WSLC Reports Online -- March 2002

WSLC Reports is a monthly summary of labor news and a preview of coming events. It is not intended to be comprehensive. More detail is available on each of these (and other) items online at the web addresses listed. If you would like to receive this via e-mail, fax or mail, Get on the List!

"Collective bargaining and ergo" was chanted repeatedly by some 250 attendees at this year’s Washington State Labor Council Legislative Conference in Olympia on Feb. 22. Among the speakers in attendance to hear that message were Governor Gary Locke, House Speaker Frank Chopp, Senate Majority Leader Sid Snyder and Dept. of Labor and Industries Director Gary Moore.

SATURDAY, MAY 18—Paul Robeson Memorial Concert. May 18 marks the 50th anniversary of Paul Robeson’s historic appearance at Peace Arch Park in Blaine for a protest at the height of the Sen. Joe McCarthy blacklisting era. So on May 18, 2002, a memorial concert is planned from noon to 5 p.m. at the same park. Canadian and U.S. organizers plan five hours of inspiring music and other activities including banner making, a graffiti wall, video displays, giant puppets, information tables, roving artists, and history in the form of memorabilia from the original concert. The event will be free to the public, but donations are now being sought to cover expenses. More info.

FRIDAY, MAY 31 is the deadline to apply for the Apprenticeship Constuction Academy. Three separate sessions will be held at the Northwest Laborers Training Facility in Kingston on June 23-28, July 14-19 and July 21-26. This "construction career camp" is for men and women age 18 to 26 interested in getting a high-skill, high-wage job in the construction trades, and for teachers/counselors who want to learn more about apprenticeship. Graduates of this one-week, hands-on overview of the trades qualify for the Pre-Construction Test to Apprenticeship, with jobs starting at more than $12 an hour. More info.

SATURDAY, JUNE 1—WSLC COPE Convention. The Washington State Labor Council’s annual political endorsement convention, where delegates representing the WSLC’s more than 550 affiliated organizations will vote on which candidates and initiatives to endorse for the important 2002 elections (when redistricting could shake up state government). It will be held at the Machinists Hall, 9125 15th Place S. in South Seattle. Affiliated union organizations should receive their convention call any day now. If you have questions, please contact Political Director Diane McDaniel at dmcdaniel@wslc.org or 206-281-8901.

AUGUST 19-22—WSLC Constitutional Convention. The Washington State Labor Council’s biannual Constitutional Convention will be Monday through Wednesday at the Ridpath Hotel in Spokane. Delegates will debate and establish WSLC positions or policies on issues, candidates and programs by voting on motions and resolutions. The convention call will be mailed to affiliated unions in mid-May.

Four extremely important bills were passed by the 2002 State Legislature to grant collective bargaining rights to state employees, home-care workers, UW teaching assistants and four-year college faculty. (At press time, efforts were underway to convince the governor to veto sections related to an unfriendly amendment dramatically weakening the four-year faculty bill.)

But in an extremely disappointing decision for labor, Gov. Locke chose to delay enforcement of the state’s workplace ergonomics rule by two years. Although the governor expressed his commitment to implementing the critically important safety standard, he said he wanted to give businesses extra time for education on how to comply. Business groups vowed to continue to try to kill the rule in the interim. Locke said he would veto any such legislation.

At the WSLC Legislative Conference, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray was also on hand to congratulate WSLC President Rick Bender and Secretary-Treasurer Al Link for their leadership in setting national standards here in Washington state for minimum wage and ergonomic issues. But Sen. Murray’s pleas that state legislators immediately pass a state gas-tax increase to deal with the transportation crisis went unheeded as lawmakers instead chose to put the issue on this November’s ballot.

Several other important labor-supported measures passed the legislature, including bills related to voluntary payroll deductions for union PACs, unemployment benefits for domestic violence victims, allowing use of sick leave to care for ailing family members and banning mandatory overtime for nurses. But several other important measures died, including bills on reducing prescription drug costs and corporate subsidy disclosure.

The WSLC will publish its 2002 Legislative Report and Voting Record by early May. Make sure you are on the list to receive your free copy by getting on the WSLC E-List, or by calling (206) 281-8901.

