
(See news coverage of the boating accident in today's (Aberdeen)
Daily World and at King5.com.)
Reached this morning, Bill reports that Monday's surgeries to have his index and middle fingers reattached were apparently successful, for now. Time will tell whether he will maintain circulation in his index and middle fingers, which were severed just below the first knuckle.
Bill's wife, Sue, says the family is grateful for the outpouring of support they have received since the accident. She is an active 16-year member of AFSCME Local 970 who works for DSHS Home and Community Services in Aberdeen. They have four grown children and reside in Ocean Shores.
Send Bill your best wishes for a speedy recovery at bmessenger@wslc.org.
The former President of the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Local 211 in Grays Harbor County, Messenger's role at the WSLC is to help find alternatives to plant closure and job dislocation, and when such closures and layoffs can't be avoided, he helps the affected workers have access to job retraining and reemployment program opportunities available through the WIA. Filling the position vacated with the 2006 retirement of Jim Tusler, Messenger works closely with fellow WIA Liaison Lori Province.
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