STATE GOVERNMENT

► In today’s News Tribune — Party lines blur at transportation rally — At least three Republican state lawmakers rallied Monday on the Capitol steps with backers of a gas tax and fee increase that would pay for roads, ferries, mass transit and other transportation improvements. Democrats such as House Transportation Committee Chairwoman Judy Clibborn, Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Rep. Denny Heck want it approved in the Legislature this year. The only action so far has been a party-line vote in Clibborn’s committee. But organizers promoted the rally’s bipartisan flavor.

► In today’s Oregonian — Gov. Inslee vetoes anti-Columbia River Crossing measure — Inslee vetoed several sections of a state transportation bill, including one that would have prohibited spending federal money on the project to replace the I-5 Bridge between Portland and Vancouver. Earlier Monday, he announced that officials are close to reaching a mitigation agreement with the second of three upriver companies that make products too large to fit beneath the proposed span.

► In today’s Columbian — Inslee vetoes $8.1 million for CRC — It’s all or nothing, Gov. Jay Inslee indicated Monday in the battle to get $450 million for the Columbia River Crossing project.

► From AP — Inslee signs $8.7 billion transportation budget — Gov. Jay Inslee signed off on an $8.7 billion transportation budget Monday that puts money toward maintaining state roadways and continues spending on existing big-ticket projects. Earlier in the day, Inslee spoke at a rally in support of a funding package for transportation projects. House Democrats support a proposal to raise the gas tax by 10 cents per gallon to help maintain existing roads, as well as to fund a handful of pending big-ticket projects, but the plan faces skepticism from the Senate majority.

LOCAL

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — NLRB to issue complaint against Hanford contractors — The NLRB is preparing to issue a complaint on contractor actions during union negotiations with the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council. The board proposed a settlement agreement, but CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co., which has taken the lead in negotiations for Hanford contractors, declined to sign.

And today, The Stand gives you proof that IBEW’s Alice Phillips has held up her end of the deal. Nice look!

► Last week at AFL-CIO Now — Tacoma union members make it a banner year for union-made peanut butter donations — Alice Phillips of Tacoma is a union leader who’s willing to create a little buzz. At least, that’s the sound the clippers will make when Phillips, the IBEW business manager, fulfills her pledge to get a Mohawk haircut if the members of IBEW Local 483 would double last year’s donation of union-made peanut butter as part of the Letter Carriers’ National Food Drive. They brought the jars. So she’s on the hook.

ALSO at The Stand — Pierce County unions collect record haul of peanut butter

► In today’s Seattle Times — UW Medicine, Catholic health system to have ‘strategic affiliation’ — The latest in a long list of affiliations in Washington between secular hospitals and religious health-care systems is a shocker: UW Medicine and PeaceHealth announced Monday they had signed up to create a “strategic affiliation,” with details to be spelled out by the end of September.

ALSO at The Stand — Tell PeaceHealth execs to ‘do the right thing’ — The WSNA reports that nurses at PeaceHealth St. Joseph in Bellingham are not being treated fairly during contract negotiations, with management proposing drastic takeaways. A solidarity rally is planned in Vancouver on Wednesday, May 29. Also sign this petition!

► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Spokane City Council wants initiatives sent to voters — Voters should have a say on two controversial citizens’ initiatives, the Spokane City Council decided Monday on a 4-3 vote. One measure would force developers to seek voter signatures to win approval for certain kinds of development, boost union rights and challenge the rights of corporations. The other would ban corporate donations to city political campaigns.

► In today’s Seattle Times — Kemper Freeman plans $1.2 billion expansion in Bellevue — Kemper Development wants to build 2 million square feet of additional retail, office, hotel and residential space covering more than a block of prime real estate in downtown Bellevue.

► In today’s Columbian — Fisher Investments plans 2nd building on Camas campus — Forbes columnist and billionaire Ken Fisher plans to break ground in July on a second office building, which will be able to accommodate some 700 workers, at his Fisher Investments’ campus in Camas. The company’s local presence has grown steadily since 2007 when Fisher opened a temporary office in Vancouver with 50 employees while complaining loudly over what he calls an anti-business climate in California.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Maybe we don’t suck!

FEDERAL HEALTH REFORM

► In The Hill — Labor uni0ns break with White House on Obamacare — Months after the president’s reelection, a variety of unions are publicly balking at how the administration plans to implement the landmark law. They warn that unless there are changes, the results could be catastrophic. The UFCW, the Roofers, UNITE HERE and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are among the unions pushing for changes.

► In The Hill — Treat nonprofit healthcare fairly (by UFCW President Joe Hansen) — “If you already have health insurance through your job — and because many of you are members of unions, you do — nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change your coverage or your doctor. Let me repeat: Nothing in this plan will require you to change your coverage or your doctor.” Those were the words spoken by President Obama at the AFL-CIO Convention in Pittsburgh on Sept. 15, 2009. But it has become increasingly clear with each passing day is that the president’s statement to labor in 2009 is simply not true for millions of workers.

CONGRESS

► At Politico — Clearing NLRB nominees is a clear step forward (by Wilma Liebman) — For more than a year, the National Labor Relations Board has been in limbo, with two of its five seats vacant, and two others under legal challenge. Controversy surrounding the board and broader political battles resulted in Senate deadlock over nominations. But there is an opportunity to bridge the divide and provide some stability to this federal agency. This week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will vote on President Barack Obama’s nominees to fill all five seats on the board. A committee hearing was held last week. Swift action to confirm these nominees is imperative. It would serve the public’s interest in good government and the rule of law.