The Boeing Co. announced this month it wants to sell its Spokane parts plant this year. The decision came after months of political and public pressure generated by Save Boeing Spokane campaigns by the International Association of Machinists District 751 and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA, IFPTE Local 2001). Although the announcement somewhat eased worries among the approximately 500 workers at that plant that Boeing might simply close it down, both the IAM and SPEEA vowed to protect their members’ interests at that plant both with Boeing and any future employer.

Meanwhile, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Alan Mulally recently had this to say about upcoming contract negotiations with the two unions (the IAM contract expires Sept. 1 and SPEEA’s contract expires Dec. 1): "We’re going to be negotiating with the IAM and SPEEA this year. Everybody says, ‘Gosh. They’ve got a lot of leverage.’ Well.... We’re going to talk about realities. And it will come out the way it comes out.’’

The Washington State Supreme Court ordered the State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) on Feb. 7 to develop mandatory rules for medical monitoring of farm workers who handle neurotoxic pesticides. The ruling came in Rios v. Department of Labor and Industries, a suit filed in 1997 by farm workers who suffered repeated illness from handling these pesticides. The Supreme Court found that L&I’s own team of technical experts had reviewed the most current research and found that the monitoring program requested by the farm workers was "both necessary and doable." It therefore ruled that L&I’s refusal to adopt a monitoring program violated the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA).

More than 400 parents and union school-bus drivers, mechanics and other labor supporters rallied March 19 in Seattle, the culmination of a furious campaign to convince the Seattle School Board not to switch to a non-union contractor for bus service. After the rally, the board announced it will delay its decision by 30 days to consider more information. One board member said they had received "literally thousands" of letters and e-mails from parents and others expressing concerns about child safety and attempting to save a few dollars by getting rid of experienced union drivers represented by Teamsters Local 763. (Streaming video of the rally is available at the WFSE website.)

Union members and Seattle parents are asked to continue calling school board members (206) 298-7040, and tell them the safety of our children is best ensured by experienced, unionized drivers and mechanics who earn a living wage with good benefits.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels this month announced $1.8 million in funding for homeownership assistance programs including the AFL-CIO-sponsored Homeownership Opportunity Initiative (HOI), a program with HomeStreet Bank, that is helping hundreds of union families and municipal workers who otherwise might not qualify for mortgage loans to buy homes. HOI features low down payments, savings on mortgage insurance, reduced loan fees and closing costs, and a rate "buy down" that reduces mortgage payments during the first several years of the loan.

The HOI program is helping union members and municipal workers purchase homes not only in Seattle, but also in Tacoma and Snohomish County. For more information, contact the Affinity Lending Center of HomeStreet Bank (which handles the loan applications) at (206) 628-0207, or send e-mail to hthl@homestreetbank.com.

The Western Labor Communications Association, an organization of editors, reporters, webmasters and media relations specialists for unions in the Western region of the United States, can set your union on the path to more effective communications. It sponsors an annual conference (this year in San Francisco on May 3-4) featuring the best ideas and examples in the field today.

"Labor communications are critically important in servicing union members and growing the labor movement, but local union efforts in this area often rise and fall on the talents, dedication and grit of dedicated union members, usually volunteers or overworked staffers," said WSLC President Rick Bender. "The WLCA was created by labor communicators to provide each other support, share ideas and offer inspiration. I urge all Washington union organizations to join the WLCA." If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call the WLCA’s Steve Stallone at 415-775-0533, or e-mail him at stevestallone@ilwu.org.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney released a statement March 20 noting: "One year ago today, in his first major legislative action, President Bush repealed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s ergonomics standard. The President undid a rule that was 10 years in the making and protected workers from some of the most pervasive workplace health and safety hazards today... Since the repeal of the rule, 1.8 million workers have suffered injuries such as back injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome. ... A year ago President Bush stated, ‘the safety and health of our nation’s workforce is a priority for my Administration.’ It’s time for President Bush to stop fighting a safety standard that will end crippling workplace injuries."

The U.S. Senate gave final approval Mar. 20 to an overhaul of the nation’s campaign finance law, and President Bush said he would sign it. Taking effect after this November’s elections, the law will ban the large unlimited contributions to national political parties known as "soft money" and rein in campaign advertisements by business, labor and other groups advocating the election or defeat of specific candidates in the months immediately preceding the election. Opponents of the measure vow to shift their battle to the courts, challenging its constitutionality.

If you have news items regarding unions or workplace issues in Washington state that you would like to see included at the WSLC website, please submit them via e-mail to David Groves or via fax to 206-285-5805.