Legislative news:  

►  In today's Olympian -- State wins union lawsuit -- Gov. Gregoire should have done things differently in negotiating with state employee unions, but her decision to shelve new contracts with the unions stands, a Thurston County Superior Court judge has ruled. "(This) just muddies things further," said Greg Devereux, executive director of the Washington Federation of State Employees. The union will appeal the decision, but it also must come to an agreement by the time the next two-year budget cycle starts in July. "The clock is ticking, and we have to resolve our contract by the end of the session," Devereux said.

►  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Farmers back bill easing labor crunch -- Labor advocates like HB 1814 which aims to curb unfair practices by farm labor contractors and secure more rights for immigrant workers in the U.S. under a temporary guest worker program. But farmers prefer HB 1896, which would implement a pilot program intended to ease the importation of seasonal workers. (Under HB 1896, taxpayers would finance recruiting, importing and TRAINING foreign workers in not just agriculture, but also construction, retail, restaurants and more. Learn more.) 

►  From AP -- Gregoire: Combine small schools, overhaul business taxes -- Gregoire eyes consolidation of some 50 schools with fewer than 150 students, and tells AWB, "If you want to come forward with an alternative to the B&O tax system... the welcome mat is out from me."

►  In today's Spokesman-review -- EWU facing job losses, official says -- How many? At least 150 to 225, says the acting president, and that assumes a 7% tuition increase this year and next.

►  In today's Yakima H-R -- Fish & Wildlife will cut 22 local jobs -- It could lay off as much as one-fifth of its work force in the four-county Yakima region to meet Gregoire’s proposed cuts.

►  In today's Olympian -- Budget inaction irks governor -- Gregoire says it appears legislators are waiting for federal stimulus dollars and not enacting cuts to spending as quickly as needed.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Legislature needs to trim spending (editorial) -- In session for a month now, the Legislature still has not cut state spending for the fiscal year. It should get moving.

►  In today's Everett Herald -- Some promising first steps (editorial) -- This week Gov. Gregoire rolled out some good first steps for making state government more effective and customer friendly.

►  In today's Yakima H-R -- Give tiered minimum wage bill a fair shake (editorial) -- A bill before our Legislature creating a tiered minimum wage for teens offers some very compelling features.

Unemployment news: 

►  In today's Washington Post -- More employers fight unemployment benefits -- More than a quarter of people applying have their rights to the benefits challenged as employers increasingly act to block payouts to former workers. The proportion of claims disputed by former employers and state agencies has reached record levels in recent years, according to Labor Department figures. As unemployment rolls swell in the recession, many workers seem surprised to find their benefits challenged, their former bosses providing testimony against them, accusing them of having been fired for some sort of misconduct rather than for economic reasons.

►  In today's News Tribune -- More than 800 line up for a single job in Tacoma -- More than 800 showed up at the Tacoma Dome for a test to become a water meter reader. Tacoma Water received 1,400 applications. The hourly pay range for the coveted job: $17.76 to $23.56.

►  In The Stranger -- Busy signal: Why the state unemployment benefits hotline is such a mess -- Most of the call center's funding comes from the federal government, which doesn't increase payments for staffing until after an agency can show its current staff is overwhelmed. 

►  From AP -- Starbucks notifies 1,370 of layoff -- Among them are 300 in the company’s Seattle headquarters. The layoffs come after the company announced the results of its fiscal first quarter and said it would cut up to 6,700 jobs to lower costs by closing more stores.

National news: 

►  In today's Boston Globe -- Solis nomination clears committee -- Labor groups are applauding the delayed committee vote endorsing Hilda Solis for President Obama's labor secretary and pressing for final action. (AFL-CIO Now also has a posting on this development.)

►  In today's LA Times -- Social Security isn't broken: Don't "fix" it (Michael Hiltzik column) -- The government program looks so solid and reliable compared with every other source of retirement income that we ought to consider expanding it.

►  In today's Washington Post -- Social Security workers feeling strapped -- Staffing in SSA field offices dropped 4.4% from fiscal 2005 to 2008. As you might expect, the amount of work produced also fell, but by significantly less, only 1.3%.

►  In today's Washington Post -- Builders' groups decry Obama's federal PLA order -- They say it could limit the number of workers hired on new jobs to build roads, bridges and buildings.