► In The Hill — Sen. Hatch: No deal yet on tech-backed H-1B visa amendments –Time is running out for Hatch and Schumer to reach a compromise on the amendments; Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is aiming to wrap up the panel’s markup of the sweeping immigration bill by mid-week. Winning Hatch’s support for the bill is seen as critical to its passage by the Gang of Eight because they believe his backing could help sway other GOP members to vote for the bill.

► In today’s Washington Post — As rich gain optimism, lawmakers lose economic urgency — Washington has all but abandoned efforts to help the economy recover faster — and lawmakers don’t seem worried that voters will punish them for it.

NATIONAL

► In today’s NY Times — Apple’s web of tax shelters saved it billions — Even as Apple became the nation’s most profitable technology company, it avoided billions in taxes in the United States and around the world through a web of subsidiaries so complex it spanned continents and went beyond anything most experts had ever seen, Congressional investigators disclosed on Monday.

► At AFL-CIO Now — Make it a union-made Memorial Day holiday — Memorial Day is the unofficial kickoff to the summer holiday season. While the day honors those who have given their lives defending the nation, the weekend also marks the start of grilling season. Here’s some union-made food and drink to get your barbecue off to a great start.

TODAY’S MUST-READ

► From NPR — Unfit for Work: The startling rise of disability in America — In the past three decades, the number of Americans who are on disability has skyrocketed. The rise has come even as medical advances have allowed many more people to remain on the job, and new laws have banned workplace discrimination against the disabled. Every month, 14 million people now get a disability check from the government. The story of these programs — who goes on them, and why, and what happens after that — is, to a large extent, the story of the U.S. economy. It’s the story not only of an aging workforce, but also of a hidden, increasingly expensive safety net.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This in-depth report does not belie a partisan agenda. It is a balanced look everywhere from Hale County, Ala., where 1 in 4 working-age adults are on disability, to Grays Harbor County, Wash., where many former mill workers have gone on disability in some cases because there are no other jobs. It notes that the “end of welfare as we know it” in the Clinton era 1990s corresponds to the sudden growth in Americans on disability, and exposes a “Disability-Industrial Complex” that pushes more and more people on disability. It’s a thought-provoking read.

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.

SEATTLE (May 21, 2013) — On the same day a King County Superior Court commissioner denied Jeremy Griffin’s motion to avoid eviction from his South Park home, the Sheriff posted a notice ordering the union ironworker to vacate his home by midnight on Tuesday, May 14.

This is a scene that has played out millions of times across the country and thousands of times in Washington State since the recession began. But this time, the Sheriff met some resistance, thanks to a group called SAFE (Standing Against Foreclosure & Eviction).

A week later, SAFE members are still camped out in Griffin’s yard waiting for the Sheriff to arrive. His home is covered with banners reading: WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED, EVICTION-FREE ZONE, and TOGETHER WE CAN FIGHT THE BANKS. Many of the protesters, whose tactics are strictly non-violent, are prepared to risk arrest by standing between authorities and Griffin’s home. (Visit SAFE’s Facebook page for the latest updates.)

With numerous lawsuits pending against the big banks that allege illegal evictions, refusal to negotiate with families, and documented acts of fraud, SAFE members say that the banks “have lost their right to prey on our community.”

“Hundreds of Seattle homes go to auction each month” said SAFE’s Josh Farris, a member of the Electrical Workers (IBEW). “With more vacant homes than people sleeping on the street, we need a moratorium on all bank evictions.”

According to Larry Benes, a SAFE member, military veteran, and 10-year union stevedore whose home is also in foreclosure, “The big banks are corrupt and should not be allowed to ruin families and blight our communities. At some point, you’ve got to say, ‘Enough’!”

Jeremy’s Story

For years, Jeremy Griffin has labored as an ironworker on construction projects, reading plans, and physically carrying on his shoulders tons of rebar each day.

When the Great Recession hit, the construction industry dried up, along with Jeremy’s income. After the stress of years of unemployment and underemployment, his life partner left him. Soon his mortgage went into default.

Then in 2012, the construction industry began to revive, and Jeremy got a job again as an ironworker on a bridge near his South Park home. He told his bank, Wells Fargo, he could now pay his mortgage, but they weren’t interested. He even delivered to Wells Fargo’s Seattle headquarters his $1,200 rent checks.

On his first rent delivery, Wells Fargo threatened to call the police. On his second delivery, they opted to close the entire 47-story headquarters for the afternoon, rather than accept his money.

“The building trades went through a tough time with the recession,” said Ironworkers Local 86 Business Manager Steve Pendergrass. “Jeremy always wanted to work, now things are looking good and he has solid work — it’s a terrible thing that the bank won’t renegotiate and keep him in his home.”

Learn more about Jeremy’s story here.

How You Can Help

If you want to be part of SAFE’s Rapid response Network to protest when authorities come to evict (you can protest without risking arrest), here’s how you sign up:

1. Go to SAFE’s website: www.SAFEinSeattle.org

2. Click JOIN RRN

3. Complete contact information

4. Click SUBMIT

If you are nearing foreclosure, or would like to stand together to fight the banks, please contact SAFE, 206-203-2125 or info@SAFEinSeattle.org. SAFE also has weekly meetings at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, at Bethany UCC, 6230 Beacon Ave. South (corner of Graham St.). All are welcome.

