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July 12, 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,
JULY 12 ▪
AFL-CIO's
Trumka will keynote WSLC Convention in August --
AFL-CIO
Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka is scheduled to deliver the keynote address
at the 2007 Convention of the Washington State Labor Council, which begins Thursday, Aug. 16.
Also
today: ▪
SPEEA
Board releases director (link to brief
statement posted at SPEEA.org)
▪ In
today's Seattle Times --
Board
ousts SPEEA leader -- The engineering and technical workers union at
Boeing has been thrown into turmoil by the surprise firing of longtime
leader Charles Bofferding. On a 4-3 vote, its Board discontinues his
contract, effective immediately.
▪ In
today's Seattle P-I --
Boeing
engineers union axes chief -- Says Bofferding: "SPEEA
is a very democratic organization... The members get to make decisions, and
that's the way it should be. ... We'll see if this sticks or not. If members
believe this decision is in their best interests, it should stand. If they
don't... then they'll find a way to do something about it."
Also
today: ▪
Heat-stress deaths at
work are no laughing matter, Mr. Schram
▪ At
KOMOTV.com -- Training
for common sense? (Ken Schram commentary mocking
L&I heat-stress rules)
Local
news: ▪
Attend UFCW events urging
grocers to "Share the Success!"
▪ In
today's Spokesman-Review --
Higher
wage measure likely to get on ballot (brief)
-- Backers of a plan to force Wal-Mart and other big box
retailers in Spokane to pay most workers nearly double the state's minimum
wage say they have enough signatures to force a citywide vote.
▪ In
today's Everett Herald --
Job
fair: Boeing eager for workers -- The company hopes its rollout of its
new 787 will drum up job candidates. It plans an employment fair this Friday
in Everett.
▪ In
today's Seattle P-I -- Forbes
gives a boost to business in Washington -- Washington jumps from 12th to
5th place in its "best states to do business" rankings, and is the
only state in the top five in the labor, regulatory environment and growth
categories. (But Dino must not subscribe...)
Election
2008:
▪
In today's Seattle Times --
Rossi
group replaying themes of 2004 race -- Dino Rossi is traveling the
state, raising money from supporters and giving several speeches a week
about how the "folks in Olympia" are mucking up Washington's
business climate and driving the state toward fiscal calamity. But he
insists he's not a candidate and shouldn't have to comply with
campaign-finance laws.
▪ In
today's Seattle P-I --
PDC
will probe Rossi fundraising
▪ In
The Stranger --
Clinton's
money woes: Why the frontrunner lags in this state's money race
▪ At
Postman on Politics -- Clinton
Seattle magic may not be transferable
▪ Today at AFL-CIO Now -- Firefighters
challenge Guiliani's self-proclaimed "leadership experience"
▪ In
today's NY Times --
Video
by firefighters' union urges opposition to Guiliani -- The video, issued
by the International Association of Fire Fighters and titled “Rudy
Giuliani: Urban Legend,” strikes directly at what Mr. Giuliani’s
campaign has presented as a central strength: his leadership of New York
City after the Sept. 11 attacks, in which nearly 350 firefighters died. (Watch
it here.)
The
Politics of Justice, Part 2:
▪ In
the Bellingham Herald -- Boundary
official fired over Blaine wall -- For decades, the International
Boundary Commission has enforced a "boundary vista" at the
U.S.-Canadian border. But when the IBC ordered a Blaine couple to remove a
4-foot concrete wall they erected in their back yard at the border, a
conservative property-rights group contests the action. The U.S. member of
the IBC expects Bush's Justice Department to back him up in court, but
instead, they fire him -- perhaps illegally. Says the fired official: "They
indicated to me they had an ideological agenda and that agenda did not match
up with the boundary commission’s agenda and the national security agenda.
I could not trust them. … Instead of backing me up, they cut me down.”
THURSDAY,
JULY 12, 2007
AFL-CIO's Trumka
will keynote WSLC Convention in August
AFL-CIO
Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka is scheduled to deliver the keynote
address at the 2007 Convention of the Washington State Labor Council,
AFL-CIO, which begins Thursday, Aug. 16 at 9 a.m. at the SeaTac DoubleTree
Hotel near the airport. Convention business is expected to be completed by
noon Saturday, Aug. 18.
Under the theme "50 Years of Solidarity," the Council will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its formation with the 1957 merger of the Washington Federation of Labor and the Washington Congress of Industrial Organizations Council.
