Labor Day news: 

►  In today's News Tribune -- Labor Day picnic in Tacoma full of fun, solidarity -- About 250 union members and supporters discussed labor issues, chatted with old friends and chowed down on hot dogs at the event, hosted by Tacoma-based advocacy group America in Solidarity. Several local unions, politicians and the Pierce County Central Labor Council were co-sponsors. Coordinator Todd Iverson of America in Solidarity said the get-together was a chance for working families to “come together to celebrate the past and focus on what we need to do in the future.”

►  From AP -- Obama thanks labor for hard-won rights at work -- President Obama declares that modern benefits like paid leave, minimum wage and Social Security ''all bear the union label,'' as he appealed to organized labor to help him win the health care fight in Congress. ''It was labor that helped build the largest middle class in history. So, even if you're not a union member, every American owes something to America's labor movement,'' said Obama.

►  In Monday's Olympian -- Now more than ever workers need recognition (editorial) -- We tend to see the Labor Day holiday as a final, three-day weekend before students return to the classroom and adults settle in to the fall schedule. That’s unfortunate. Instead we should use the day to acknowledge how the labor force in this country has helped mold the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known. It’s appropriate to pay tribute to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom and leadership -- the American worker.

AFL-CIO news: 

►  In Monday's NY Times -- Unions still waiting on Obama to deliver -- The euphoria of President Obama's election is giving way to a mixture of frustration and unease, as union leaders grow concerned the White House has not delivered as much as they expected. Some criticize him for not pushing hard enough or moving fast enough on their issues, while others blame the deep recession and Republican opposition for his failure to do more.

►  In today's LA Times -- AFL-CIO president giving up his role, but not the cause -- John Sweeney is to retire this month after 14 years as President of the AFL-CIO, but plans to keep active in worker issues. With a pro-labor president and a Democratic- controlled Congress, "It's a good time for me to wind down," Sweeney says in his low-key, parish-priest demeanor belying a militant commitment to labor. 

►  In Monday's Washington Post -- No getting around this guy -- Incoming AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka wants to take a far more aggressive stance against anyone who stands in the federation's way, including Democrats who beg for labor's support only to betray it on issues like health-care reform. "The labor movement is the best vehicle out there to make broad social change that creates an America where everyone gets a chance to win once in a while, not just the people on Wall Street but every American out there," Trumka says. "It's a big, big task, it's a big, big fight, and all the people that are arrayed against us are going to try to prevent us from changing anything. But with every fiber of my body I look forward to that fight."

Health care news: 

►  In the Bellingham Herald -- State lawmakers in middle of health-care debate -- Members of Washington's congressional delegation return to Washington, D.C., this week. Democrats still support health care reform, though not all support the proposals currently floating around Capitol Hill. With various reservations, most support a government-run alternative to private health care insurance, called a "public option." Republicans remain steadfastly opposed.

►  In today's LA Times -- Obama says "it's time to act" on health care -- In a combative Labor Day speech, President Obama said that the healthcare debate had gone on too long and accused opponents of spreading lies meant to convince Americans that his proposed overhaul would cruelly deny care to the elderly. The president, speaking at an AFL-CIO picnic, said that "special interests" were determined to "scare the heck out of people."

►  From AP -- Max Baucus plan: No public option, non-profit insurance -- The bipartisan group of six Finance Committee senators meet today on Sen. Max Baucus' proposal to create nonprofit insurance plans to compete with those offered by profit-making companies. The proposal is noteworthy for what's missing: a government-run alternative favored by liberal Democrats.

►  In Roll Call -- Key liberals willing to bargain -- Amid signs the White House may back a scaled-down health care overhaul that would only include a public insurance option as a fallback plan, several House liberals say they could support such a bill depending on how it was structured. The “trigger” approach has been considered a deal-killer by liberals, and the willingness of some Congressional Progressive Caucus members to entertain it reflects a recognition that a bruising August recess has imperiled prospects for reform and redrawn expectations for what is possible.

►  From AP -- Once Medicare's foe, GOP now for it -- Republicans tried to slash billions from Medicare more than a decade ago and have assailed the program as a wasteful entitlement. GOP hero Ronald Reagan warned in 1961 that creation of Medicare would push the country toward socialism. Now the head of the Republican Party portrays the GOP as the lone bulwark preventing deep cuts to the popular, government-run health plan for older people. What gives?

►  In the Pittsburgh P-G -- Could health reform loosen "job lock"? -- Some suggest the quilt-work system of employee-paid health care is discouraging entrepreneurship. “Job lock” means that you’re more likely to stay in your current job, which offers health insurance, than take a chance on a startup business, where health expenses would come out of your pocket. So people are “locked” into jobs that they no longer enjoy, where they may be economically unproductive.