SAFE is made up entirely of volunteers and homeowners dedicated to building a mass movement to stop bank evictions, achieve principal reductions, and put people before profit. SAFE believes Housing is a Human Right.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21, 2013) — Apple (like many giant, multinational corporations) has been avoiding paying the taxes they owe to the country by setting up foreign “subsidiaries” in tax-haven countries and moving jobs and profit centers out of the country. They have accumulated billions upon billions of dollars in these tax havens. Now they want a special tax break to reward them for doing that.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is scheduled to hold a hearing titled “Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code — Part 2 (Apple Inc.)” with Apple’s Tim Cook. Apple is holding more than $100 billion in tax haven countries, to evade U.S. taxes. At the hearing, Cook (who had a 2011 compensation of $378 million) is expected to offer a proposal for changes to the corporate tax system.

Cook’s proposal is likely to be for a “tax repatriation holiday” and a “territorial tax system,” both of which mean giant, multinational companies like Apple will pay less in taxes, people like Cook will have even more money and We the People will end up with higher taxes, fewer good schools and good roads and police and teachers and the other things government does to make our lives better. As a bonus, this makes giant multinationals that move jobs and profits overseas even more competitive against smaller American companies that keep jobs and profits here and do not have foreign “subsidiaries” located in tax havens.

New Report on Apple’s Tax Avoidance

Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the AFL-CIO held a conference call Monday to talk about a new report by CTJ, Apple Holds Billions of Dollars in Foreign Tax Havens, documenting Apple’s offshore tax avoidance. The report states that,

An analysis of Apple Inc.’s financial reports makes clear that Apple has paid almost no income taxes to any country on its $102 billion in offshore cash holdings. That means that this cash hoard reflects profits that were shifted, on paper, out of countries where the profits were actually earned into foreign tax havens.

How much is this costing us? First, with Washington all aflutter over deficits, the tax dollars: $35.3 billion. From the report:

Applying this same U.S. tax rate to Apple’s $102.3 billion offshore cash hoard as of March 2013 would generate $35.3 billion in U.S. income taxes, without deferral.

Worse, however, is the cost in jobs and manufacturing infrastructure. The current tax laws encourage companies to move jobs, factories and profit centers out of the country. They actually subsidize this with tax breaks.

► In today’s NY Times — Apple’s web of tax shelters saved it billions — Even as Apple became the nation’s most profitable technology company, it avoided billions in taxes in the United States and around the world through a web of subsidiaries so complex it spanned continents and went beyond anything most experts had ever seen, Congressional investigators disclosed on Monday.

PASSINGS

► In Sunday’s Seattle Times — Labor leader Kenney pushed for farmworker rights — “He was very committed to working the problems of farmworkers and did much to bring farm laborers into better coverage and really helped promote them,” former Gov. Mike Lowry recalled.

► In today’s Seattle Times — Seattle labor activist Will Parry dies at 93 — “He was just a dignified, caring, but very principled activist for both the members of his union and for working people in general,” said Robby Stern, who worked with Will Parry at the Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action (the name is misidentified by the Times), which Parry founded to take on issues such as Social Security and health care for seniors.

ALSO at The Stand — Labor mourns the passage of Kenney, Parry — A public memorial service for Larry Kenney will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 1 at the Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way N.E., in Seattle.

A memorial for Will Parry is planned for Saturday, June 29, 2-5 p.m. in Hall 1 of the Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 First Avenue. Donations in his name may be made to PSARA at 2800 1st Ave. #262, Seattle, WA, 98121, to continue his work.

STATE GOVERNMENT

► From AP — Senate majority names 33 bills for budget talks — As lawmakers wrap up their first week of a special legislative session, leaders in the Republican-controlled Senate have asked that 33 bills be considered as part of the budget discussions, including bills dealing with changes to the workers’ compensation system, education bills and others. Senate Minority Leader Ed Murray (D-Seattle) said that focusing on so many bills during a special session “is not a good faith effort in compromise.”

► In today’s Seattle Times — State legislators shouldn’t delay budget work (editorial) — The two chambers were supposed to settle budget differences in the 105-day regular session using the forecast of March 20. They failed. They didn’t even try hard. Now they are in a special session that is supposed to end June 11, and they are already setting themselves up for another failure, because some want to wait until June 18 revenue forecast before making decisions. Waiting is not a good idea. Many state agencies are building next year’s budgets now.

► In Sunday’s (Everett) Herald — Modest change to workers’ comp would help reserves (by Bill Weaver) — Championed by the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus, and one of the issues that chamber has marked as a critical component of state budget negotiations, continued workers’ compensation reform is a key element of our state’s economic competitiveness.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This “modest change” has been “marked as a critical component of state budget negotiations.” Translation: Conservative senators are holding the state budget hostage over this and a laundry list of other controversial issues as the clock continues to tick on the first special session with little sign of progress. What the author calls a “minor tweak” to the system won’t save the state a penny and is opposed by the House majority and Gov. Inslee. So why do Republican conservatives, placed in precarious power by the defection of two conservative Democrats, insist on holding our government hostage over their controversial pet issues? Probably because they see it has worked well for their counterparts in the other Washington — if not for our country.

