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June 17, 2008 |
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WSLC
Reports Today
Updated
... Almost Every Day™
Links are functional at date of posting, but sometimes expire. Some links require free registration. WSLC Reports Today links to stories of interest to organized labor; some positive, some negative. The intention is to inform.
TUESDAY, JUNE 17
A number of big events are coming up THIS week.
Be sure to check out the Coming Events calendar
to keep yourself up to date on labor events throughout the area.
The
2nd Labor Neighbor Walk of the 2008
election season will be held Saturday, June 21 in King, Pierce and Snohomish
Counties. Join the exciting effort to get this country back on track! Join
union members as they visit other union households to meet, greet and pass
on information about the 2008 elections.
The first state-wide caucus hall meeting of the Healthy Washington Coalition will be held in Seattle on Thursday, June 19. People are gathering to discuss priorities that should be included in any plan to achieve quality, affordable health care for all Washingtonians. More meetings will be held throughout the state over the summer months. click here for more information
There
is also a Green Jobs conference happening at the University of Washington on
Saturday, June 21st. America
can lead the way into a new, clean energy future that helps our economy now
and creates job and economy opportunities for our children, this conference
is a start at finding out how we can do that now in our own state. Co-hosted
by the
Cast
Your Vote in ‘Turn Around America’ Video Contest
-- AFL-CIO Blog -- The
12 finalists in the AFL-CIO’s “Turn
Around America Online Video Competition“ have been
selected. Now you can pick the winner of the contest’s Our America Award. The
dozen finalists from around the country grabbed their cameras and harnessed
their creativity to answer the question: How do we “Turn Around America”
in this time of a failing health care system, stumbling economy, stagnant
wages, disappearing jobs and an endless war? How do we go from the wrong
track to the right direction? Click
here to see the entries
of the 12 finalists and then cast your vote for the video that you
believe best answered the question. Votes will be counted through 5 p.m. EDT
on Thursday, June 19. All winners will be announced June 24.
Here is a terrific report that ran yesterday on KUOW, one of the local NPR stations, that really underscores the need for skilled trades workers... terrific piece... the second part aired this morning and it will be available to be posted tomorrow:
Finding
Workers for the Skilled Trades: Part 1 -- KUOW
by reporter, Debra Wang -- The economy may be slowing,
but in Western Washington, there is still lots of work in the skilled
trades. Enormous construction projects are underway in Seattle and other big
cities, and plumbers, electricians, ironworkers and welders are in big
demand. Employers and unions are trying to lure more people into those jobs,
but it’s not an easy task. KUOW’s Deborah Wang has the first of two
stories on finding workers for the trades.
Now
on to the Local News:
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Clark College receives $191,000 training grant -- Columbian -- Clark College’s corporate education unit has received a $191,000 Job Skills Program grant to provide training for approximately 90 personnel from Southwest Washington Medical Center, Vancouver Radiologists, Lifeline Connections, Columbia River Mental Health and Northwest Cancer Specialists. The grant will provide on-site training showing how health care providers can streamline business operations with methods used in the manufacturing industry. This is the second grant Clark College has received for training in the health care field.
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Cowlitz tribe's council chairman dies at home at age 73 -- Columbian -- John Barnett, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s longtime chairman who guided the tribe through an arduous 25-year process to win federal recognition, died over the weekend. He was 73. Barnett spent some 50 years working in the timber industry, moving up from a logger to owner of a wood products company. As an Indian, he said, he maintained a spiritual connection to the land.
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Loggers came, sawed and conquered -- Bellingham Herald --
The
46th annual Deming Logging Show was in full swing this weekend as people
of all ages came to watch professional and amateur loggers throw axes,
balance on floating logs and climb and cut down trees. -
News Tribune to lose 84 workers as McClatchy cuts costs -- Tacoma News Tribune -- The News Tribune announced Monday that it plans to reduce its work force by 13 percent, or 84 employees, as part of cuts being made at newspapers across the country by the paper’s parent, The McClatchy Company. The staff reductions at the Tacoma paper will affect all departments through both voluntary and involuntary layoffs.
