Michelle Dunlop
Herald Writer
Everett Herald Article 3-15-08

EVERETT -- The Boeing Co. hasn't flown its 787 jet, but already concerns have surfaced about whether the company will place a second Dreamliner production line in the state.

"We know Boeing (officials have) options," said Bill McSherry, the governor's newly appointed aerospace adviser. "We know that they're discussing their options for a second 787 line this year. I know we need to act to be as attractive as we can be."

The state rolled out a tax incentive package in 2003 to land the 787 line. Some lawmakers said the state has since let down its guard. Others believe Boeing's unions could make or break a second line. And some suggest Boeing is simply milking the state to save itself more money.

But Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Legislature are taking the talk seriously for now. The Legislature recently called for a competitiveness study to see how Washington stacks up against other states. For its part, Boeing remains mum on if, when and where a second 787 line would come into play.

"There has been no decision," said Bernard Choi, a Boeing spokesman. But "anything the state can do … that can make the state more competitive, not just for Boeing but for business, is a good thing."

Boeing "isn't telling us what it wants," said Deborah Knutson, with the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, which is in charge of the governor's study. But the tax incentives and other efforts of southern states have been pretty well publicized, she said.

The following article was written by Michael Honey, the Haley Professor of Humanities at the University of Washington Tacoma and the author of “ Going Down Jericho Road : The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign:”

One hundred historians have declared their support for the Employee Free Choice Act, introduced into Congress on March 10 by Senator Tom Harkin and Rep. George Miller.

The legislation would make it easier for workers to organize unions and harder for employers to evade them. Workers could obtain a union when 50% sign cards authorizing a union. The law would also force employers to respond quickly and bargain in good faith or face increased fines and mandatory, binding arbitration by the National Labor Relations Board.

Why are faculty members, who are so notoriously un-organized, speaking on behalf of unions? There are many reasons, but on one level the reason is simple: democracy depends upon it, and our economy needs it. The last great depression occurred when unions declined to almost nothing in
the 1920s. Republican government cut taxes on the rich and removed many of the regulations of the Progressive era, which in turn allowed bankers and corporations to make sky-high profits. The housing and stock market boomed, and the rich got richer. That led to the crash of 1929.

Because labor was not organized, it had almost no restraining influence on
government, leading to a vast divide between the rich and the working class. Sound familiar?

Thursday, March 12 was the last day for bills to get floor votes in their houses of origin. Following is a progress report on some of the bills of concern to organized labor that were affected by Thursday's cutoff.

This is not a comprehensive list; reports from unions affiliated with the Washington State Labor Council continue to trickle in following yesterday's cutoff. 

Legislation SUPPORTED by Labor:

SB 5446 and HB 1528, the Worker Privacy Act, would have allowed workers in Washington state to choose whether or not to participate in employer communication on issues of individual conscience, including politics, religion, unionization, and charitable giving. It was opposed by Boeing, the Association of Washington Business and several other corporate lobbying groups. IT DIED WITHOUT A VOTE.

The following statement was issued Wednesday by Rick Bender, President of the Washington State Labor Council:

The Washington State Labor Council proudly stands behind our efforts to pass the Worker Privacy Act. Early Tuesday morning, an email communication related to the Privacy Act was inadvertently delivered to the offices of several Washington State legislators. We regret that this unintentional communication has stalled consideration of this important legislation.

Please take note of the new referral procedures effective March 13, 2009.

Click here for the new procedures.

Reuters
By Burton Frierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. private sector job losses accelerated in February, according to a report by ADP Employer Services that suggests hefty employment declines are on the way in the government's payrolls report due on Friday.

ADP said on Wednesday that private employers cut 697,000 jobs in February versus a revised 614,000 jobs lost in January. The January job cuts were originally reported at 522,000.

It was the biggest job loss since the report's launch in 2001 and showed the misery of declining employment spreading broadly and evenly throughout the economy.

The service sector, which often resists the grip of recession longer than other areas, accounted for more than half of the total losses, reflecting the rapid deterioration of the economy in recent months.

"None really escaped the sword here," Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, whose firm jointly developed the ADP report, said about the service sector.

Economists had expected 610,000 private-sector job cuts in February, according to the median of 23 forecasts in a Reuters poll.

The forecasts in the poll ranged widely from a drop of 730,000 to losses of 500,000.

Still, on Wall Street, stock futures held onto earlier gains. Government bonds, which generally benefit from weak economic data, extended their losses.