► In Sunday’s (Everett) Herald — Higher ed remains the key (editorial) — The mainspring for landing the Boeing 777X in Washington is higher ed and addressing the skills gap in engineering and technology. The best social program for self-sufficiency, the best business strategy for curtailing unemployment and goosing the economy, is higher ed.

LOCAL

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — No furloughs for vit plant workers in July — Workers at the Hanford vitrification plant will not be furloughed for a week in July, they were told Friday. They were warned last month that Bechtel National might need to shut down the project for two weeks this summer because of a lack of money for work that is ready to be done. This week, congressional committees approved a Department of Energy request for reprogramming, or moving money already budgeted for this year among DOE sites and projects.

► In today’s Yakima H-R — More doctors, staff hired to prepare for health care law — Come October, an estimated 55,000 people in Yakima County will be eligible to start enrolling in expanded Medicaid and the state Health Benefits Exchange under federal health care reform. Yakima Valley clinics and hospitals are hiring new primary care physicians, extending office hours and expanding service locations in anticipation of the influx of new patients starting this fall.

IMMIGRATION

► From AP — Senate moves toward vote on immigration — The Senate Judiciary Committee is aiming this week to pass a landmark immigration bill to secure the border and offer citizenship to millions, setting up a high-stakes debate on the Senate floor. First, the committee must resolve a few remaining disputes.

► At Politico — National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council fights Senate bill — A union of more than 12,000 immigration agents is opposing the Senate’s version of comprehensive immigration reform.

NATIONAL

► At Politifact Oregon — Is paid maternity leave really the standard around the world? — The United States is rare in that the vast majority of countries surveyed have a government policy mandating paid maternity leave. The United States is really rare when compared to countries that are wealthy, developed. Of 188 nations, only the U.S., Papua New Guinea, Suriname, and 4 small Pacific islands don’t guarantee mothers paid leave from work to care for their infant. Even North Korea, which is ruled by a dictator, offers 11 weeks of paid maternity leave.

► At In These Times — The right to call in sick — Portland and New York City have joined a growing list of places — San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; Seattle; the state of Connecticut — where most workers are guaranteed a set number of paid days off for illness and hardships such as domestic or sexual violence. Similar campaigns are underway in a dozen other cities and states, including Oregon, Massachusetts and Vermont, and support is building for the Healthy Families Act, which would create a national standard.

► In today’s NY Times — Public outrage over factory conditions spurs labor deal — it was clear that after the April 24 Rana Plaza disaster, pressure was mounting on H&M — known as a purveyor of “cheap chic” — to make good on past promises to help improve labor conditions in Bangladesh.

► In today’s LA Times — Survey says 90% don’t want knives on planes — The pressure continues to mount on the Transportation Security Administration to prohibit passengers from bringing small pocket knives into the cabins of commercial planes. Opponents of allowing knives on planes unveiled a survey last week that found 90% of likely voters don’t want the TSA to lift the ban that has been in place since 9/11.

TODAY’S MUST-READ

► In today’s Washington Post — Political dysfunction spells trouble for democracies (by E.J. Dionne) — After a week of scandal obsession during which the nation’s capital and the media virtually ignored the problems most voters care about — jobs, incomes, growth, opportunity, education — it’s worth asking if there is something especially flawed about our democracy. Since World War II, bouts of economic growth have allowed democracies to buy their way out of trouble. One can hope this will happen again — and soon. In the meantime, politicians might contemplate their obligations to stewardship of the democratic ideal. They could begin by pondering what an unemployed 28-year-old makes of a ruling elite that expends so much energy feuding over how bureaucrats rewrote a set of talking points.

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.

The WSNA is asking for all of the nurses’ labor and community supporters to help them in their struggle to get a fair contract in two ways:

Attend a WSNA Solidarity Event in Vancouver on Wednesday, May 29 from 1 to 4 p.m. on the sidewalk outside PeaceHealth CEO Alan Yordy’s new $3.5 million corporate offices, 1115 S.E. 16th Ave, Vancouver, WA, 98683. The WSNA is bringing together nurses from PeaceHealth facilities across Washington and are urging all nurses, labor friends and community members in the region to join them. For more info, download the event flier.

Sign this online petition urging PeaceHealth CEO Alan Yordy and Whatcome Regional CEO Nancy Stieger urging then “to do the right thing for St. Joseph Medical Center and our community by stepping forward with a fair contract for St. Joseph nurses.” You can also download and print the petition to collect signatures from your friends, family and co-workers.

For more information, visit the WSNA website or contact WSNA Nurse Representative Barbara Friesen via email or by calling 1-800-231-8482 ext. 3056.

SEATTLE (May 20, 2013) — As Alaska Air Group holds its annual stockholders meeting on Tuesday, award-winning Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, will rally outside as they continue to press management for a fair contract.

“Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants have been distinguished by numerous awards for our hard work, sacrifices and dedication. Bolstered by our exemplary service, Alaska Airlines has just received the JD Power and Associates award for the sixth year in a row — unprecedented in the industry,” said Jeffrey Peterson, AFA president at Alaska Airlines. “We have worked closely with management to create a winning strategy and have been key to the success of our airline. Despite this extraordinary performance record, our wages continue to fall below inflation and behind those of our peers in the industry. It is time for the over 3,100 Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants to reap the benefits of our airline’s success and be adequately compensated. We are stakeholders in this airline. We have proven our dedication.”

