WSLC Reports Today -- October 5, 2009

October 5, 2009

Oct. 2: Check out coming events

Oct. 1: USA Clays Shoot on Nov. 12

Sept. 30: No change in minimum wage

^{RSS
2.0 feed}

Updated DAILY... Almost Every Day!™ by 9 a.m. Pacific
Links are functional at date of posting, but sometimes expire.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Ruby Ridge workers fight for union

Workers at Ruby Ridge Dairy near Pasco sought representation by the United Farm Workers union after reporting that they were being denied rest and meal breaks, they weren't being paid for the hours they worked, and they had a generally hostile workplace. After a majority of the employees signed cards indicating they wanted UFW representation, the owners fired several pro-union workers, according to the UFW. Read more.

► From AP -- Farm workers push for unionization -- The organizing push by the United Farm Workers union in the Pacific Northwest has prompted the Washington State Farm Bureau to send out guidelines to farmers on what to do in case their workers want to unionize.

Health reform news:

► Today from AP -- Dem leader faces tough job in crafting health bill -- With the Senate Finance Committee on the verge of approving its bill as early as Tuesday, but before the full Senate can take action, it must be combined with a more liberal version passed by a different committee. Such a merger is so rare that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has never attempted it on any piece of legislation -- much less one as complex as President Obama's top legislative priority. Sen. Maria Cantwell had a one-word description of Reid's task: "Tough."

► In today's Washington Post -- States resist Medicaid growth -- The nation's governors are emerging as a formidable lobbying force as health-care reform moves through Congress and states overburdened by the recession brace for the daunting prospect of providing coverage to millions of low-income residents.

► In today's Washington Post -- Democrats Wyden, Rockefeller withhold support of Baucus bill -- Baucus says he has the votes to pass it from committee, but Sens. Ron Wyden and John Rockefeller remained undecided Sunday. Wyden: "More needs to be done to hold insurance companies accountable, to hold premiums down for the American people. I want to continue these discussions."

► In the (Longview) Daily News -- Uninsured & sick: Patients without coverage rely on help for care -- During the last 12 months, St. John Medical Center has provided $30 million in charity care, whether in the form of bridge assistance or what it’s had to write off as bad debt -- a spike of 36.6% from the same period a year ago. Hospital officials expect the upward trend to continue.

State government news:

► In the Olympian -- Support equality, support Ref. 71 (editorial) -- As the ballot title says, this is not gay marriage. This is not about promoting a gay lifestyle. This is not about a huge drain on the state budget. This is not about special rights. Simply put, Referendum 71 is not what opponents say it is. Referendum 71 is about supporting equality. It’s about protecting families. (Also see, WSLC urges approval of Ref. 71 to protect families.)

► In today's Everett Herald -- State has another $2 billion budget problem -- Five months ago, staring at a record pool of red ink, legislators balanced the budget by slicing $4 billion from colleges, schools, health care and human services. They’ll soon be wielding that knife again.

► In the Everett Herald -- Public safety calls for major overhaul at bloated DSHS (Rep. Kirk Pearson column) -- Policies handed down from the Legislature and the courts to correct the shortcomings of DSHS are not working because the governor is failing to enforce much-needed reforms.

Local news:

► In today's Seattle Times -- City to sign deal soon for viaduct-replacement tunnel -- The Seattle City Council is about to sign an agreement to take on a billion dollars in projects to help with the plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel. But does this lock in the Big Bore? Or does it give the illusion of a done deal, to hinder mayoral candidate and tunnel opponent Mike McGinn? The deal does not allocate money, and no new taxes have been proposed.

► In the PS Business Journal -- Fewer payday lenders loan more money in Washington -- The number of lenders dropped slightly last year but the total amount of money loaned grew.

► In Sunday's (Aberdeen) Daily World -- What will it take to avoid layoffs? -- The Grays Harbor County commissioners may ask for more than $1 million in concessions from employee unions to help balance a $3 million revenue hole in next year’s general operating budget.

► In Sunday's (Aberdeen) Daily World -- Grays Harbor Co. taking close look at its union contracts -- The search for places to cut the budget often ends up back at the same place -- employee costs driven by contracts with two unions. Here's a look at their contracts.

National news:

► In McClatchy newspapers-- Trumka may give AFL-CIO the vitality it sorely needs -- Samuel Gompers combined his domestic agenda with the creation in 1919 of the International Labor Organization to block a race to the bottom in labor standards during the first wave of what we now call "globalization." Trumka needs to rally today's diverse workforce around a similar "bread and butter" stand against the downward slide in pay, working conditions and overall social security that workers in America's factories, farms and offices are now experiencing.

