The 31 union members who work in the parts, lube and service departments at Longview's Columbia Ford Chrysler Hyundai have been on strike since June 18 over company demands to triple their out-of-pocket health care costs, and now the dealership is moving to hire scab replacements for the strikers. The workers are members of Teamsters Local 58 and Machinists District 160.

TAKE ACTION: You are invited to show your support for the strikers by attending a rally and picnic this Saturday, June 30 from noon to 2 p.m. at Longview's 7th Avenue Park. The picnic is being held "to thank all the Union Brothers and Sisters who have supported us in our strike against Columbia Ford," according to a flier circulated by the Machinists union. Bring your families! Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and pop will be provided. (No alcohol is permitted at the park.)

The Columbia Ford workers' contract expired May 31 after a month of failed contract negotiations that concluded May 30. There have been no talks since then and none are currently scheduled.

"Our proposals have been reasonable but the company's offer amounts to less take-home pay for the workers who will be forced to nearly triple their monthly payments for health care," said Brian King, Teamsters Local 58 business agent. "Triple our health care costs, we just cant afford to do it."

Now, the (Longview) Daily News reports that Columbia Ford is advertising for scab replacements.

"We are accepting applications to see who might be available at some point," said Pat Sari, president and general manager of the dealership. "We need to start servicing cars again."

"Good luck. Our guys have skills, some are Ford-certified, and they are not just guys you can replace," said the Teamsters' King. "It's time to get a fair contract. We're not out to break the bank. We just want to be moving forward. Everyone wants to get back to work. The bottom line is people can't go to work and take a loss when the company makes a profit."

While walking the picket line Wednesday, John Silva, the local Teamsters secretary-treasurer, said picketer's spirits remain high: "We're willing to remain here as long as necessary to get a fair contract. It's a test of the wills. ... It's just unfortunate that the company drew a line in the sand."

Come show your support for these strikers by attending Saturday's picnic!  Directions to the 7th Avenue Park: From I-5, take Exit 36 WA 432 / Tennant Way / Kelso Longview Industrial Area, and turn right on 7th Ave.

Support Seattle security officers' fight for affordable health care in their historic first master contract at a rally at 11:45 a.m. Friday, June 29 in front of the Smith Tower, 506 2nd Ave. in downtown Seattle. The event is coordinated by Service Employees International Union Local 6 and Washington State Jobs with Justice. (Click here to confirm you'll be there on Friday!)

Security officers are fighting for respect in the form of:

• Regular wage increases (the current average wage is approximately $11/hour)

• Affordable health care (currently as much at $250/month for the individual)

• A fair procedure for handling workplace grievances

For the past three years, Seattle and Bellevue security officers have been working with SEIU Local 6 to raise the standards of their industry. At this time, more than 650 security officers, representing 64 percent of their industry, are at the bargaining table negotiating this area's first master contract for the commercial security industry. Nationally, nearly 50,000 security officers represented by SEIU will be at the bargaining table this year in 10 cities throughout the country.

In Seattle/Bellevue, 36 percent of the market remains unrepresented at the bargaining table. If real gains are to be made for security officers, more of the industry needs to be covered by this first-ever master contract. The security contractor at Smith Tower, Northwest Security Services, has refused to allow its officers to have the choice of being part of this nationwide effort.

As the economic phase of contract negotiations nears, it is critical that the security officers have the support of their allies in the labor movement who have helped them begin the process of raising their standards of living. Come to Friday's rally!

The following statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney was distributed this morning:

This week, working families, both here and abroad, will gain a little more security as President Bush's "fast track" authority to negotiate trade agreements with minimal input from Congress will expire.

For the last six years, this Administration has negotiated one bad trade deal after another, each agreement passing by the slimmest of margins, over the objections of working people worldwide.

President Bush's trade agenda has failed because he has ignored the legitimate concerns of so many who are affected: workers, environmental, development, and human rights activists, family farmers, and many domestic producers. It now appears likely that Congress will refuse to give the President yet another blank check.

Congress must use this opportunity to assert its constitutional authority over trade policy, so that it can craft a set of rules that will put the interests of working families in the U.S. and around the globe front and center -- instead of those of corporate interests.

The Democratic leadership in Congress has made significant progress in improving workers' rights and environmental protections in future trade deals, and we look forward to working with them to further improve other important provisions that have not yet been addressed.

But while the new template is a positive step in the right direction, it is by no means a complete fix appropriate for any country or any situation -- including the proposed free trade agreements with Colombia and South Korea. Grave human rights violations in Colombia and unequal market access issues in South Korea put these two agreements in a completely separate -- and significantly more problematic -- category.

In Colombia, trade unionists continue to be murdered and threatened with alarming regularity, and their murderers operate with impunity. The Colombian government must show workers and the international community that it has both the capacity and the will to tackle impunity and end the violence before we even consider signing a free trade agreement.

The proposed trade agreement with Korea is one-sided and decidedly against the interests of manufacturers and workers in the U.S. Our battered manufacturing sector simply cannot withstand another flawed trade deal that purports to open foreign markets, while instead serving to exacerbate the current imbalanced and unequal trading relationship. If the president sends this flawed deal to Congress, it should be rejected.

Opening markets and increasing trade between nations is critical in a global economy. The U.S. must continue to trade with other countries if we expect to remain globally competitive and we must explore ways to regulate that trade fairly. But absent a fair trade policy that puts working people first, we will continue down a destructive path that has led to the loss of millions of good American jobs, stagnation of real wages here and abroad, gross violations of workers* rights and the erosion of global standards.