Flight Attendants’ contract negotiations began in November 2011 and have been ongoing for the past 18 months. AFA filed for mediation earlier this month after talks stalled over compensation. Mediation will begin in July.

Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants Rally 
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
1 p.m. Pacific Time

(Stockholders meeting at 2 p.m.)
Bell Harbor International Conference Center
2211 Alaskan Way, Pier 66
Seattle, Washington

The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 67 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions.  Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.

N.L.R.B.

► From AP — Nominee impasse poses problems for labor board — Senate Republicans said Thursday they would not support five nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, raising the possibility the troubled agency could be rendered mostly inoperable later this year.

► From AP — Second court invalidates Obama’s labor-board recess appointment — Both rulings have threatened to throw the labor board, the Consumer Financial Protection Board and other federal agencies with recess appointees into chaos. If they stand, hundreds of decisions by these agencies could be thrown out, reaching back several years.

► In The Hill — Crisis at the NLRB (by Richard Trumka) — In order to rebuild our economy and level the playing field for all working people — union and non-union — the law protecting workers’ rights must be enforced. That’s the role of the National Labor Relations Board — and it needs to work.  But currently the NLRB is under unprecedented attack by extremist congressional Republicans and corporate lobbyists who want to weaken its power to protect workers who choose to organize and form unions on the job. While this issue may not grace the front page of every newspaper, the effects are and will continue to be felt across the nation. South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a key leader of the charge, said, “I will continue to block all nominations to the NLRB. … The NLRB as inoperable could be considered progress.”

► At In These Times — Meet one of the victims of the right-wing war on workers — In 2010, Marcus Hedger was illegally fired from his job as a veteran printing pressman at Fort Dearborn Co. because of his union activities, the NLRB has ruled. But then the D.C. District Court sided with corporate lawyers — and the powerful “friends of the court” who included the Republican leaders of the House and Senate — and ruled the president’s 2012 recess appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional. The effect was to render Hedger’s ruling as effectively nonbinding. So Hedger now works at a job that pays one-third of what he earned at Fort Dearborn. Unable to make his mortgage payments, he recently lost his home to foreclosure. Listen to his story:

► In today’s NY Times — Republican drive to block cabinet picks may spur change in Senate rules — The threat of further Republican attempts to thwart the president’s ability to assemble his second-term cabinet has increased the likelihood of a fight over the Senate’s rules, which allow the minority party to insist on a 60-vote threshold for almost every Senate action.

► In Esquire — Unleash the power ring (by Charles Pierce) — The Republicans don’t want the NLRB to function at all. The Republicans don’t want the Obama Administration to function at all, either. This goes for the Republicans in the Congress, and it goes for the Republicans on the federal bench, too. This is a radicalized, extremist political party, root and branch, in all of its public manifestations. It is dedicated to the destruction of the political commonwealth for private profit, and it will use whatever device is handy to further that one goal. Why this is even arguable at this point is beyond me.

STATE GOVERNMENT

► In today’s Seattle Times — Time for a comprehensive transportation plan (editorial) — When the state Legislature adjourned last month, the prospects for a comprehensive transportation package appeared tenuous, in danger of another year’s delay. A new session offers hope. This is the year.

ALSO at The Stand — Coalition: Pass transportation package now!

► In today’s (Aberdeen) Daily World — Lt. Governor questions Sen. Hargrove on his proxy vote — With state budget conversations heating up in the special session, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen has questioned whether Sen. Jim Hargrove (D-Hoquiam) should continue to serve as a proxy for ailing Sen. Mike Carrell (R-Lakewood). Carrell has been absent on-and-off for much of the 2013 legislative session because of a blood condition, for which he is awaiting a stem cell transplant. In his absence, Hargrove has been casting votes for Carrell as his proxy. But in a May 9 interview with TVW, Owen said this courtesy may need to stop. “Sen. Hargrove is a very honorable person, and what he’s doing is commendable,” Owen said. “But I do think that at some point Sen. Hargrove needs to say, ‘Hey, OK, look, your folks aren’t willing to compromise, I’m not willing to do this anymore.’ That’s my opinion.”

► In today’s Yakima H-R — Former Grandview legislator Margaret Rayburn dies — Margaret Rayburn, a longtime Grandview resident, schoolteacher and former state legislator, died Tuesday in Sunnyside. She was 86. Rayburn served five terms in the Legislature, representing the 15th LD before retiring in 1995. She was the last Democrat to represent the Lower Yakima Valley legislative district.

► From AP — Washington lawmakers look to make recall process easier — Washington lawmakers are considering ways to make it easier for citizens to recall elected officials, holding a work session Wednesday that explored the hurdles people face when they try to pursue such a campaign.

LOCAL

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Pasco mail center will close June 28 — It doesn’t look like the U.S. Postal Service’s mail-handling center in Pasco will postmark letters after June 28. The date when operations are moved to Spokane still can be delayed, though it won’t likely be any sooner than June 28, a USPS spokesman says.

► In the PS Business Journal — Boeing begins selling its new P-8 sub-killers overseas — About 1,200 Boeing workers — split between Boeing’s Renton plant and a site near the Museum of Flight in Seattle — are turning 737s into deadly aircraft able to find and destroy submarines and some surface ships.

