WSLC Reports Today
Updated DAILY... 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.

WEDNESDAY,  APRIL 9

Local News:

• Appellate court paves way for mining near East Fork -- Columbian -- Eric Merrifield, a Seattle attorney who represents J.L. Storedahl & Sons, said the company will go ahead with plans to mine up to 12 million tons of sand and gravel from approximately 100 acres near the East Fork of the Lewis River.
• Boeing's Dreamliner Hits Snooze Button Againit -- Forbes -- Boeing says the plane's first flight will not take place until the fourth quarter of this year. The company's said that slow progress in assembly and continuing problems with suppliers were putting the program about 15 months behind schedule.
• Organization seeks to 'rectify the injustice' in the judicial system  -- Seattle PI -- As volunteers for Justice Works!, a grass-roots organization based in Seattle, they monitor court proceedings to see if African-Americans are being treated fairly, are represented reasonably, and understand their rights. Group members also advocate for in-prison treatment and education and work for judicial system reform. The organization is based in Seattle, but has plans to expand statewide.
• Economy, debt weighing on middle class -- AP -- Growing numbers of middle-class Americans say they aren't better off than they were five years ago, reflecting economic pressures amid growing debt, a study released Wednesday shows. Their short-term assessment of personal progress, according to the study, is the worst it's been in nearly half a century.  
• Hanford waste treatment pipes not inspected -- Spokesman Review -- About 1,800 sections of pipe for a massive waste treatment plant at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site were not subjected to required quality inspections, and a U.S. senator called for a full explanation Tuesday by the government agency overseeing the project.
• Abe Osheroff had a life right out of a movie -- Seattle Times --Osheroff, who died Sunday (April 6) in his North Seattle home at the age of 92, had an "adventurous life," said his wife, Gunnel Clark...."Abe always believed that you fight for what you believe to be right. Always," said Gale. "If you did that, you were expressing something that's deepest and best in human nature."

Tanker Deal:

• Tanker deal: Northrop had help of public interest group -- Everett Herald -- It turns out Citizens Against Government Waste, or CAGW, was playing a more complicated advocacy role on the same side as the Northrop team, in an immense struggle over the deal with surprise loser Boeing. Welcome to that special place where business and Washington intersect, where things often are not what they seem and keeping track of the players and their motives is as hard as following aces in the hands of a cardsharp.
  

Regional News:

• Anxious San Francisco Braces for Torch Protests -- NY Times -- On Wednesday afternoon, the flame will be under no such bushel as it makes its only appearance in the United States on an increasingly tense international tour en route to Beijing. It will star in a two-and-a-half-hour relay along this city’s waterfront, involving six miles of pavement, 79 runners and untold scores of law enforcement officials. The precise route remained in flux on Tuesday as the torch extravaganza threatened to become more civic migraine than celebration in the face of potential protests by those upset with China’s human rights record and recent crackdown in Tibet.

Political and Legislative:

AFL-CIO Congressional Records Available click here for more

Columbian Trade Deal:

• Colombia Trade Deal Splits Clintons -- NY Times -- The acknowledgment adds new hurdles to the New York senator's bid to woo Democratic voters in Pennsylvania and elsewhere who believe free trade agreements have eliminated thousands of U.S. jobs. On Sunday, she demoted her chief campaign strategist for his role in promoting the Colombia pact. Hillary Clinton told union activists Tuesday she would do everything in her power to defeat the Colombia Free Trade Agreement now before Congress.
• Wide Net Cast by Lobby for Colombia Trade Pact -- NY Times -- There have been all-expense paid trips to Colombia for more than 50 members of Congress, featuring coffee tastings and dinner at a posh restaurant inside an old Spanish fort. The Colombian president has visited Washington to make personal appeals. Major corporations like WalMart and Citigroup are taking up the cause. And former Clinton administration officials have landed lucrative lobbying contracts.
• AFL-CIO Urges Congress to ‘Stop the Colombia Free Trade Agreement’ -- AFL_CIO -- As the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is being introduced on Capitol Hill, working families are launching an advertising campaign to get Congress to reject the deal. An ad sponsored by the AFL-CIO will run in three Capitol Hill newspapers tomorrow. The ad urges lawmakers “Don’t Reward Murder. Stop the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.” (Click here to tell your representative to oppose a trade deal with Colombia until their government makes real progress in protecting the lives and rights of union members.
• Pelosi to block vote on Colombia -- AP -- Defying the White House, Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday the House will change its rules to avoid a required vote this year on a hotly disputed free-trade agreement with Colombia. Pelosi said she will bring a procedural change to the House floor on Thursday that would remove the timetable under which Congress would have had to take up trade bills within 90 legislative days after they are received from the White House.

