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March 4, 2010 |
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Updated DAILY... Almost Every Day!™ by 9 a.m. Pacific
Links are functional at date of posting, but sometimes expire.
Thursday
, March 4, 2010Our state needs bold action on jobs
Everyone
has talked the talk on job creation. With just one week to go in the
session, it's time to walk the walk. The Washington State Labor Council
urges legislators to pass a strong version of HB 3181/SB 6851, the Working
for Clean Water legislation. This will create
thousands of desperately needed construction jobs in every corner of the
state, while addressing our biggest water pollution problem: millions of
gallons of toxic stormwater wash that goes directly into our lakes, rivers
and the Puget Sound every year. Let's pass it! Read
the newsletter.
Rallies for higher ed funding today
With
the worst budget crisis since the Great Depression, Washington and many other
states are proposing more cuts in higher education funding along with
significant tuition increases. Today is a National Day of Action to Defend
Public Education and all supporters of higher education funding are invited
to join rallies planned at the University of Washington, Western Washington
University, Evergreen State College and Seattle Central Community College. Read
more.
► In today's (Everett) Herald -- UW students to walk out today in protest -- Organizers said the 1 p.m. protest at the UW’s Quad is like a strike. “We want to send a real strong message to the administration and the Legislature about the impact budget cuts can have on students and workers when they are already struggling to pay for school and pay for rent.”
► At Olympia Newswire -- House proposes raiding college student fees to fill budget deficit -- One major way that the House is seeking to avoid raising taxes is by raiding the capital budgets of various state agencies, the biggest of which are those of the state’s public universities. Those budgets are funded not by taxpayer dollars, but by mandatory student fees. The University of Washington receives the lion’s share of the House’s proposed cuts.
► In today's LA Times -- Rallies to focus on cutbacks to education -- Thousands of students, teachers and parents across the country are expected to stage rallies, walkouts and other actions today to decry what they say is an assault on public education at all levels.
Kill Bill redux:
Did legislators commit to killing bill for Boeing, Allen, McCaw money? -- Yesterday, we reported on comments by Sen. Cheryl Pflug (R-Maple Valley), who claimed that she and other legislators negotiated an agreement with funders for a public-private partnership that included a promise "that we would not unionize child care centers." Sure enough, the Senate Ways and Means Committee, upon which Sen. Pflug sits, killed HB 1329, the House-approved legislation granting child care workers collective bargaining rights.
►
At HeraldNet.com -- Unions
question why child care bill was nixed -- Sen. Pflug says that say the
labor council is off on its interpretation of what she said. She said leaders
of private organizations wanted assurance their money would not be diverted
for some other purpose. "Nobody committed to kill a bill," says
Pflug. "That's baloney."
(Watch the clip again. Pflug says the "bright-line promise" was made to the private funders that "we would not unionize child care centers." What's to misinterpret? That's very specific and very different from her vague backpedaling about diversion of private money for other purposes. Which specific bill is killed, and when, is moot. The question remains, is it legal to make such a promise when accepting money?)
►
At HA Seattle -- Smoking
Gun: Boeing, Paul Allen, McCaw family bribe legislators! Where’s the
outrage?!
-- So when, say, the Boeing Company
gives legislators a big chunk of change (and let’s be clear, that’s $70
million legislators get to spend in their districts without raising their
constituents’ taxes), not only is it okay to promise to kill a piece of
legislation in return, Pflug argues that it would be downright dishonorable not
to honor the promise. But when organized labor talks amongst itself
about whether it should continue contributing money to Democrats who vote
anti-labor… well… book ‘em Danno!
More legislative news:
► In today's (Everett) Herald -- Legislature must act because Washington needs jobs (guest column by IBEW 191's Travis Patterson and VECA CEO Thomas Fairbanks) -- SB 6789 and HB 3147 would attract major investment and jobs to the state by providing a 15-month sales-tax exemption on the purchase and installation of computers and energy equipment for new data centers in rural counties. The legislation has strong support from labor and business because it is a jobs bill that will not cost the state money. If the data centers are built, we gain much needed jobs and local tax revenue. Without the exemption. the projects go elsewhere.
►
At Publicola -- House
liberals propose parade of budget amendments -- The deadline for
amendments was Wednesday. I went through the stack of 40 amendments
submitted so far to see what reps are proposing. Blue-Green Alliance Reps.