► In today’s News Tribune — Tacoma firefighters pay tribute to fallen comrade — Dozens of Tacoma firefighters stood at attention outside Station 8 on Thursday, waiting for the body of a fallen comrade to be escorted past. Albert Nejmeh, 59, died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack while working at the scene of a medical emergency. He was a 12-year veteran of the Fire Department.

► In today’s Columbian — Police take pause at law enforcement memorial — Many wearing black mourning bands attached diagonally over their badges, area law enforcement officers gathered Thursday to honor fellow officers who have died in the line of duty.

► In the PS Business Journal — Seattle No. 2, Tacoma No. 11 for dogs biting postal workers — The USPS says Los Angeles led the country in the number of postal workers getting bitten by dogs in fiscal 2012 with 69, followed by Seattle and San Antonio, which each had 42 attacks.

► In today’s Seattle Times — Contractor at Wade’s gun range cited for lead exposure — L&I have fined a construction firm for exposing workers to toxic lead during remodeling of a shooting range at Wade’s Eastside Gun Shop in Bellevue.

MEANWHILE, IN OREGON

► In the NW Labor Press — 2,300 workers at Precision Castparts to vote June 7 on unionization — The vote on whether to join the International Association of Machinists will be Oregon’s largest private-sector unionization vote in decades.

► In the NW Labor Press — City Attorney seeks to keep Portland’s $11-an-hour park rangers from joining union — In April — after all 15 park rangers at the City of Portland signed cards seeking to join Laborers Local 483 — a spokesperson for Mayor Charlie Hales told the Labor Press that the City favors its employees’ right to join a union, adding, “We look forward to the park rangers being part of the Laborers union.” But that generous sentiment was contradicted just weeks later by the City Attorney’s office, which on May 13 filed seven pages of legal arguments as to why the rangers shouldn’t be added to the city’s multi-union bargaining unit.

► In the NW Labor Press — SEIU 49 secures first contract for 450 private security officers — There were tears of joy down at the union hall May 4 as a group of private security officers approved a first-ever industry-wide agreement with Portland-area security contractors.

EDITOR’S NOTE — The Northwest Labor Press includes many more great stories about organized labor in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Check it out!

NATIONAL

► From Reuters — House lawmakers reach tentative deal on immigration — Prospects for passage of a major immigration bill improved on Thursday when a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives declared they had reached a tentative deal, resolving disputes that had threatened to torpedo negotiations.

► In today’s NY Times — Groups press big retailers on safety overseas — A large coalition of religious groups and investors is pressing major American retailers to join a sweeping plan to improve safety in Bangladesh apparel factories, calling on them to act together to force changes in overseas workplaces.

► In today’s Washington Post — U.S. may strip Bangladesh of tariff breaks — The Obama administration may strip Bangladesh of import breaks following deadly accidents in the country’s textile industry, another sign of the pressure building on the southeast Asian nation to improve labor conditions.

► In the NY Times — Cyberbullied businesses (letter by USW’s Fred Redmond) — When China tries to steal corporations’ technology secrets, companies turn to the United States government for protection. Yet Microsoft, Google, Apple, Hewlett-Packard and many others avoid paying American taxes by keeping hundreds of billions sheltered in “offshore” no-tax havens. Ironically, the billions they avoid paying could support our country’s cybersecurity, among so many other services and subsidies on which big business depends.

► In the LA Times — White collar workers are turning to labor unions — “There is a great deal of unrest among professional workers, who don’t have a history of union joining behavior,” one expert says. “They represent the frontiers of unionization in America.”

► In today’s NY Times — Energized GOP weighs how far to push inquiries — With memories of the Clinton impeachment still fresh, warnings are being sounded in the Republican Party, but the rank and file is pushing to go after the Obama administration.

► In today’s NY Times — The scandal machine (editorial) — Whatever cranky point Republicans had been making against President Obama for the last five years — dishonesty, socialism, jackbooted tyranny — they somehow found that these latest incidents were exactly the proof they had been seeking, no matter how inflated or distorted.

T.G.I.F.

► Apologies, if you are one of nearly 13 million people who’ve already watched this video since it was uploaded last Sunday, but today the entire staff of The Stand presents Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, 53, singing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” on board the International Space Station. (Fear not. His circuit’s not dead and there’s nothing wrong. Hadfield is now safely back on Mother Earth and dealing with his newfound celebrity.)

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.

(May 17, 2013) — In his newspaper column this week headlined “Business rankings aren’t bunk,” corporate-funded think-tanker Richard Davis promotes a new collection of state business climate rankings called “Benchmarks for a Better Washington.” It was prepared by the Washington Roundtable, a public policy group comprised of the CEOs of Washington State’s biggest corporations, including Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Microsoft, Weyerhaeuser, and dozens of others.

Washington gets mixed reviews from CEOs of the Roundtable, generally scoring well on quality-of-life issues and not so well on business cost issues. But naturally, the benchmarks they choose have an agenda, one that conforms precisely to their lobbying objectives in Olympia.

For example, the Roundtable notes under “Business Costs” that Washington ranks 50th in terms of Workers’ Compensation Benefits Paid. The CEOs have very deliberately chosen the National Academy for Social Insurance’s benefits-paid ranking, rather than a business-cost ranking. They are hoping that by inverting this list — after all, some would consider high benefits to be a good thing — and declaring Washington to be dead last, readers will believe that employers here must pay the highest costs in the nation, too.

