TUESDAY, AUGUST 7  ▪  AFL-CIO candidate forum is TODAY  (link to AFLCIO.org) -- Hosted by Keith Olbermann, it will be on MSNBC from 4-5:30 p.m. Pacific.
▪  Today from AP -- AFL-CIO: Unions will impact 2008 race -- Sweeney: "What we see going on now leads us to believe that this will probably be the most ambitious mobilization in the history of the labor movement. Workers are angry about how they're being treated, and they want to see a change."
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Edwards makes courting labor a key strategy in bid for president -- None of the leading Democratic candidates appears close to gaining the two-thirds majority necessary for an AFL-CIO endorsement. What is likely to emerge from discussions of the AFL-CIO executive council is a green light for individual unions to begin endorsing on their own.

Boeing news:   
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Boeing sees air tankers in its future -- Boeing employees and executives believe the Air Force will select the KC-767 Advanced Tanker as the military's air-refueling aircraft. Boeing says getting the green light to build the tanker this time would create 44,000 jobs in 40 states -- 9,000 in Washington alone -- and would add an estimated $400 million annually to Washington's economy. The Air Force's decision won't be made until later this year.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Boeing beats drum for 767 bid -- "The 767 Advanced Tanker, which I like to call the 767 American Tanker, is what we want," says Rep. Norm Dicks, speaking before hundreds of employees at the Everett factory. "The 767 is the right plane."
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Pentagon should ensure fair play on tanker bids (Brunell op-ed) -- French aerospace company EADS aims to win the contract by taking advantage of some $100 billion in illegal subsidies. Thousands of local jobs in America, billions in taxpayer dollars and even our foreign policy hang in the balance; but the Department of Defense isn't raising any objections.

Local news:  ▪  New policy analysis: Initiative 960 is inefficient and ambiguous
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Study projects cost of state employee retirement benefits -- A new state study projects subsidized medical benefits for retired public employees could cost more than $12 billion over 25 years. If state and local governments want to start paying off the cost ahead of time -- like a pension obligation -- they'd have to set aside more than $600 million annually.
▪  In the Kitsap Sun -- State Rep. Bill Eickmeyer to leave Legislature -- Citing his health and family, the 35th District Democrat will not seek re-election after the end of his fifth term next year.
▪  In today's Bellingham Herald -- Wages for farm jobs increase -- The hourly wage for an agriculture job in Washington state was $11.36 in 2006, up 4.2% from the previous year.
▪  Today from AP -- Washington cherry acreage growth fuels demand for labor, report says
▪  In today's News Tribune -- Third runway paving starts -- It'll be 8,500' long, 150' wide and 17" thick.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- Metro contracts out security for downtown Seattle tunnel
▪  In today's Olympian -- Black Lake-Tumwater fire service dispute includes contract costs -- Money and jobs are at issue as the fire departments dispute an area planned for annexation.
▪  In today's Oregonian -- Pope & Talbot offered for sale -- A construction slowdown and some bad business turns has forced the 158-year-old Portland lumber company to put itself up for sale.
▪  In today's Oregonian -- Law will shield most Oregon workers from non-compete agreements 

National news: 
▪  From AP -- Efforts to reach 6 trapped Utah miners frustrated -- Rescuers struggle to clear fallen rock, trying to reach coal miners trapped by a cave-in more than 1,500 feet below the surface.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- NSPS hits another snag -- An amendment by Rep. Jay Inslee was approved to deny funding for key parts of the National Security Personnel System. He and others cite concerns that the new system is not fair to employees and unions because it makes access to independent third parties to help resolve workplace disputes more difficult.
▪  In today's NY Times -- Bridge collapse revives issue of road spending -- It has focused national attention on the crumbling condition of America’s roadways and bridges -- and on the financial and political neglect they have received in Washington and many state capitals.
▪  In the USAToday -- Choice for Chrysler CEO blasted -- "(Ex-Home Depot CEO Robert) Nardelli's the poster child of poor workforce relations," says one analyst. Worker morale and customer service drooped after he replaced veteran Home Depot workers with part-timers. Stock prices dropped during his tenure but when Nardelli was ousted, he took a $210 million exit package.
▪  In the USAToday -- New Chrysler CEO could raise tensions with UAW -- Ya think? 

Last Throes update: 
▪  Today from AP -- 4 U.S. soldiers killed in Baghdad -- Four more soldiers -- three from Fort Lewis -- were killed, raising to at least 19 the number of U.S. troop deaths in the first week of August.
▪  From AFP -- Iraqi deaths spike five months into troop "surge" (Bush's escalation of the war) -- At least 1,652 Iraqi civilians were killed in Iraq in July, 33% more than in the previous month.
▪  At Senate.gov -- Sen. Patty Murray calls loss of 190,000 weapons in Iraq unacceptable -- "The thought that weapons American taxpayers purchased could now be in the hands of those attacking our troops is unconscionable," says Washington's senior U.S. Senator. 
▪  Of the 3,677 U.S. troops killed in Iraq; 3,538 of them have died since Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" and an end to major combat operations in May 2003; 3,216 have died since the capture of Saddam; and 2,818 have died since the government was handed over to the Iraqis.
▪  The WSLC's affiliated unions have called for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.