Employee Free Choice Act news:

►  In today's Wash. Post -- Sen. Specter says he will vote to block EFCA -- Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the only Republican senator who did not actively oppose the EFCA in the previous Congress, says he will vote to block it this year. Supporters of the bill need 60 votes in the Senate to stave off a filibuster. They were hoping to reach that by winning all 59 Democrats and independents (assuming Al Franken is seated) and hanging onto Specter, a moderate from a state with a strong union presence.

►  At AFL-CIO Now -- Fight for EFCA continues despite Specter flip -- His statement shows that he’s listening not to his constituents, but to the big-money interests who are hoping to prevent workers from exercising their freedom to form unions. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says that while Specter’s cave-in to corporate lobbyists is disappointing, it won’t blunt momentum behind this critical bill to protect worker’s freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life.

►  At Keystone Progress -- Tell Specter: Let the Senate vote on EFCA -- Specter says he'll block a vote because of his belief in the sanctity of majority voting as a cornerstone of democracy.

►  At Huffington Post -- Poll: Specter would be crushed by GOP challenger -- He may have trouble holding onto his seat in the 2010 Primary. He's trailing ex-Rep. Pat Toomey 41% to 27%.

►  In the March 15 edition of the LA Times -- Specter faced GOP ultimatum over union-rights bill --  If the Pennsylvania Republican votes to allow an EFCA vote, some of his supporters say they won't back his re-election. (The matter was not referred to the Pennsylvania State Patrol.)

Legislative news:

►  At TheNewsTribune.com -- Layoffs. No raise. Pension fund raids. Private contracting. Higher health premiums. Not a good time to be a state employee. -- "There isn't an indignity left," one labor union official said after listing off all the things the Legislature is considering doing to state workers to balance the budget. Senate Democrats proposed boosting the workers' share of health care premiums from 12% first to 18% and later to 15%. Now it appears the Senate won't be coming out with its budget proposal until next week... I was reading a newspaper report that said 8,000 state workers might be laid off, and Rep. Kathy Haigh (D-Shelton), walked by. "Add 4,000 to that," she said, and kept walking.

►  At SeattleTimes.com -- Action expected soon on plan to replace viaduct with tunnel -- A bill that calls for a four-lane, deep-bore tunnel is expected to pass out of the House Transportation this week, but committee chair Rep. Judy Clibborn says she's not sure if it has enough floor votes to pass. Another big question: What's House Speaker Frank Chopp going to do?

►  At SeattleTimes.com -- State parks: How many closures? How much money? -- The Legislature and parks commission are looking at selling or mothballing as many as 40 state parks (out of about 125) to deal with a huge budget shortfall.

Local news:

►  From Bloomberg -- FedEx's Boeing 777 order may hinge on labor law -- FedEx threatens to cancel a 30-jet, $7 billion order if Congress approves a law making it easier for its employees to join a union. FedEx is now covered under the Railway Labor Act, which requires a national vote if employees want a union. A bill, supported by UPS, would put the company under the NLRA, as its competitors are, allowing workers to vote locally to join unions. 

►  At SeattlePI.com -- Many health insurance rates going up this year -- As jobs continue to disappear and health care remains out of reach for many, there's more bad news on the horizon: Rates for many health-insurance plans are going up again this year. Premera Blue Cross will see a 6.1% hike for individuals this June, while its affiliate, LifeWise Health Plan, increased rates 17.6% in January. Group Health Cooperative also expects to raise its rates.

►  In today's Everett Herald -- Snohomish County fears shortfall could grow to $11 million -- Councilmen are worried a bigger-than-expected shortfall in projected real estate excise taxes could further pummel the general fund, widening the $6.7 million gap they're already face.

►  In today's Olympian -- Tempers flare over Thurston County budget -- County commissioners and Sheriff Dan Kimball exchange angry words regarding budget cuts.

►  In today's Yakima H-R -- Yakima facing large budget deficit -- With a projected $1.1 million shortfall, city officials say layoffs are not anticipated but reductions in services are on the table.

►  In today's Bellingham Herald -- Immigration issues need solutions, not more raids (editorial) -- The recent immigration raid at Yamato Engine Specialists disrupted an important local business with many employees. It "rounded up" more than two dozen hard-working people in our community. And it did nothing to stop the flow of illegal immigration in to the United States.

National news:

►  In today's NY Times -- U.S. Labor Department is failing workers, report says -- The federal agency charged with enforcing minimum wage, overtime and many other labor laws is failing in that role, leaving millions of workers vulnerable, Congressional auditors have found. A report scheduled to be released today by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office finds that the agency mishandled 9 of the 10 cases brought by a team of undercover agents posing as aggrieved workers. In one case, it failed to investigate a complaint that under-age children were working during school hours at a meatpacking plant with dangerous machinery.

►  In today's Wash. Post -- Contractors defend programs as Pentagon cuts loom -- Boeing says that cutting its ground-based missile program could mean losing 55,000 "well-paying, clean industry" jobs in 36 states. At its press briefing, Boeing gave out trinkets bearing the logo of its missile defense programs, including a box of mints, a bag of blue and white jelly beans and a magnetic dart board that reads "Right on Target" with a fireball explosion in the background. Its airborne laser program is eight years behind schedule and $4 billion over budget.

►  From AP -- USPS seeks changes in law to cope with financial troubles -- Postmaster General John Potter raises the possibility of cutting mail delivery from six days a week to five, and ending requirements to set aside several billion dollars annually to prefund retiree medical care.

►  In today's NY Times -- Many concerns about health insurance for all -- A federal, Medicare-like insurance plan open to anyone, is vehemently opposed by the insurance industry and others.

►  In Rolling Stone -- The big takeover (by Matt Taibbi) -- The mistake most people make in looking at the financial crisis is thinking of it in terms of money, a habit that might lead you to look at the unfolding mess as a huge bonus-killing downer for the Wall Street class. But if you look at it in purely Machiavellian terms, what you see is a colossal power grab that threatens to turn the federal government into a kind of giant Enron — a huge, impenetrable black box filled with self-dealing insiders whose scheme is the securing of individual profits at the expense of an ocean of unwitting involuntary shareholders, previously known as taxpayers.