Not so.

As has been pointed out here in The Stand, Washington has very competitive workers’ compensation costs for employers. The latest Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services study ranks us 22nd among the states in terms of employer costs. That’s because Washington is the only state where workers’ comp costs are shared by workers (who pay between 25% and 30% of the premiums) and because of the efficiency with which our voter-affirmed state-run system operates because it doesn’t have the marketing costs and profit margins private insurers have.

In other words, we do have a workers’ compensation system in Washington that offers comparatively high benefits. But we manage to offer this superior safety net for working families at a competitive cost for employers. And since that cost is what the Roundtable claims to be benchmarking in its “Business Costs” category, why would they complain that we rank dead last because of high benefits?

The simple answer, of course, is that they are looking out for their businesses’ bottom lines and they want lower workers’ compensation costs. That’s what these CEOs are paid — sometimes obscenely — to do. Their concern is to maximize profits for shareholders, not to preserve strong safety nets for injured workers. That’s somebody else’s job.

Corporate CEOs don’t pay business groups and think tanks to make Washington a better place to live and work, they pay them to lobby for lower taxes and fewer regulations. The day that Richard Davis’s Washington Research Council or the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy (WashACE), another corporate-funded group that publishes an annual Redbook of competitiveness rankings, declare “mission accomplished” and agree that Washington is a great state for business… well, that’s the day these groups cease to exist.

Look outside Washington’s corporate echo chamber of public policy groups and sympathetic newspaper executives — yes, Seattle Times CEO Frank Blethen sits at the Roundtable — and you’ll find very different business-climate rankings. Here are a few from national organizations/publications that also advocate for lower business taxes and fewer regulations, yet aren’t driven by specific in-state agendas like cutting injured workers’ benefits:

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council’s 2012 Business Tax Index says Washington is 5th best in terms of its business tax system. This Virginia-based group advocates for lower business taxes across the nation and ranks states “according to the costs of their tax systems for entrepreneurship and small business.”

Tax Foundation’s 2013 Business Tax Climate Index finds Washington is 6th best in the nation for low business taxes. This conservative foundation says its report “enables business leaders, government policymakers, and taxpayers to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare.”

Forbes’ Best States for Business says Washington is 11th best in the nation. States in this list get bonus points for actively discouraging unionization; all but one of Forbes’ top 10 states are so-called “right-to-work” states. So for a heavily unionized state like Washington to rank 11th best is high praise indeed! Which brings us to…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says Washington ranks 4th best in unionization rate, with the state’s 513,000 union members accounting for 18.5% of the overall workforce.

No doubt, some would argue that having high unionization isn’t “best.” But that’s the point. A strong case can be made that union members are better trained and earn higher wages, which makes companies more efficient and injects more money into that state’s economy. That’s good for business, right?

Who’s to say that having the lowest business taxes is best? Unless the rest of us pay higher taxes to make up the difference, low business taxes means less money for schools, roads, public health, police and fire protection, etc. Is that what’s best? If having the fewest regulations is also best, then what state can compete with Bangladesh?

The point is, by their very nature, business-climate lists are driven by somebody’s agenda and make subjective assumptions about what is good for business. Plus, they imply that what’s good for business is good for you — if you like having a job.

That doesn’t mean corporate CEOs or business think-tankers are bad people or that they are always wrong. But there’s no question that they have an agenda and it doesn’t necessarily include what’s best for you and your family. Anybody who has been paying attention to what caused the recession, who quickly recovered and who still hasn’t, should know this.

No, their benchmarks aren’t necessarily bunk, but they should be taken with a grain of salt.

David Groves is Editor of The Stand. Contact him at david.groves@thestand.org.

STATE GOVERNMENT

► In the Spokesman-review — Washington Health Insurance Exchange to cut health care costs — Washington’s consumers got their first, preliminary look at the cost of “Obamacare” on Tuesday. And the news, for many consumers, was good: Health insurance next year will cover more and cost less. Huge rate increases, predicted by critics and by some health insurance companies, did not materialize. Advocates of the federal reform law had hoped that rates would improve because insurers need to compete with each other on an apples-to-apples basis. Now, the rates are out.

► In today’s Oregonian — Columbia River Crossing could collapse in Olympia — It’s do-or-die time for the $3.4 billion Columbia River Crossing, more than a decade in the making. It faces more political scenarios for failure than for success, even if the U.S. Coast Guard — which has veto authority — issues a bridge permit by Sept. 30. And if you thought the fight for Oregon’s $450 million contribution was grueling, the Washington battle to pay its share plays out in a rougher league with fiercer passions and nastier politics. But long odds don’t deter the project’s most powerful proponents, such as Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-Mercer Island). “It’s a possibility to get the votes” by appealing to Senate moderates, said Clibborn, who chairs the House Transportation Committee. “We’ll have a better idea in about a week.”

LOCAL

► From AP — April jobless rate in state drops to 7% — Washington state’s unemployment rate dropped to 7% in April, and the state added an estimated 3,800 jobs last month. The state has now regained about 78% of the more than 200,000 jobs lost during the recession, state officials say.

