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October 2, 2007


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WSLC Reports Today
Updated  Almost Every Day™ 

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, OCT 2  ▪ 

After a long hiatus, Today’s Reports are back. Recently hired WSLC Communications Director, Kathy Cummings, is attempting to follow in David Grove’s footsteps and bring you up-to-date links to the news of the day from local, regional and nation news sources. Kathy is working from her home in the Sacramento area until she relocates her family to Seattle so from time to time technical glitches may occur. Bear with us; we will keep at it until we get it right.  

So change your address book! Get your stories and ideas to Kathy Cummings. Let’s keep our Labor Community united, let’s make some noise, try out some new things and most importantly, let’s keep working families front and center in our fight to make the world a much better place.

WSLC news:

The Washington State Labor Council mourns the loss of a dedicated employee.

Life-long labor leader and community activist, Christenia Alden, passed away this weekend. She was a dedicated employee of the WSLC, AFL-CIO for more than twenty years. Her hard work, commitment and leadership touched the lives of many in our state and beyond as she fought steadfastly for the rights of working families.

Chris was a field agent primarily handling political activities for Eastern Washington. She also acted as a lobbyist  for working families during state legislative sessions. After retirement, she stayed active in her local community and was a regular at WSLC conventions selling COPE buttons and barbecue tickets.

Labor and Washington's working families have lost a true friend.

Local news:

  • State minimum wage going up to $8.07 in January -- from the Olympian this morning -- The state minimum wage in Washington will rise 14 cents on Jan. 1 to $8.07 an hour.

  • State to sue feds over children's health insurance -- In the Seattle Times -- Washington and at least three other states will sue the Bush administration over restrictions it has imposed on state efforts to expand children's health coverage, Gov. Christine Gregoire announced Monday.

  • Labor leaders scrambling to fill trade jobs In Case you missed it in the Seattle Times on Sept 6 --  Around the Northwest, and especially in the fast-growing Seattle region, labor leaders are scrambling to find carpenters, electricians, ironworkers and sheet-metal specialists as their membership continues to age.

  •   Goodrich selling plant in Everett In today's Seattle Times -- Goodrich announced Monday an agreement to sell its aircraft heavy maintenance facility in Everett , known as Goodrich Aviation Technical Services (ATS), which employs about 1,200 people

  • Governor embraces regional transit vote In today's Seattle Times -- Gov. Christine Gregoire, disagreeing with fellow Democrat Ron Sims, said Monday that public safety and the Puget Sound economy could take a big hit if the region's voters don't approve a tax package for transit and highways.

  • Vancouver excavation company violated labor laws, authorities assert In Case you missed it in The Columbian on 9/28 --  The owners of a Vancouver excavation business stand accused of violating labor laws.

Regional News:

  • Court Orders a New Delay on Illegal Worker Rules   In today's NY Times --  A federal judge in San Francisco yesterday extended for 10 days a temporary ban on a central measure in the Bush administration's campaign to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

  •  Judge delays ruling on illegal labor In today's Seattle PI - A U.S. government plan to crack down employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants was delayed again on Monday as a federal judge said he needed more time to issue a ruling.
     ▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Miners still descend and die in the dark heart of the Earth (op-ed)

  • Vote is set on Vegas Hilton pact From the LA Times Blog -- Kitchen workers and bartenders are scheduled to vote today on a tentative contract with the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino, according to union officials. The agreement with about 1,800 members of Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 is the latest in a series of contracts negotiated with Las Vegas Strip employers since the previous accord expired June 1.

    Union officials said a pact with the Hilton would leave the Tropicana hotel-casino as the only property still without a contract on the Strip.

     

  • L.A. workers reach deal on contract In Todays LA Times -- The tentative agreement involving 22,000 city employees probably ends any chance of a strike. Both sides need to ratify the 5-year pact

  •  

  • E! to offer health coverage to some freelance TV producers From today's LA Times -- After meetings with representatives of the Producers Guild of America, the channel recently decided to provide health insurance benefits to freelance producers who work for at least 200 consecutive days. It also decided to make more than 100 associate producers, who previously were classified as exempt, eligible for overtime pay, retroactive for the last three years.

National news:
 ▪  G.M. Labor Accord Calls for More Plant Closings From the Seattle PI -- DETROIT , Oct. 1 — General Motors plans to close as many as 13 factories, four more than it previously announced, within the next four years if members of the United Automobile Workers union approve a tentative contract that union leaders have said will save jobs.


▪  UAW-GM deal sign of new era from /the Seattle Times -- General Motors and the United Auto Workers agreed on a new four-year contract early Wednesday morning, ending a two-day nationwide strike and sending workers back to assembly lines in the afternoon. DETAILS OF CONTRACT LISTED


▪  Appalachian nurses on strike In today's Seattle PI --  Unionized nurses picket outside the Appalachian Regional Healthcare branch in Hazard, Ky. , Monday, Oct. 1, 2007. The nurses and hundreds of others, demanded better benefits and staffing conditions


▪  Fewer are paid overtime in today's perpetual workplace  In the Seattle PI --A woman in a Chicago workplace caused quite a stir recently when she submitted her time sheet. She had worked 800 hours of overtime in 17 weeks, meaning she had been on the job about 12 or 13 hours a day, seven days a week, January through April.

 

World News : 
 ▪  Sarkozy steps up push to reinvent France  -- In case you missed it in the Seattle Times 9/25 --The man the French call the "hyper-president" has just gone into warp speed in his drive to change the country. After spending the previous two days courting union leaders, he took time Monday of last week to muse about a French architectural renaissance. Then, on Tuesday, he picked his first fight, with the unionized workers of the public sector. On Wednesday, he was out to slash civil-service jobs, and by Thursday there was more talk of social reform and three television appearances to pitch it.
 ▪ Egypt workers strike to protest wages In today's Seattle PI -- The Egyptian government is trying to rein in the biggest spate of labor unrest the country has seen in decades after thousands of workers at a textile mill went on strike to protest low wages and soaring inflation.

 

 

 

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 Kathy Cummings 

or via fax to 206-285-5805.

Copyright © 2007   Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO