More health care reform news: 

►  In today's Washington Post -- Agreement reportedly near on health care bill -- Senate health-care negotiators said yesterday they were closing in on a $1 trillion health-care bill that would be fully funded by tax increases, Medicare cuts and new penalties for employers who do not offer health insurance. But the committee chairman says members have not yet resolved the issue of the "public option," a government alternative to private insurance, although he said discussions continued to focus on a member-owned cooperative model.

►  From Bloomberg -- Unions' health benefits may avoid tax under proposal -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, the chief advocate of taxing some employer-provided benefits to help pay for a health system overhaul, says any change should exempt perks secured in existing collective-bargaining agreements, which can be in place for up to five years. 

►  In today's NY Times -- Not enough audacity (Paul Krugman column) -- President Obama has eloquently explained the case for national health care reform, but will he compromise so much in order to get a plan through Congress that the end result won’t do the job? 

News from Olympia: 

►  At TheOlympian.com -- Rep. Brendan Williams on state workers' health costs -- Noting that all top priorities of organized labor were killed during the 2009 legislative session, Williams stated: “This is yet another hangover from an anti-labor session, and a calculating means of subverting a collective bargaining process intended to fix employees’ health care costs. It’s worth noting that a ‘no-new-taxes’ Legislature effectively did tax easy targets: college students and state employees.”

Boeing news: 

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Qantas cancels, defers order for Boeing 787s -- Boeing's largest airline customer for the 787 said it is canceling orders for 15 Dreamliners and deferring another 15 deliveries by four years. The Australian airline says changes were driven by the economic climate, not this week's "disappointing" announcement of a design problem that will add weeks or months to the much-delayed plane's first flight.

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Boeing's pension fund chief has new job, is leaving company -- Mark Schmid had overseen a team of 20 people who managed the company's pension fund assets, the nation's 17th largest pension fund, in terms of assets. About 550,000 people (roughly the population of Seattle) are eligible for Boeing's pension plan.

►  At PSBJ -- Chinese jetliners coming up behind -- Worried about the 787's delays? Look over your shoulder. The Chinese are developing competitive jetliners faster than many expected.

Local news: 

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Judge bars release of gay city workers' names, for now -- A King County judge has temporarily barred the release of the names of Seattle city employees involved in a city-sponsored group for gay and lesbian workers to an anti-gay rights activist.

►  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Defense bill passes without cuts to Hanford funds -- An amendment to the defense authorization bill that would have cut $1.2 billion in funding for cleaning up federal nuclear sites such as Hanford to provide additional money for the nation's missile defense system was turned down by the House.

►  In today's Tri-City Herald -- DOE praised for protecting Hanford workers -- A watchdog group says protective measures have been implemented by the DOE after an October meeting where employees complained of work-related illnesses and delayed medical claims.

►  In today's Everett Herald -- Mukilteo avoids teacher layoffs -- But the district had to cut before- and after-school instructional programs as well as some team sports to deal with shortfall.

►  At Publicola -- Mayor candidate Mallahan linked to anti-union T-Mobile memo (scroll down to Item #2) -- Local union representatives and opponents of mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan are circulating a memo from human resources officials for the Pacific Northwest division of T-Mobile, where Mallahan is a vice president. The memo instructed managers how to thwart union organizing at the company. (Mallahan's staff called to say he had nothing to do with the memo and he has never opposed a unionization drive at T-Mobile.)

National news:

►  In today's NY Times -- Republicans focus on guest workers in immigration debate -- They say they would support a measure only if it included an expansion of guest worker programs. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) tells Obama he will have to take his “political lumps” and stand up to labor unions that oppose the idea. (Or... here's an idea... MAJORITY Democrats who were overwhelmingly elected to office in a clear public rejection of Bush-era Republican ideals could decide for themselves how to proceed and not, once again, seek a compromise-ridden, ineffective and unpopular "bipartisan" bill. Just a thought.) 

►  In today's LA Times -- U.S. economy seems to improve despite layoffs -- New jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week and the number of people continuing to receive unemployment aid rose more than expected, the DOL says. The figures indicate that jobs remain scarce even as the economy shows signs of recovering from the longest recession since World War II.

►  In today's Wash. Post -- Close win predicted for cap-and-trade bill in House -- The House could vote today on capping U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with Democratic leaders predicting a tight victory for a behemoth bill that has grown more complex with each compromise.

►  In today's LA Times -- SEIU wins another election of healthcare workers -- Employees of a hospital and two nursing homes in Hollister, Calif., vote to remain with the giant labor organization instead of defecting to the rival National Union of Healthcare Workers.

►  In today's NY Times -- As plants close, teenagers focus more on college -- Teenagers in suburban Dayton, Ohio, are heading to community colleges after manufacturing plants closed.