Dave Upthegrove, Geoff Simpson, Sherry Appleton and Tami Green are well
represented in the parade of amendments.
► At TheOlympian.com -- Hospitals, clinics: Safety net at risk without taxes -- Advocates for hospitals and community health clinics say the budget plans emerging at the Legislature avoid inflicting a lot more damage on the health system that serves Washington's low-income residents. But they also says new revenues in the form of tax increases are needed to avoid tearing more deeply into the health care safety net.
► In today's Spokesman-Review -- State worker contracts must be part of budget fix (editorial) -- Drastic cuts have already been made and more are on the way. Our state’s leaders can no longer afford to ignore unrealistic pay packages. Reopen the contracts.
Health care news:
► In today's NY Times -- Obama calls for "up-or-down vote" -- Beginning his final push for a health care overhaul, he calls for Congress to allow an “up or down vote” on the measure, and sketched out an ambitious timetable for his party to pass a bill on its own within weeks.
► From AP -- House leaders push toward vote by Easter -- Aiming to answer Obama's call for swift action, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says Democrats want to get it done by the break that starts March 29. But he also said "the world doesn't fall apart" if that timeline isn't met.
►
At Huffington Post -- Public
option picks up 35th Senate supporter -- Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)
became the 35th senator to commit to voting for a public health insurance
option if it comes to a vote on the floor under the rules of reconciliation.
That leaves advocates of the option 15 votes short with no official whip
action from either the White House or Senate leadership. (Sen. Patty Murray
has already committed to voting for the public option.)
► In today's NY Times -- The Democrats' choice (editorial) -- Given Republicans’ lock-step politics-over-principle opposition to comprehensive reform, it’s up to Congressional Democrats to move legislation forward -- or throw away a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix this country’s broken health care system.
► In today's Washington Post -- The Republicans' big lie about reconciliation (E.J. Dionne column) -- It's not just legitimate to use reconciliation to complete the work on health reform. It would be immoral to do otherwise and thereby let the Republicans' phony political argument about process get in the way of health coverage for 30 million Americans.
Boeing news:
► At KOMONews.com -- Boeing workers: Easy for Albaugh to discuss wage demands -- Said one: "We certainly believe we can get there on no strikes. If there were no takeaways ever put on the table, I would bet there would never be a strike." The Machinists union says that if Albaugh does what he told the Times, outsource jobs less frequently, they could reach common ground. Says IAM 751's Connie Kelliher: "The biggest point of contention has been the outsourcing. Them admitting it's a problem -- that's a major step along the way."
► In the Seattle Times -- So keeping Boeing happy will be easy, right? Right? (Jon Talton column) -- So take Albaugh's comments for what they're worth. When the Machinists' contract comes up in 2012, Boeing can pretty much demand what it likes. It won't matter how profitable Boeing is, or how much of a cut top executives are taking. Union foes will cheer, and certainly the timing of the 2008 strike was ill-advised. Ironically, of course, many of the loudest union-bashers are part of the middle class rapidly seeing its living standards erode from a globalized world of surplus labor and excessive corporate power... and they blame unions.
Local news:
► In the (Longview) Daily News -- Georgia-Pacific workers in Camas give union permission to strike -- Although it could be called, the union hopes to avoid a strike, says AWPPW 5's Ken Smith. He said the workers' consent came after more than eight months of talks failed to produce a new contract with representatives of Atlanta-based company. The union represents roughly 417 hourly paper mill workers. Their five-year contract expired June 1.
► In today's Tri-City Herald -- Pasco dairy workers, supporters plan rally -- Farm workers and their supporters who want to organize a union at a Franklin County dairy are planning a rally Friday in Pasco and intend to caravan to the dairy. The event, called the "Beleaguered dairy workers rally for dignity," is at noon at Memorial Park. Workers then plan to go to the Ruby Ridge Dairy north of Pasco to hold a short vigil, according to the Oregon Farm Worker Ministry.
► In today's Seattle Times -- Snohomish
County may lose Sunday bus service -- Community
Transit board members will decide today whether to approve a drastic
proposal to eliminate service on Sundays and holidays. By cutting Sundays,
managers are striving to preserve the bulk of the busier weekday service,
although some cuts are planned there, too. After putting up a brave face
through a gas-price spike followed by recession, Snohomish County's
public-transit agency is succumbing to a 15 percent drop in sales-tax
revenue since 2007.
