TUESDAY, JULY 24  ▪  Governor's Industrial Safety & Health Conference is Sept. 26-27 -- The conference is one of the largest of its kind in the nation and draws thousands of workers, employers and safety-and-health professionals. Register at www.wagovconf.org/registration.htm.

Local news:
▪  In the Olympian -- WFSE bids to represent 1,900 more workers -- The WFSE files to represent adult family home providers, the latest group of quasi-state employees to win unionization rights.
▪  In yesterday's P-I -- Monday (was) the beginning of gratuity reality -- By a new state law, all companies must now show customers what percentage of an automatic service charge goes to the employees who served them... UNITE HERE pledges to scour the state looking for companies that don't pass on most of a service fee to employees, and make examples of them.
▪  In the Tri-City Herald -- State's unemployment benefits increase -- The annual state mandated hike raised weekly benefits about 3% to 5% since July 1. The minimum weekly compensation increased from $116 to $122, and the maximum weekly benefit rose from $496 to $515.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- When will 787 fly? Boeing won't say -- To keep up with its aggressive schedule, Boeing aims to have the 787 in the air sometime in August or September. 
▪  In the Everett Herald -- Ferry solutions mired in blame -- There are many theories to explain why Washington State Ferries has been unable to retire four leaking 80-year-old boats.

Grocery contract news:
▪  From AP -- Grocery workers approve pact in Southern California -- More than 87% of workers at three supermarket chains voted to approve a new contract and avoid a replay of a lengthy 2004 strike and lockout. The contract eliminates a two-tier system of employee pay and benefits, shortens the waiting period for health-insurance coverage for new hires. Health benefits is one of the issues in current contract talks in the Puget Sound area between UFCW Local 21 and Kroger, which owns QFC and Fred Meyer stores, and other grocery-store owners.
▪  In today's LA Times -- Grocery union fought for unity -- The new labor agreement for Southern California grocery workers approved over the weekend contains a cautionary message for employers: Two-tier pay scales are trouble. Although that approach may slash labor expenses, it also can divide a workforce into groups of haves and have-nots, labor experts say, and it doesn't always turn out to be the cost-saver companies expect.

Workforce Training news: 
▪  In the PSBJ -- Critics worry workforce development programs can't keep pace with demand -- As demand for job-training grants outstrips the state's budget by wide margins, critics are sounding the alarm. They say the state must help business develop its work force so Washington can stay competitive, sustain wage growth and help workers stay employed by learning new skills.
▪  In the Olympian -- Overseas trade a tug of war in Washington state -- Sen. Cantwell and Rep. Smith say that rather than focusing on the downside of globalization, policy makers need to ensure U.S. workers are competitive. They say the cornerstone needs to be a major expansion of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which helps retrain workers while providing them with expanded unemployment and heath-care benefits. Cantwell: "We need TAA on steroids."

Health Care news:
▪  In the PSBJ -- Health-care skirmishes move to Medicare plans -- Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler and a large consumer group are attacking private health insurers that sell Medicare products for questionable marketing tactics and for costing the government too much money.
▪  Today from AP -- Drug companies' profits strengthen -- Merck and Schering-Plough, partners in a lucrative cholesterol drug joint venture, post hefty increases in second-quarter profits.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Tax break used by drug makers failed to add jobs -- Drug makers are not the only American multinationals using tax loopholes to declare large portions of their income beyond the reach of the IRS. The Bookings Institution estimates that multinationals are using overseas tax shelters to lower their payments to the Treasury by about $50 billion a year.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Business owner welcomes Bush, but not his ideas on health care -- The entrepreneur who hosted Bush last week for a roundtable discussion on health care says he could barely get a word in as Bush opined on children's health insurance and other health topics. If he had, Clifton Broumand would have told the president he disagreed with him on most of it.

National news:
▪  In the USA Today -- Federal minimum wage increase kicks in today -- The increases boosts pay to $5.85 an hour from $5.15. The next jump will occur on July 24, 2008, to $6.55, and then to $7.25 effective July 24, 2009. The last wage increase was a two-step increase in 1996 and 1997.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Automakers. UAW roll up their sleeves -- Contract negotiations covering hourly workers set the stage for what are being called the most crucial talks in a generation.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Outsourcing the picket line -- Although their placards identify the picketers as being with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters, they are not union members. They're hired feet, or, as the union calls them, temporary workers, paid $8 an hour.