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County Faces $2 Million Shortfall -- Kitsap Sun -- Lower-than-expected tax collections could leave the Kitsap County $2 million in the red by the end of the year. As a result, the county commissioners will likely ask all departments to consider cutting 2.5 percent in 2009 compared with what they're budgeted to spend this year. And they want to know what the effect on departments will be. The county may also consider a hiring freeze.
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Seattle firefighter's son killed in Afghanistan -- Seattle PI -- As a kid about 10 years ago, Michael Washington was something of a fixture at Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood firehouse, where he sometimes accompanied his firefighter dad. Michael Washington at 17 became the third generation from his family to serve in the Corps. On Saturday, Washington, 20, was one of four Marines riding in a Humvee who were killed by a homemade bomb hidden in a roadway near Farah Province in Afghanistan.TO CONTRIBUTE:Remembrances in Sgt. Michael T. Washington's name may be sent to the non-profit Seattle's Bravest Charity of Seattle Fire Fighters Union Local 27, 517 2nd Ave W., Seattle, WA 98119
Regional News:
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Gay rights critics drop effort for repeal -- AP -- Social conservatives and church groups are admitting defeat in their efforts to qualify initiatives for this November's ballot that would repeal two Oregon gay rights laws. The campaigns were aimed at derailing a domestic partnership law and another new law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Both were enacted by the 2007 Legislature and took effect Jan. 1.
Tanker News:
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Air Force errors found in ongoing tanker battle between Northrop, Boeing -- BizJournals -- The ongoing saga of a $40 billion refueling tanker contract awarded to Northrop Grumman Corp. and its partner, EADS, took a new turn Thursday night as media reports are saying that the U.S. Air Force picked the more expensive option. According to Reuters, a report filed with the Government Accountability Office showed that the Air Force miscalculated the total cost of the life cycle of one of the refueling tankers. Boeing Co., Northrop's rival in the bidding process said in a statement that its tanker would be cheaper over time.
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Washington Ruling Expected on $40 Billion Aerial-Refueling Contract -- Wall Street Journal -- The rhetoric over a $40 billion contract to replace the Air Force's fleet of aerial-refueling tankers shows no signs of letting up ahead of the expected ruling this week on Boeing Co.'s protest of the decision to award the contract to a team led by Northrop Grumman Corp. In Boeing's latest volley late last week, the aerospace company hammered home its longstanding claim that the service made mistakes in analyzing the costs of operating the Boeing design over the life of the jets.
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Boeing supporters dub Northrop tanker "Les Mis" -- Everett Herald Blog -- “Les Misérable” beat out “Tankosaurs” and “Scarebus” as the winner of a “Name the Tanker” contest hosted by pro-Boeing site, TAnchorman Blog. The Air Force held its own tanker-naming contest for the KC-30, supplied by Northrop Grumman and EADS. After losing the $35 billion contract, Boeing has protested the Air Force’s decision to the GAO. (If you haven’t already, be sure to participate in our poll about how the tanker debate will be settled.)
Another pro-Boeing Web site, Tanker War Blog, has been following the contest. The blog has an interesting entry today about Pentagon concerns over foreign involvement in the U.S. defense business.
Political and Legislative:
AFL-CIO Congressional Records Available click here for more
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A special interest tarnishes governor's race -- Seattle PI column -- The BIAW delivers more and dirtier blind-side hits than a Raider cornerback. One difference: The Raiders were skilled and successful. The BIAW is living evidence that dirty play does not deliver success. The BIAW is the type of outfit that a wise candidate seeks to keep at arm's length.