► In the Whidbey News Times -- Island County workers protest new hires -- Members of the county's largest union (County & City/AFSCME 1845) file a grievance after commissioners used fee increases to hire a new person instead of restoring current employees' wages first.
► In today's Peninsula Daily News -- Clallam libraries slate weeklong closures, furloughs -- All 51 employees of the North Olympic Library System will be on an unpaid furlough during the closure in the last week of March to save money in light of an anticipated $163,000 budget shortfall.
► In today's (Everett) Herald -- Verizon asks cities for $2 million in refunds -- The company is asking at least 10 Snohomish County cities to refund more than $2 million in utility taxes. The request couldn’t come at a worse time for the area's cash-strapped cities.
► In today's Columbian -- Four-year look at area workers sees wage increases for all -- The private and public sectors are both shedding jobs, but a four-year snapshot shows average wages rose for all. Judging who is higher paid -- the public or private worker -- is difficult, says economist.
► In today's Yakima H-R -- Conference stresses safety for ag workers -- Some 300 farmers and agricultural employees meet to learn how to stay safe in what is one of the state's most dangerous industries, made even more hazardous during a tough economic climate.
► In today's Seattle Times -- South Park Bridge may close by end of June -- King County Executive Dow Constantine says, "There are no operating funds available and a study may show its useful life is over. I can't in good conscience tell them to operate a bridge if it's unsafe."
National news:
► From AP -- Solis hints of recess NLRB appointment -- The Obama administration is hinting at a recess appointment for a controversial NLRB nominee. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told AFL-CIO officials there will soon be positive news on the long-stalled nomination of union lawyer Craig Becker. Solis then told reporters the unions will be "very pleased" with how it is resolved. (Also see our Feb. 17 posting: Will Obama stand up for workers?)
► At NYTimes.com -- Unions plan protests against big banks -- In an action it hopes would create jobs and increase economic fairness, the AFL-CIO will sponsor two “Weeks of Action” against the nation’s major banks. The AFL-CIO, the nation’s main federation of labor unions, said it would hold demonstrations from March 15 through March 30 at banks in 200 cities, with the slogan, “Good Jobs Now, Make Wall Street Pay.”
► From AP -- House to vote on tax breaks for new hires -- A measure blending highway funding eagerly sought by the states with tax breaks for companies that hire unemployed workers appeared headed for House passage Thursday as Democrats work to send President Barack Obama the first of several promised election-year jobs bills.
► In today's Washington Post -- Four Democratic senators aim to stop stimulus project -- They want to halt a program aimed at building wind farms and other clean-energy projects, arguing that too much of the money spent so far has gone to create jobs overseas.
THURSDAY,
MARCH 4, 2010
Rallies for higher ed funding
today
With the strain of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression bearing down upon students and workers alike, state legislators are considering cutting another $90 million from the budget for higher education and increasing tuition by an additional 14%. This comes after $400 million was cut and tuition was increased 14% last year.
In addition, major additional cuts have been proposed to the state's Basic Health program that provides health coverage to elderly, children and the poor. These cuts to education and desperately needed social services likely mean layoffs for teachers and college workers, higher tuition and book prices, reduced student services and choice of classes, and more restrictive entry requirements for both community and four-year colleges.
Today (Thursday, March 4) is a National Day of Action to Defend Public Education. The following rallies are planned locally:
BELLINGHAM -- At Western Washington University, a rally will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center Plaza next to Viking Union Building.
OLYMPIA -- At Evergreen State College, a rally will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at Red Square followed by a procession to the State Capitol Building from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
SEATTLE -- At the University of Washington, a rally will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday in the University's Quad to speak out against recent cuts to higher education, and the ways those cuts have been distributed on campus. Called by the UW Student - Worker Coalition, an alliance of undergrad, worker, and grad student organizations, the action is also endorsed by the key unions on campus: WFSE local 1488, UAW 4121, and SEIU 925.
SEATTLE -- At Seattle Central Community College, a rally will be held at 1 p.m. in the campus's South Plaza at 1701 Broadway at Pine Street.
Copyright © 2010 -- Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO