News from Olympia:

►  In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Gregoire looking at massive state budget cuts -- Facing a projected $5 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget that could soon grow to $6 billion due to the deteriorating economy, Gregpoire is considering cuts once considered unthinkable, including more than $1 billion in school funding and more than $130 million for children's health care and nursing-home care for the elderly. The governor's office and state lawmakers also say they're considering suspending pay increases for teachers and state workers. There's also a state hiring freeze in place and the possibility of layoffs.

►  In The Olympian -- Layoffs likely at DSHS -- Gregoire ordered her third round of budget reductions last week, asking for $260 million in savings in addition to the $330 million she already has sought in the current budget. Most of the latest reductions, $181 million, will come from the largest state agency, DSHS.

►  In The Olympian -- Results pending on state's move to 4-day workweek -- Having Friday off has become routine for workers at some state agencies, but it's too soon to tell whether moving to a four-day workweek is saving money on energy costs as intended, the agencies report.

►  In today's Everett Herald -- Rep. Al O'Brien says he won't run again after this term -- After his 7th term ends in 2010, he and his wife plan to move to Wisconsin to be closer to her family.

Local news: 

►  In today's Everett Herald -- SPEEA to vote today on Boeing contract -- Polls will close at 5 p.m. and the union will tally votes on 4-year contracts for some 20,500 Boeing engineers and technical employees. The union has endorsed the offer. (See www.speea.org for more info.)

►  In the Spokesman-Review -- Union taking contract vote with grocers public (Nonsubscribers: email us for a copy) -- Area grocery workers are putting up yard signs, renting billboards and running radio and TV ads in an unprecedented effort to convince consumers to shop at Rosauers, and not Albertsons, Safeway or Fred Meyer. UFCW 1439 President Larry Hall said the union launched its "contract campaign" because negotiations have failed to resolve wage and benefit issues, as well as disputes over hours and the firings of workers for "inadvertent" mistakes handling money.

►  In today's Everett Herald -- County budget cuts will hit courts, affect cities -- Snohomish County is reducing its work force in 2009 by 160 people; about half from layoffs and half through attrition.

►  In Sunday's Olympian -- County aims to close budget gap -- Thurston County has proposed additional layoffs and cutting funding for some departments to balance its budget next year.

National news: 

►  In Sunday's NY Times -- Labor Dept. rushes to enact rule on toxic substances -- The DOL is racing to complete a rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect Barack Obama but strongly supported by business groups, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.

►  In today's Washington Post -- Labor Dept. accused of straying from enforcement -- The next labor secretary will be taking charge of an agency widely criticized for walking away from its regulatory function across a range of issues, including wage and hour law and workplace safety.

►  In today's LA Times -- Consensus emerging on universal health care -- The prospect of bold government action appears to be accepted among players across the ideological and political spectrum, including those who opposed the idea in the 1990s.

►  In Friday's NY Times -- Wal-Mart temporary employee trampled to death by shoppers -- A throng of shoppers that had been building all night at the Valley Stream, N.Y., store smashed thrpough the glass doors, trampling and killing a 34-year-old temporary employee, was thrown back onto the black linoleum tiles and trampled in the stampede that streamed over and around him.

►  At CNN.com -- Wal-Mart death preventable, union says -- "This is not just tragic; it rises to a level of blatant irresponsibility by Wal-Mart," says the president of UFCW Local 1500.

Freedom to Unionize: 

►  In the National Journal -- Chamber revs up effort against Employee Free Choice Act -- As part of its nearly $10 million campaign against the bill, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is releasing seven booklets of studies, polls and data arguing that Americans want less unionization, not more, and that the workplace isn't as bad as union backers make it seem.