It has opposed environmental and climate change legislation. Without a scintilla of evidence, the BIAW has charged that mainstream green groups "silently approve" acts of arson by the Earth Liberation Front......In an example of the outfit's crudeness, the BIAW's official newsletter declared that Gregoire was "a heartless, power-hungry she-wolf who would eat her own young to get ahead."How can Rossi promise transparency while playing footsy with an outfit that uses fronts to disguise the source of dollars behind nasty political ads? How can his conservation credentials be reconciled with support from an organization that likens the environmental movement to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party? Which stands by the BIAW represent Rossi positions?
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What
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For more information on The Real Rossi, visit: www.therealrossi2008.com
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Charges dropped in Richard Curtis case -- Columbian -- A former state lawmaker’s reluctance to testify led the Spokane County prosecutor’s office to drop all charges Monday against a man who had been accused of trying to extort money from the legislator after a night of gay sex. Cody Castagna, 27, no longer faces charges of extortion, theft and conspiracy to commit extortion against former state Rep. Richard Curtis, R-La Center. Curtis, whose political career was destroyed by the scandal, wrote to prosecutors Monday asking that the case be dropped. Read the Spokesman Review Story.
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Will the real WASL critics please stand up?-- Tacoma News Tribune -- Over the weekend in Spokane, state Democrats took a stand on an issue they must think will be potent this year. In the party platform section on education, they supported “abandoning the WASL test as a mandatory high school graduation requirement.” Then the delegates rejected a bid for the party to stay out of nonpartisan races. That decision left in place the party executive board’s endorsement of Randy Dorn for state superintendent of public instruction. A Dorn endorsement is a rejection of longtime schools chief – and longtime Democrat – Terry Bergeson. The influence of the Washington Education Association, the state’s dominant teachers union, was evident in both actions.
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GOP leaders call for Gregoire inquiry -- Seattle PI -- Gregoire's spokesman, Pearse Edwards, said, "The executive branch has the authority to negotiate government to government. The Legislature gave the executive branch this authority in 1992, as is the case in many other states. The Legislature has had ample opportunity to review the approval process for compacts. Representative Ericksen and Senator Hewitt have had two legislative sessions to address their concerns regarding revenue sharing. "The governor would not engage in such conduct as alleged in the letter and they know that."
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Sims, likely rival Phillips start verbal assaults -- Seattle Times -- As Ron Sims gears up to run for an unprecedented fourth term as King County executive, he faces a likely challenge from fellow Democrat Larry Phillips. The pair already are exchanging bitter words, though the election is more than a year away. Phillips, a Metropolitan King County Council member from Seattle's Magnolia district, said Sims has overstayed his effectiveness. Sims called Phillips "a naysayer and a complainer."
Check out the latest on the AFL-CIO's website:
McCain Revealed. There you will find the real story about Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Republican nominee for president. McCain has built a media-friendly reputation as a “maverick” and moderate. But there’s nothing moderate about McCain, a loyal ally of Bush who has consistently and perniciously voted against the interests of working families in his decades-long career in Washington.
Click here to go to a page full of previously posted articles on John McCain.
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Obama and McCain on Immigration: Life vs. Death -- AlterNet -- A recent story by Maribel Hastings of La Opinión newspaper provides the most comprehensive analysis yet of the similarities and differences between John McCain and Barack Obama around immigration policy. According to Hastings, “Both candidates support construction of a wall at the southern U.S. border. But the most important differences are less obvious and have more to do with what kind of reform the candidates advocate for and try to get approved, according to Cecilia Muñoz, vice president of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).”
Among those revealing details, says Hastings, are small but important differences that may make a major difference in what will surely be an intense fight for the Latino vote. Hastings continues, “McCain, for example, is opposed to the DREAM Act, which would benefit undocumented students and Obama supports it;” adding that “McCain opposes the idea of giving driver’s licenses to the undocumented, while Obama favors the proposal.”
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McCain's Playbook: Hate, Fear and Caveman Politics -- AlterNet -- Haunted by the ghosts of Vietnam, the media-manufactured 'maverick' has remade himself into a prototypical, dumbed-down Republican Party stooge....McCain has by now completely remade himself into a prototypical, dumbed-down Republican Party stooge -- one who plans to rely on the same GOP strategy that has been winning elections ever since Pat Buchanan and Dick Nixon cooked up a plan for cleaving the South back in 1968.