"I was actually expecting it to be a little worse. Every month we've had data come in worse than expected," said Dan Faretta, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago.

"Until we get positive news about housing or industry or anything like that, the numbers will continue to get worse. The numbers keep weighing on all the markets."

New evidence recession increasingly forcing employers to cut jobs

WASHINGTON - New jobless claims rose more than expected last week and the number of laid-off Americans continuing to receive unemployment benefits topped 5.1 million, fresh evidence the recession is increasingly forcing employers to shed jobs.

The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time requests for unemployment benefits jumped to 667,000 from the previous week's figure of 631,000. Analysts had expected a slight drop in claims.

The 667,000 new claims are the most since October 1982, though the labor force has grown by about half since then.

The number of people receiving unemployment insurance for more than one week also increased more than expected to 5.1 million. That's the fifth straight week the figure has set a new record-high on data going back to 1967, and compared with only about 2.8 million people a year ago.

As a proportion of the work force, the number of people continuing to receive benefits has reached its highest point since July 1983.

An additional 1.4 million people were receiving benefits under an extended unemployment compensation program approved by Congress last year, as of Feb. 7, the latest data available. That brings the total number of jobless benefit recipients to roughly 6.5 million.

It’s November 1999, and five days are about to rock the world as tens of thousands of demonstrators take to the streets of Seattle in protest of the World Trade Organization’s Ministerial Meeting. Among them are Django (Andre Benjamin), Sam (Jennifer Carpenter), Lou (Michelle Rodriguez) and Jay (Martin Henderson). Each has a unique story, but they’re united in a common desire to be heard and to make a difference in the world. For these four protesters, this is very personal and the stakes are higher than mere politics.

A peaceful demonstration to stop the WTO talks quickly escalates into a full-scale riot, and soon a State of Emergency is declared by the Mayor of Seattle. The streets are mayhem, and the WTO is paralyzed. Caught in the crossfire of civil liberties and keeping the peace are Seattle residents, including its beleaguered mayor (Ray Liotta), a riot cop on the streets (Woody Harrelson) and his pregnant wife (Charlize Theron). The choices they all make will change their lives forever.

Writer/Director Stuart Townsend brings together this talented ensemble to intertwine different points of view – from protesters and police to delegates and doctors -- each of whom intentionally or accidentally find themselves on the streets of Seattle in those last days of the millennium. Townsend seamlessly merges footage of the real event with his fictional narrative. Ultimately, Battle in Seattle illustrates that even against incredible odds, ordinary people can change the world.

Pre-order your DVD or Blu-Ray today.

After weeks of delay, wild-goose chases and unfounded accusations, Rep. Hilda Solis is expected to get a confirmation vote by the full Senate tomorrow to become our next secretary of labor. There's still a chance that anti-worker senators will try more nonsense to block her appointment, so please make your voice heard now.
Contact your senators and urge them to vote for Hilda Solis.

Lost in all the Washington procedural mumbo-jumbo since the Solis nomination is the recognition that this is truly a historic moment for all of America's workers. She is a true champion of America's workers. Solis will not be your boss's secretary of labor -- she will be YOUR secretary of labor.

As the child of working class immigrants who both were members of labor unions in California, Hilda Solis is uniquely qualified to lead the Department of Labor during the current economic crisis. With hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost every week and millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet, we desperately need someone who will fight for America's workers, not just the interests of CEOs.

As secretary of labor, Solis will be responsible for ensuring that workers have safe jobs, freedom from employment discrimination, unemployment insurance, enforcement of minimum wage laws and much, much more. A labor secretary can't fix everything, but it sure will be nice to have someone in charge who actually cares about workers.
Please contact your senators and urge them to vote for confirmation of Hilda Solis as labor secretary -- no more wasting time.

From Ed Henry
CNN Senior White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama's pick for commerce secretary is likely to be former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, two administration sources told CNN Monday.

Locke, 57, was the country's first Chinese-American governor, elected to lead Washington in 1996 and re-elected in 2000.

Prior to becoming governor, the Democrat served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and one term as executive of King County, Washington. He was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee from 1989 to 1994.

Locke would be Obama's third nomination for the post. Obama's first choice, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, withdrew his nomination in early January, citing the distraction of a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state.

Obama then went outside his party to nominate Sen. Judd Gregg, R-New Hampshire. But Gregg withdrew on February 12, citing "irresolvable conflicts" over the administration's stimulus bill and the upcoming 2010 census.

By Rep. Mike Sells
Guest Commentary
Everett Herald