Boeing news:

►  In the PSBJ -- Albaugh’s Boeing to-do list: Restore confidence in 787 (if you can't read this story, email us for a copy) -- Comments by the new head Boeing Commercial Airplanes on the value of the work done by engineers and machinists were a positive sign, said WSLC Communications Director Kathy Cummings. “We hope it shows a new direction for the Boeing Co.,” she said, “where they appreciate the skilled work of the work force here in Washington.”

►  In the Seattle Times -- So just how much has Boeing collected in Washington state tax breaks? (editorial) -- The $3.3 billion figure for Boeing and more than 200 aerospace contractors in 2003 by the state of Washington is an estimate over 20 years. So far, in six years, Boeing and the others have benefited by about $278 million. (This from a newspaper that fought for -- and got -- the same 40% B&O tax cut that Boeing got, in a year of devastating state budget cuts.) 

Local news: 

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Brightwater boring machines damaged, and 300 feet deep -- Two 17.5-foot-diameter machines are supposed to be hard at work boring sections of a 13-mile tunnel to take wastewater to Puget Sound from the Brightwater sewage-treatment plant north of Woodinville. But they're damaged and awaiting costly repairs more than 300 feet underground. More than 120 workers on the tunnel job have been laid off until the machines are fixed, and each day's delay adds to Brightwater's escalating $1.8 billion price tag.

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Kent teachers vote to defy judge, continue strike -- After negotiating throughout the weekend with the help of a new mediator, striking teachers in the Kent School District vote to continue their strike, defying a court order that they report to their classrooms Tuesday morning. Though the vote means the district's 26,000 students will not be returning to classes Wednesday as planned, support for the teachers from parents appeared to be growing.

►  In Monday's Everett Herald -- Many laid-off teachers rehired, but cuts still felt -- Most of the 240 teachers in Snohomish County who received layoff notices in May have been rehired, but many school districts are starting the year with thinner teaching ranks than last fall.

►  At HeraldNet.com -- Small-business health insurance program back from dead -- A $35 million federal grant will breathe life back into the Health Insurance Partnership, a once-bankrupt state program that provides health insurance subsidies for employees at small businesses.

National news:

►  In today's Washington Post -- Down and out (editorial) -- The staggering gap between what workers are promised by law and what is delivered in fact is a national shame visited upon society's most vulnerable and least educated. Women, immigrants and people of color suffer disproportionately from violations; undocumented Hispanic women reported the most frequent cases of workplace abuse. The solutions for such injustice include updated legal standards and more vigorous government monitoring of workplaces.

►  From AP -- With more labor inspectors, enforcement expected -- DOL inspections will likely increase after President Obama earmarks $30 million to hire 288 more front-line wage inspectors nationwide. "After the last 8 years, where inspectors all but disappeared at the federal level, we definitely welcome appropriating more money," said UFW's Erik Nicholson. "We called those the dark ages -- pretty much dead for eight years in terms of enforcement."

►  From AP -- National Labor Relations Board in gridlock -- The enduring stalemate, the longest in NLRB history, comes as evidence that elections don't always settle political tugs of war. Decisions are stalled on dozens of disputes that could set labor-management policies for decades to come. Since January 2008, the NLRB has had one lonely Democrat, one lonely Republican and a political stalemate over three empty seats.

►  Today from AP -- U.S. comes 2nd in competitiveness poll -- The United States has lost its place as the world's most competitive economy, mainly because of the financial crisis and accumulated fiscal deficits, according to a survey released Tuesday. 

►  From Bloomberg -- Ron Bloom to guide manufacturing policy -- The former USW union adviser helped guide GM and Chrysler bankruptcies as part of the government's rescue of the auto industry. In his new role, he will plan Obama's agenda to "revitalize" manufacturing jobs.

Corporate campaign cash:

►  In today's Seattle Times -- Campaign-spending case will be big test for Chief Justice Roberts (E.J. Dionne column) -- If decided wrongly, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission could surrender control of our democracy to corporate interests. This sounds melodramatic. It's not. The court is considering eviscerating laws that have been on the books since in one case 1907, and in the other 1947, banning direct contributions and spending by corporations in federal election campaigns. Doing so would obliterate precedents that go back two and three decades.

►  In today's NY times -- A threat to fair elections (editorial) -- The conservative majority on the court likes to present itself as deferential to the elected branches of government and as minimalists about the role of judges. Chief Justice Roberts promised that if confirmed he would remember that it’s his “job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat.” If the court races to overturn federal and state laws, and its well-established precedents, to free up corporations to drown elections in money, it will be swinging for the fences. The American public will be the losers.

►  In today's Washington Post -- Exercise caution (editorial) -- Will the justices let corporations spend unlimited amounts to elect or defeat candidates for federal office? For the court instead to reach out and overrule the earlier cases would be judicial activism of the first order, precisely the opposite of the judicial modesty and adherence to precedent advocated by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. The court should back away from this cliff.