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AFSMCE, MoveOn ad targets McCain on Iraq war -- AP -- A major labor union and the liberal organization MoveOn.org are joining forces to air a provocative new ad portraying John McCain's Iraq policy as a prolonged presence that would involve a new generation of Americans. Paid for by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and by MoveOn.org, the commercial represents an expansion by Democratic-leaning groups of a campaign against McCain. It also targets one of McCain's major assets - his public credibility on national security issues. The ad will begin airing nationally Wednesday on CNN and MSNBC, and in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin markets. It will run for a week at a cost of $543,000. In the ad, an actress with an infant child speaks as if she were addressing McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee.
National News:
- Pilots Helped Continental, Will Airline Now Help Them?—and More Bargaining News -- AFL-CIO Blog -- Some 500 pilots at Continental Airlines picketed outside company headquarters to demand better pay and benefits, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
- American Red Cross: Disaster funds are depleted -- AP -- The American Red Cross said on Monday that its Disaster Relief Fund is wiped out and it's being forced to borrow money to help flood victims throughout the Midwest. Jeff Towers, the organization's chief development officer, said the balance for domestic disaster relief efforts is zero. He said the American Red Cross would borrow to keep workers and volunteers in the field helping flood victims.
- The Big Squeeze -- AFL-CIO Blog -- Here is a link to an interview with NY Times correspondent, Steven Greenhouse whose new book, The Big Squeeze, is a terrific look at how corporate America is clamping down on its workers. "Wages have been cut over the past few years. We’ve seen health benefits get worse. Middle-class Americans have health insurance while the typical worker has to pay twice as much for health insurance as was the case seven years ago. We’ve seen good pensions kind of disappear, evaporate and be replaced by 401(k)s, which I describe as Swiss-cheese retirement plans. A lot of workers don’t have 401(k)s—many workers have little to support themselves when they retire. While wages are stagnant and benefits are getting worse, workers also are being squeezed to work harder. There’s less job security than there used to be. And with all the rounds of downsizing, workers feel more insecure on the job. If you’re feeling insecure, you’re less likely to push for better wages and benefits."
- Worker dies on Strip -- Las Vegas Review Journal -- The death toll at Strip construction sites continued to rise Monday, this time at Boyd Gaming Corp.'s Echelon project site with the death of a 49-year-old carpenter who fell about 15 feet and suffered fatal head injuries after landing on his head. The construction worker's death was the first one at the $4.8 billion Echelon site, but it was the 12th construction-related death to have occurred at Strip construction sites in the past 18 months.
- Feds hire more than 300 new coal mine inspectors --AP -- The federal agency responsible for mine safety has hired more than 300 inspectors over the past two years to scour the nation's underground coal operations for unsafe working conditions. The Mine Safety and Health Administration has been beefing up its work force in an effort to increase inspections after a series of mining disasters from West Virginia to Utah. A report last year by the inspector general found that MSHA had failed to carry out inspections at 107 of the 731 underground coal mines operating in 2006, or 15 percent of the total.
- US, China commence high-stakes business conference -- Crain's NY --The United States and China must increase their cooperation on energy issues in the face of increased demand and record high oil prices, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday as he opened a meeting of high-level economic officials from the two countries. However, hopes that the discussions could produce significant results on a number of contentious trade disputes have not been fulfilled. Paulson, who is hoping that the discussions will be continued by the next administration, said Tuesday that they had produced more results than could have been accomplished absent the twice-a-year meetings. He said it was important for the global economy that the two nations continue talking.