► In today’s Olympian — Evergreen union may strike — “It’s a first-time contract with a group of exempt student services employees. First-time contracts take a long time. We still have some distance to go, but we are working hard to wrap this up as soon as we can,” college spokesman Todd Sprague said Wednesday.

ALSO at The Stand — Frustrated Evergreen employees authorize strike by 90% vote (today), and New video chronicles “A Year of Bargaining” at Evergreen (May 8)

► In today’s Seattle Times — Local officials vow to stay ready for next NBA opportunity — Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn noted that the agreement with investor Chris Hansen to build a $490 million SoDo arena is good for five years, and that the city would continue to work with him to bring a professional basketball team back to Seattle.

► In today’s Yakima H-R — Yakima Valley Memorial to lay off 12 this month — After a call for voluntary resignations last week, Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital will lay off a dozen people this month in a move the hospital CEO said arose from financial strain.

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Monroe prison killer deserves death, jury finds — Inside the courtroom Wednesday, Monroe corrections officer Jayme Biendl’s family sat as they have for the past two years, shoulder-to-shoulder, hand-in-hand, bearing the burden, the grief together. The strength of a family tested by a single act of a violence. The strength of a family holding up under the weight. Biendl’s family listened as a Snohomish County jury’s verdict was read. Byron Scherf should die for murdering Biendl, jurors concluded.

END DEATH TRAPS

► In today’s Seattle Times — No easy solutions after Bangladesh factory deaths (by Jon Talton) — Many Americans would be surprised to realize how many of the clothes in their closets and drawers come from sweat shops, workers toiling in abysmal conditions — indeed lethal conditions. But this is one of the consequences of the globalization and trade deals of the past quarter century. Not so long ago, much apparel sold in U.S. stores was made in the Carolinas. That industry has been nearly destroyed as hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost and the industry went to the developing world for cheap labor. In most cases, the agreements didn’t set requirements for worker safety and wages, or for environmental protection.

► In The Onion — Bangladesh factory owners vow to change nothing so this happens again — “This terrible loss of life has not opened our eyes to the conditions for workers throughout Bangladesh, and we promise to take the proper inaction so that we can guarantee all safety hazards are completely and fully ignored,” wrote Wal-Mart contractor Sujon Majumdar on behalf of over 2,000 plant owners, who vowed to stand idly by and do absolutely nothing within their power to prevent another catastrophe. “In our opinion, the workers of Bangladesh are our least important resource and deserve nothing more than unsafe and inhumane working conditions. Rest assured, this will happen again on our watch.”

NATIONAL

► In today’s NY Times — An onset of woes raise questions on Obama’s agenda — Thwarted on Capitol Hill, stymied in the Middle East and now beset by scandal, President Obama has reached a point just six months after a heady re-election where the second term he had hoped for has collided with the second term he actually has.

► In today’s NY Times — The real IRS scandal (op-ed) — Why does the I.R.S. give political groups tax-exempt status at all?

► In today’s NY Times — Take politics away from IRS (editorial) — If social welfare groups had to disclose their political donors, the confusion and abuse would end.

► In The Hill — Immigration group in House facing make-or-break moment — A bipartisan House immigration group faces a make-or-break meeting Thursday night in search of an agreement, with Republicans saying they will move ahead on legislation without Democrats if a deal is not struck.

► At AFL-CIO Now — Missouri House passes ‘Paycheck Deception,’ but veto expected — Thanks to a strong mobilization by Missouri working families and their unions and allies, the close vote — that included several Republicans who voted against the bill — means that Gov. Jay Nixon’s (D) expected veto cannot be overridden.

► At AFL-CIO Now — Effort to stop Koch brothers’ takeover of LA Times gains momentum — Hundreds of Los Angeles residents march and rally to urge Oaktree Capital Management not to sell the respected Los Angeles Times to right-wing extremists David and Charles Koch.

TODAY’S MUST-READ

► At Huffington Post — Cutting Social Security and not taxing Wall Street (by Dean Baker) — As we move toward the fifth anniversary of the great financial crisis of 2008, people should be outraged that cutting Social Security is now on the national agenda, while taxing Wall Street is not. After all, if we take at face value the claims made back in 2008 by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner, Wall Street excesses brought the economy to the brink of collapse. But now the Wall Street behemoths are bigger than ever and President Obama is looking to cut the Social Security benefits of retirees. That will teach the Wall Street boys to be more responsible in the future.

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.

OLYMPIA (May 16, 2013) — State employee counselors, advisors, resident directors and others at The Evergreen State College voted Wednesday night by a 90% margin to authorize job actions up to and including strike action. This is the first strike vote taken by the Washington Federation of State Employees at any level since the successful statewide “rolling” strike of 2001.

This comes after the unit of 55 Student Support Services Staff still has no agreement on due process for disciplinary actions (just cause) and compensation. Bargaining on their first contract started 16 months ago.

The vote to authorize a possible strike was 45-5 or 90%. That met the two-thirds majority required by the Washington Federation of State Employees for any strike vote.

There’s no date for any possible strike. The union and the TESC administration have a scheduled bargaining session May 21.

The TESC Student Support Services Staff are non-management exempt staff who won collective bargaining rights under 2007 legislation.

Federation local unions have already pledged more than $20,000 to support any strike action at TESC.

ALSO at The Stand — New video chronicles “A Year of Bargaining” at Evergreen