McCain Myth Busters: 

• Check out the latest on the AFL-CIO's website:

  McCain Revealed. There you will find the real story about Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Republican nominee for president. McCain has built a media-friendly reputation as a “maverick” and moderate. But there’s nothing moderate about McCain, a loyal ally of Bush who has consistently and perniciously voted against the interests of working families in his decades-long career in Washington.

   

• McCain is either nuts or stupid-maybe both! -- opednews.com --  Big bro 43's Mini-me, McCain, has painted himself into a quagmire surrounded by a swamp. His career has been filled with so much hypocrisy that he has been forced to say a lot of nonsense. He can't maintain consistency. That means he is a flip-flopper which the rabid right-wing extremists hate. Let's throw some out. The first set of dueling stances are McCain's crooked role with the Keating Five and McCain's stances as an anti-lobbyist zealot--a campaign finance reformer.....
•  

• McCain temper boiled over in '92 tirade, called wife a 'cunt' -- Raw Story --  The Real McCain by Cliff Schecter, which will arrive in bookstores next month, reports an angry exchange between McCain and his wife that happened in full view of aides and reporters during a 1992 campaign stop.The man who was known as "McNasty" in high school has erupted in foul-languaged tirades at political foes and congressional colleagues more-or-less throughout his career, and his quickness to anger has been an issue on the presidential campaign trail as evidence of his fury has surfaced.

• The Arizona hit man -- Seattle Times Opinion -- As The Washington Post reports, McCain is now "assiduously courting both lobbyists and their wealthy clients, offering them private audiences as part of his fundraising." He has more lobbyists as fundraisers than any other White House contender, and he allows lobbyists to simultaneously work in his campaign and represent business clients. In fact, the Post reported that his chief adviser "said he does a lot of his (lobbying) work by telephone from McCain's Straight Talk Express bus." Such antics have run that "Straight Talk Express" into the ditch of hypocrisy. Just look at McCain's actions on two huge issues: energy and campaign-finance reform.

National News:

• Within Powerful Union, Debate Over Mission Intensifies -- NY Times -- Mr. Stern is speaking out in preparation for what is expected to be a tumultuous union convention next month in Puerto Rico. His critics plan to introduce amendments to weaken his authority, accusing him of selling out workers by negotiating back-room deals that sacrificed some gains for current union members, like health coverage for retirees. Mr. Stern is trying to frame his argument by saying that labor has two stark choices: “Just Us” unionism or “Justice for All” unionism.
• Group of Players Plans Removal of Upshaw -- NYTimes -- Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover has proposed a plan to replace the N.F.L. union chief Gene Upshaw by next spring, when the union will most likely be engaged in critical negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.
• America for Sale: 2 Outcomes When Foreigners Buy Factories --NY Times  -- As foreign buyers descend upon the United States, capturing widening swaths of the industrial landscape and putting millions of Americans to work for new owners, these two cities offer sharply competing narratives for a nation still uneasy about being on the selling end of the global economy. And with the dollar losing much value in recent years, the pace is picking up again, as some of the country’s most valuable assets go on the block at bargain-basement prices.
• American Air cancels 850 flights for inspections  --Reuters -- Wednesday's cancellations follow about 460 on Tuesday. An airline spokesman said there were about 30 MD-80s in service on Wednesday morning and more were expected to resume flying later in the day. "The situation is fluid though, and that is why we have gone ahead and canceled the 850," spokesman Tim Wagner said. "We do not know at this point if that number will climb, but it might."
• American cancels 1,000 more flights -- AP -- Added to Tuesday's 460 cancellations, that could bring the two-day total to around 1,500 lost flights. Federal inspectors found problems with wiring work done two weeks ago, although the airline says passenger safety was never jeopardized.
• Anti-Worker Ballot Measure in Colorado Could Involve Fraud -- AFL-CIO -- The organizers of Colorado’s so-called “right to work” initiative have been accused of fraud in collecting signatures to qualify the measure for a place on the ballot. Protect Colorado’s Future filed a complaint with the secretary of state’s office last week, alleging that “right to work” signature collectors told people they did not have to be registered voters to sign the petition to put the measure on the ballot and that it was OK to sign the petition even if the person had done so previously. Neither assertion is true.
• NY union members charged with extortion -- AP -- A dozen leaders and members of a construction union were arrested Tuesday and charged with a decade of attacks against nonunion workers and their families, and prosecutors said some of the crimes were aided by the local's access to state motor vehicle records. The president of Operating Engineers Local 17, Mark Kirsch, was among those charged with extortion and racketeering after a five-year investigation. The union, headquartered in Buffalo, operates in six western New York counties.