Health Care News:
- HEALTHCARE: A (Universal) Healthcare Plan that Works -- Policy Today -- In 2006, Massachusetts passed the Health Care Reform Act, the first comprehensive health insurance plan in the United States. The plan requires all individuals to have healthcare, with the State stepping up for those unable to afford it. It creates a “Connector,” an agency that helps individuals to find an affordable plan, and allows individuals to opt out—for a while—with a set of defined reasons and a penalty clause. Two years later, it’s working. Yes, “working.” PT spoke with MA State Senator Richard Moore, one of the program’s architects, to find out why.
- Health care costs: 10 percent jump? -- Everett Herald -- Employer health care costs are poised to rise almost 10 percent in 2008 -- more than double the annual inflation rate -- and nearly that much again in 2009, according to an industry report released Tuesday. The study by PriceWater-houseCoopers predicts that medical costs will increase 9.9 percent in 2008 and an additional 9.6 percent in 2009. "Health care providers, insurers and employers will have to monitor medical costs carefully if we are to avoid a resurgence of the double-digit annual increases seen in the past," said Dr. David Chin, leader of the Health Research Institute at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
- Staff worry over costs of health care -- Olympian -- A group of North Thurston Public Schools paraeducators brought concerns about rising health care costs to the North Thurston Board of Directors on Monday. Three Mountain View Elementary School paraeducators urged the board to reject their 2008-11 contract that the North Thurston Paraeducators Association ratified recently because it includes health care costs that are triple this year's costs in some plans. In addition, some plans that once covered a spouse for no charge will require premiums of several hundred dollars. Jeanne Reid said her job covers insurance for her and her husband, but rising premiums will halve her take-home pay.
War News:
- Soldiers risk ruin while awaiting benefit checks -- AP -- Nearly 20,000 disabled soldiers were discharged in the past two fiscal years, and lawmakers, veterans' advocates and others say thousands could be facing financial ruin while they wait for their claims to be processed and their benefits to come through. "The anecdotal evidence is depressing," said Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., who heads a subcommittee on veterans disability benefits. "These veterans are getting medical care, but their family is going through this huge readjustment at the same time they're dealing with financial difficulties." Most permanently disabled veterans qualify for payments from Social Security and the military or Veterans Affairs. Those sums can amount to about two-thirds of their active-duty pay. But until those checks show up, most disabled veterans draw a reduced Army paycheck.
- Democrat: Pentagon sought abusive interrogations -- AP -- Military officials tasked with training U.S. troops to evade enemy interrogations provided Pentagon lawyers a list of abusive tactics that could be used in prisons like Guantanamo Bay, a top Senate Democrat disclosed Tuesday. Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the harsh techniques were then pursued despite strong objections in November 2002 by the military's uniformed lawyers. "If we use those same techniques offensively against detainees, it says to the world that they have America's stamp of approval," said Levin, D-Mich., at the onset of a committee hearing.
The upbeat rhythms of Gospel music
filled the air as 1500 union members, people of faith, and community
activists gathered at
The Sound Alliance has vision statements
on five areas: Health Care Reform, Education, Sustainable Jobs and the
Environment, Housing, and Immigration and Civil Rights. [See their website
for written descriptions: www.soundprganizing.org]
Governor Gregoire said that when she,
Speaker Chopp and Majority Leader Brown laid out an agenda for the
legislature it was the Sound Alliance’s agenda. This was met with a
standing ovation as was the Governor’s statement, “We need to move
beyond coverage for children and cover all Washingtonians with health
care.”
Six individuals told personal stories
highlighting the need for change in the five areas of the “Agenda for the
Common Good”. Jorge Vilchiz, a member of Casa Latina and Laborers 242,
talked about being profiled by the
Wild cheers erupted as the
Majority leader Brown promised to help
the Sound Alliance work on financing to retrofit two city blocks worth of
housing with energy saving technology. While Speaker Chopp agreed to help
the Sound Alliance set up meetings with Starbucks, Microsoft, Weyerhauser
and REI to talk about comprehensive heath care reform.
The clarion call was: “Are we ready to start the journey for the common good?” The answer by 1500 Sound Alliance members was a resounding Yes!
Copyright © 200
8 Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO