ELECTION

► At SeattlePI.com — Poll shows Initiative 1125 losing support — “After gaining ground over the summer, support for I-1125 dropped from 56% in September to 43% last week,” pollster Stuart Elway wrote. “At the same time, opposition grew from 25% to 36%. The proportion of undecided voters has remained relatively steady all year at around 20%.”

► In today’s Seattle Times — I-1125 would make bad situation worse (by Brad Smith of Microsoft) — This year major employers, business organizations, labor unions, community leaders, environmentalists and transportation experts in Washington state have all come together to oppose Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1125. These groups have joined because they share an important goal: boosting our economic recovery and the state’s competitiveness through an adequate and safe transportation system. I-1125 does the opposite.

ALSO SEE — Labor, business agree: NO on I-1125 (The Stand)

► In the News Tribune — We’re better off without I-1183’s liquor privatization (editorial) — The reality is that dramatically expanding access to distilled spirits – which I-1183 would do – is bound to have social costs that outweigh the benefits of privatization. We’re also not enamored by the spectacle of a single company, Costco, attempting to purchase an election and buy a state policy that would pump untold millions into its bottom line.

ALSO SEE — As mail ballots arrive, labor recommends… (The Stand)

► At Politico — Ohio poll: Repeal anti-union law — An overwhelming majority of Ohio voters favor repealing a new anti-union law backed by Gov. John Kasich and opposition to the measure has increased sharply in the past month.

STATE GOVERNMENT

► From AP — State Sen. Scott White died of cardiac problem — State Sen. Scott White died over the weekend of a cardiac problem linked to an undiagnosed enlarged heart, a coroner said Sunday. The 41-year-old politician, a transit advocate and rising star in the Democratic Party, was found dead Friday at a Washington resort hotel where he was attending a conference.

EDITOR’S NOTE –An education fund has been established at Wells Fargo Bank for Sen. White’s two children, ages 5 and 3. Make contributions to: Scott White Memorial Fund, PO Box 95675, Seattle, WA, 98145-2675.

► In today’s Olympian — House GOP targets budget — House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt is floating the idea of making $2 billion in new budget cuts by Christmas and skipping next year’s 60-day legislative session. Gov. Chris Gregoire has said she plans to call lawmakers to Olympia to start a 30-day special session on Nov. 28. But there doesn’t appear to be a lot of takers on the Democratic side for DeBolt’s proposal, which he thinks could save $2 million.

► From AP — Employment Security Dept. laying off 222 — The state agency that processes unemployment claims issued notices Friday that it will cut 222 jobs in January. An agency spokeswoman says more layoffs are expected next summer.

BOEING

► In today’s News Tribune — More than 80,000 Boeing jobs in state for first time since 1999 — New figures show Boeing employed 80,666 workers in Washington at the end of September. That’s the highest figure since December 1999, when the company had 80,900 workers on its payroll. Since last December, the company has added 7,049 employees to its Washington work force.

► At Crosscut — The great big battle over the next ‘Baby Boeing’ — Regional leadership is lining up its ducks in an effort to convince Boeing to build the next generation of 737s here. One contender is the historic site of a Boeing factory at Boeing Field. Here’s a survey of the issues and the fault lines in the local team.

LOCAL

► In the (Everett) Herald — Social Security defenders speak up — Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington State Labor Council, said he thinks it is important to strengthen Social Security by changing or scrapping the cap. “There are folks that would like to destroy this system,” he said. “They want to chip away at this system. We’re at an FDR moment, a defining moment, in the nation’s history.” Johnson and others suggest that people who support Social Security contact Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a member of the deficit-reduction committee, and tell her so.

► In The Columbian — Hundreds march across I-5 bridge in “Jobs with Justice” demonstration — The march, themed “Good Jobs for All! No Cuts!” highlighted concerns over labor struggles involving the Hilton Vancouver Washington, Georgia-Pacific in Portland and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in Longview, among others.

► In today’s Columbian — Vancouver, biggest union reach 4-year deal — Vancouver struck a four-year deal Monday night with its largest union that will put employees in charge of paying for any health care premium increases above 5%. The city council approved a contract with the 183 members of the AFSCME union — which make up 19% of Vancouver’s 961-person workforce.

► In today’s News Tribune — Tacoma teacher strike cost estimate: $566,000 — The Tacoma teachers strike lasted eight days in September, but the school district is still tallying up the impacts, both financial and otherwise. The total doesn’t include the cost of one item the teachers union raised as an issue in the strike: the district’s hiring of an outside consulting firm, Seattle-based Washington Employers Association, to help negotiate on behalf of the district.

► In the (Longview) Daily News — Cowlitz commissioners to vote on E-Verify requirements for contractors — Cowlitz County commissioners on Tuesday will vote on requiring contractors to verify their workers’ citizenship if they want county contracts.

NATIONAL

► In The Hill — Trumka: Need for infrastructure spending a ‘no-brainer’ — Leaders of the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce made the case Sunday for more infrastructure spending. “We can’t be competitive in a global economy unless we have infrastructure that allows us to be competitive,” Trumka said. “This is really a no-brainer.”

► From AP — Mexican truck is first in delayed NAFTA program — A Mexican truck crossed into the U.S. on Friday bound for the nation’s interior, fulfilling a long-delayed provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement that had been stalled for years by concerns it could put highway safety and American jobs at risk.

► In The Hill — Republicans take second crack at NLRB — On Wednesday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee is scheduled to mark up legislation that would negate several of the labor board’s actions this year, including a proposed regulation to speed up union elections.

► At In These Times — Can non-traditional labor organizations really represent workers? — Last week, the National Taxi Workers Alliance became the first nontraditional labor group to join the AFL-CIO as an affiliate since the 1960s, when the United Farm Workers were admitted to the labor union federation. The alliance isn’t a union; since cab drivers often work as independent contractors and rarely share common employers, they legally cannot organize and bargain collectively.

TODAY’S MUST-READ

► In today’s Seattle Times — Jobs aplenty that Americans don’t want (Danny Westneat column) — It’s surreal that as some Americans rally in the streets, supposedly in part for jobs, as Congress squabbles over a jobs bill and the presidential campaign is all jobs talk all the time, there are a thousand real jobs on farms in Eastern Washington that we can’t get anybody to do. Because we’ve scared away the only people willing. Migrant laborers aren’t here this year in their usual numbers, due to hostility to anyone in the country illegally. If we don’t calm down and just welcome immigrants to do the work we still won’t, it won’t be long before our fruit, like everything else, says “made in China.”

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 9 a.m. Make this electronic “clip service” your first stop each morning! These links are functional on the date of posting, but sometimes expire.