► In today's LA Times -- Union hopes to organize Long Beach hotel workers -- Hundreds of hotel workers and labor activists took to the streets of Long Beach last week to launch a national campaign dubbed Hope for Housekeepers, designed to spotlight what UNITE HERE leaders call substandard working conditions at Hyatt hotels nationwide. It is also part of an ongoing organizing effort at the Hyatt, Hilton and other nonunion hotels in Long Beach and elsewhere.

► In today's NY Times -- New Supreme Court term hints at views on regulating business -- The Supreme Court term that begins today will be dominated by cases concerning corporations, compensation and the financial markets that could signal the justices’ attitude toward regulatory constraints at a time of extraordinary government intervention in the economy.

► In today's Wall St. Journal -- Employer retaliation claims rise -- Discrimination complaints of retaliation have surged at the EEOC, rising 23% in the last 12 months -- more than a third of all claims filed with the agency. Claims that didn't involve retaliation rose 12% in that period.

► In today's Financial Times -- Goldman parachute -- Goldman Sachs stands to receive a payment of $1 billion -- while U.S. taxpayers would lose $2.3 billion -- if embattled commercial lender CIT files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The potential loss for taxpayers would be the biggest to crystallize so far from the government’s capital injection plan for banks.

► In today's NY Times -- Inequality as usual (Ross Douthat column) -- If a period of Democratic dominance doesn’t close the gap between the rich and the rest of us, it will represent a significant policy failure for contemporary liberalism.

► In the Washington Independent -- Conservative billionaire funding Teabaggers sets sites on 2010 -- Libertarian tycoon David Koch, who takes credit for launching the Teabagging movement, is now shepherding the Teabaggers to proclaim themselves leaders of a political majority and to turn the attention of newly discovered conservative activists to the 2010 elections.

► In today's NY Times -- GOP's campaign message: Jobs, jobs, jobs -- Democrats must endure the political torture of employers cutting jobs for at least several more months. Whatever the fate of health care legislation, persistently high unemployment has made “Where are the jobs?” the most potent Republican campaign argument for next year’s midterm elections.

► In today's NY Times -- Politics of spite (Paul Krugman column) -- What did we learn from Chicago's failed bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games? We learned that the modern conservative movement has the emotional maturity of a bratty 13-year-old. The episode also illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite pure and simple. If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it -- whether or not it’s good for America.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009
Ruby Ridge workers fight for union

The following information was provided Eric Nicholson, National Vice President of the United Farm Workers. For more information, contact him at 253-274-0416:

Our union is representing workers employed at the Ruby Ridge Dairy, located outside of Pasco. Workers from this dairy came to our office several months ago, looking for help. We learned how they were being denied their rest and lunch breaks and threatened when they complained. Workers also complained they were being underpaid, working many more hours that they were being paid for. Workers decided that they wanted to have our union represent them, and a majority of workers signed authorization cards, documenting their vote for a union.

The owners of the dairy got wind that workers had approached us, and within days, fired four pro-union workers.

Nonetheless, we reached out to the owners of Ruby Ridge in an effort to work collaboratively. I personally met with the owners on two separate occasions. We proposed a free and fair process to determine if we had majority status and even proposed mediation to address the issue of the four fired workers.

Our overtures were rejected, and within another week, another four workers were fired. In other words, the dairy fired 20 percent of its workforce upon learning workers wanted our union to represent them. The dairy owners brought in a professional union buster employed by an organization affiliated with the CA Farm Bureau; Ruby Ridge forced workers to attend the meeting. The threats and intimidation continue to date.

Workers have now filed suit against the dairy for the claims outlined above, and recently modified the lawsuit to include federal civil rights complaints, as the workers have been subjected to racial epithets and their lives verbally threatened.

For more information about the dangerous working conditions at the area's dairy farms, see "The Dark Side of Dairies," published recently in the High County News:

"Milk may have a wholesome commercial image, but the dairies that produce most of the nation's supply aren't always healthy places to work. Dairy workers are injured at a much higher rate than other workers in the U.S.: Between 2004 and 2007, nearly seven of every 100 dairy workers were hurt annually on average, compared to 4.5 out of 100 for all private industries. Beyond using tractors and heavy farming equipment, dairy workers interact with large, unpredictable farm animals — work that ranks among the most hazardous of all occupations, according to a 2007 article in Epidemiology. Plus, they breathe air laced with bacteria and manure dust, putting them at risk for long-term respiratory disease."

The local faith community in Pasco has taken an active role in supporting these workers. Bob Parazin, Chair of the Benton County Democratic Party joined workers in a press conference denouncing the dairy’s unjust behavior.

TAKE ACTION: You can support the farm workers at Ruby Ridge by making contributions to an effort by the faith community in the Tri-Cities area to support the fired workers. For information on how to contribute, please contact John Munson at the Oregon Farm Worker Ministry at 503-805-2343.