Health Care:

From a new report by Families USA -- this is just a snapshot... 

click here for the full report: Dying For Coverage

World News:

• Nokia to pay $314M to close German plant -- AP -- Nokia Corp. said Tuesday that it has agreed with worker representatives on a $314 million plan to soften the blow from its closure of a factory in Germany. Nokia was heavily criticized by German unions and politicians when it announced in January that it planned to close the plant in Bochum in the industrial Ruhr region at a likely cost of 2,300 jobs.

Democracy: The Cornerstone of Community

By Paul Lee

(Paul is a shop steward at OPEIU Local 8)

           Saturday April 5^th was the date that I discovered the power of democracy and why it is so integral to the formation of community. This year the 37^th Legislative District held their caucus at Cleveland High school , home of the fighting Eagles. The energy was high and people seemed enthusiastic. We heard from party notables and elected officials. Both Clinton and Obama supporters were out in force! But something happened that night that was truly transcendent.  

            It was about 4:30PM and all the festivities had ended, people had already given their speeches, and voted on their ballots. The janitors had arrived and cleared the chairs of the floor. We were instructed to make our way into the lunchroom and wait there for the final votes to be tallied. As time pressed on, we all became tired and anxious. Then suddenly, the caucus chair announces over the microphone that Pat Wright of the Total Experience Gospel Choir was going to share a couple of songs with us. I began to feel the spirit in the room begin to lift as everyone shared in singing some old time hymns. Following Pat were others that shared jokes with us, which also included Dawn Mason former State Representative from our district. Soon people were reciting poems and sharing stories, the kind that are usually reserved for the kitchen table. I don’t think it was just me that noticed what was beginning to happen. Others began talking about what a special experience this caucus process was becoming. By the time the votes were tallied, which was about 11PM I don’t think there was a person in that room that wanted to leave. We all wanted to share what had happened in the room and spread it out to our other neighbors and community.

             As I reflect on what I experienced that day, I realized that democracy is all about giving voice to each and every common man. Perhaps what draws me to the process is this notion that each person’s voice is regarded equally and that this empowers people to stand up and be heard.

Do you want to know how Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) voted on a move to repeal the federal minimum wage?

Are you interested in Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) vote on a measure to rein in the soaring cost of prescription drugs for seniors and working families?

How about finding out where Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) stood on a bill that would restore the freedom of airport screeners to join a union?

Or maybe you just want to know if your U.S. House member voted with working families last year?

All that information and more about your U.S. senators and representatives is just a click or two away in the AFL-CIO's final 2007 House and Senate Voting Records. The congressional scorecards track 19 Senate votes and 24 House votes from the first session of the 110th Congress.

Workers Memorial Materials Available Online Now -- AFL-CIO Blog -- 

Each year, thousands of workers are killed on the job and millions more are injured or become ill because of their jobs.

This April 28, workers in the United States and around the world will honor those killed and injured on the job and call for improved workplace safety on Workers Memorial Day.

You can start planning and organizing a Workers Memorial Day event in your workplace or community with materials now available online from the AFL-CIO.