Following is a tentative agenda (keep in mind that this schedule and speakers are subject to change):
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You say you want a resolution? Well, you know... the Washington State Labor Council's Constitution says proposed resolutions should be submitted 30 days prior to convention, which would be by July 17. However, "late" resolutions are accepted until the first day of convention and will still be considered by delegates. That said, affiliates are urged to submit these resolutions at the earliest possible time to facilitate reproduction and distribution to the convention body. These resolutions are a key part not just of the WSLC convention, but of the organization itself. It is through the debate and passage of these resolutions that WSLC positions and policies are established. Any WSLC-affiliated or chartered union may submit resolutions. Among those approved in 2006 were resolutions calling for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq and endorsing single-payer universal health care. (See the entire list of resolutions approved at last year's WSLC Convention.) The resolutions are first referred to various committees that meet Thursday afternoon and consider whether to recommend changes or corrections. Debate and voting on the resolutions, and any committee amendments, will begin Friday afternoon and continue Saturday morning, as necessary. |
THURSDAY, AUGUST 16
9:00 a.m. -- Convention convenes
9:30 -- WSLC President Rick Bender
10:00 -- AFL-CIO Sec.-Treasurer Rich Trumka
10:30 -- Transportation issues panel
11:15 -- Union organizing issues panel (including Mary Beth Maxwell,
Executive Director of American Rights at Work)
12:00 -- Apollo Alliance President Jerome Ringo
LUNCH
1:30 p.m. -- Workshops
3:15 -- Workshops
5:30 -- COPE barbecue at IAM 751 Hall
FRIDAY, AUGUST 17
9:00 a.m. -- Convention reconvenes
9:05 -- U.S. Sen. Patty Murray
9:30 -- Health care issues panel
10:15 -- State Sen. Lisa Brown
10:30 -- Immigration issues panel
11:00 -- Ballot initiatives panel
11:45 -- King County Executive Ron Sims
LUNCH
1:30 p.m. -- Workshops
3:15 -- Workshops
6:00 -- Reception
7:00 -- Banquet (guest speaker: union organizer/ stand-up comic/ nationally
syndicated radio host Jackie Guerra)
9:00 -- Live music (Justus) and dancing
SATURDAY, AUGUST 18
9:00 a.m. -- Convention reconvenes
9:30 -- COPE political endorsement action
10:00 -- Consideration and adoption of resolutions
The annual WSLC Convention is an opportunity for union officers, staff and rank-and-file delegates to hear from distinguished union and government leaders, attend informative workshops, develop relationships with other unions -- and have some fun. "The Tournament in ‘07," the annual golf fund raiser to benefit community service agencies, will be Wednesday, August 15 with a 2 p.m. shotgun start at Sumner Meadows Golf Links. For registration information, contact the Puget Sound Labor Agency at 206-448-9277, or download the tournament flier/registration form.
WSLC-affiliated AFL-CIO local unions and Change to Win unions that have signed Solidarity Charters with the WSLC should start making plans to attend the convention. The official WSLC Convention Call, which indicates the number of delegates to which each affiliate is entitled, has already been mailed. If you are interested in representing your union as a delegate or alternate to the convention, contact your local union.
Now is the time to make hotel reservations, to nominate members of your union for various awards, and to begin submitting resolutions.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS: If you want to make hotel reservations for yourself or your union's delegates, call the SeaTac DoubleTree at 206-246-8600 x4369. Make sure to tell them you are with the Washington State Labor Council convention to get the special rate of $135 for a single/double.
For general convention questions, call the WSLC at 206-281-8901.
THURSDAY,
JULY 12, 2007
Heat-stress deaths at work are no
laughing matter, Mr. Schram
Jeff Johnson, Organizing and Research Director for the Washington State Labor Council, sent the following letter on Wednesday to KOMO-TV commentator Ken Schram, in response to the television/radio pundit's ridiculing of heat-stress regulations recently enacted by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Schram gave what he calls the Schrammie Award to L&I Director Judy Schurke. (Let's hope he did a better job packaging and marking it.)
Mr. Schram,
I am of the opinion that you ought to give this award to yourself for criticizing a set rules that will help prevent heat stress injuries and deaths. Rule development began on heat stress after the death of a middle age farm worker in 2005 in the Yakima Valley who wasn't provided sufficient water at an appropriate temperature to prevent him from stroking out. Last summer a twenty-something construction worker in Vancouver, Washington died from heat stress when he was not provided with sufficient water.
Health experts for decades have been telling us that we should drink eight glasses of water a day for health purposes. Science tells us that working outside in high heat/humidity requires a quart of water an hour to adequately hydrate the average person. This is not the random bottle of water but two gallons of water over the course of a eight hour day.
Today with the temperatures hitting the low to mid nineties in Seattle is a great day to sit on a park bench or to work in an air conditioned office like yours. But if you are in the orchards thinning apples or picking peaches or framing or re-roofing a house it is a brutal day. Six weeks ago a farm worker in California named Eladio Hernandez died from heat stroke while picking peaches on a piece rate basis. When he notified his supervisor that he was feeling heat stress symptoms (dizziness, nausea, clamminess to the skin and loss of strength) he was told to sit down for a few minutes. He was not offered any water and he had long ago finished the water bottle he had brought into the orchard with him. When the supervisor returned a half an hour later and Mr. Eladio was still resting he was accused of being lazy. Mr Eladio died two hours later from heat stress.
If employers providing adequate water and shaded areas for workers to rest in during hot/humid weather were simply a matter of common sense then there would be no heat stress injuries and no heat stroke deaths at the workplace. But it is not. There are far too many employers/supervisors with little to no common sense or who simply don't care about those they employ. As a result, putting rules to paper, educating around these rules, and enforcing the rules is extremely important in preventing illness and death.
This is not a matter to joke about! This is not about telling people when they should take a sip of water. Shame on you for making light of such a serious issue. I expected more of you. I don't think the family members of these dead workers would think your Schrammie award is even a bit funny or on target.
Sincerely,
Jeff Johnson, Organizing and Research Director
Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
THURSDAY,
JULY 12, 2007
Attend UFCW events urging grocers to
"Share the Success!"
Event details will follow, but the dates, times and areas are set (aach event will be from 6 to 8 p.m.
July 16: Seattle, near North Bend, near Auburn
July 19: Near Lynnwood, near Silverdale, and Seattle
July 23: Bellevue, Seattle and near Enumclaw
If you live in one of these areas and are interested in supporting your local grocery workers' efforts to get a fair contract, please contact Steve Williamson at 206-436-6580 or swilliamson@ufcw21.org
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