DAILY NEWS
Gateway Pacific, more on Michigan, labor’s future…
Thursday, December 13, 2012
GATEWAY PACIFIC
► In today’s Columbian — Coal hearing draws hundreds at Clark College — About 700 people crammed into two hearing rooms at Clark College, waiting for their turn to testify on the $600 million Gateway Pacific Terminal planned for Cherry Point in Whatcom County. (Also see coverage in the Daily News.)
► In today’s Seattle Times — Big turnout expected for coal transit-project hearing — Several thousand people will gather at the Washington State Convention Center Thursday to weigh in on plans to export Rocky Mountain coal to Asia through ports in Washington and Oregon.
For more information, visit gatewaypacificterminal.com.
LOCAL
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Boeing employment levels off, but hiring continues — Employment at the Boeing Co. in Washington may have peaked in November. But that doesn’t mean the jet maker isn’t continuing to hire.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Assault on Walla Walla corrections officers possibly gang-related — Three officers suffered “significant injuries” in the assault Tuesday, which began in the commons area of the prison at about 1:15 p.m. Corrections officials said “multiple offenders” attacked the officers, but other prison staff intervened, and secured the unit within minutes.
► At UW’s PNW blog —
STATE GOVERNMENT
► In today’s Seattle Times — Legislature: Put future benefits ahead of temporary savings (by Jerry Large) — A new report from Washington Community Action Network, “Facing Race: 2012 Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity,” grades members of the Senate and House on whether their actions in the last session made life better or worse for residents who are already wrestling with significant disadvantages. The report helps readers understand how race, ethnicity or other attributes hamper the lives of some Washington residents more than others.
► In today’s Olympian — Enterprise services leaders say agency consolidations saving money— Leaders at Washington’s newest government agency, Enterprise Services, say the biggest restructuring of state agencies in 20 years is bearing fruit after one year.
RIGHT-TO-WORK (FOR LESS)
► At AFL-CIO Now — No public input and signed in secret, Michigan ‘right-to-work’ for less law goes into effect in April — With as many as 15,000 people swarming the state Capitol in Lansing denouncing Snyder and the legislature for bowing to the likes of the Koch brothers, Grover Norquist, the American Legislative Exchange Council and the extremes of the Republican Party, Snyder retreated behind closed doors to sign the legislation and, only after the fact, announced his signature.
► In today’s Washington Post — Groups vow to push ‘right-to-work’ in other states — The conservative groups that supported Michigan’s new “right to work” law vowed Wednesday to replicate that success elsewhere. But the search for the next Michigan could be difficult.
► In today’s Oakland Press — Michigan Democrats could seek ballot proposal to overturn right-to-work laws
► In the Michigan Chronicle — Big 3 automakers reportedly worried about right-to-work legislation
► In today’s Seattle Times — The right to work (for a lot less) (by Jon Talton) — In the America that was, unions played a critical role in the delicate balance that created widely shared prosperity and opportunity. Both unions and big business had their flaws and moments of over-reaching, but big business got even bigger, crowding out, killing off and buying competitors in numerous industries, and tilting the field against new competition, effective regulation and workers. As a result, ALEC, backed by consolidated industries, quasi-monopolies and cartels, writes bills such as the one passed in Michigan. And average Americans keep seeing their wealth erode and their economic mobility stymied. The echo chamber that controls much of the media has convinced millions that this is because of “union thugs.” It’s because of thugs all right, but not unions.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Word.
► In today’s USA Today — Union jobs build the middle class (by Richard Trumka) — Instead of asking how working people can do better, the critics say middle-class workers with good union jobs don’t deserve their hard-earned benefits. Attacks on unions, including the “right-to-work” laws, grease this downward slide. Slashing pay and silencing workers are the worst ways for businesses to profit. The right way is to recognize that when workers have a voice, everyone succeeds. Now, critics are right on one point: The world is changing, and the labor movement hasn’t done enough to adapt. That’s why we’re working closely with young people and community allies to ensure every worker has a voice on the job.
LABOR’S FUTURE
► In the American Prospect — Alternative futures for labor (by SEIU 775NW’s David Rolf) — America’s unions and our allies must have the courage to acknowledge that the crisis we face cannot be met with old models and old tools. We must imagine an alternative future, even if we do not yet know what form it will take. We must embrace risk and failure as necessary elements of a long-term strategy for success.
► In The Nation — Walmart workers model ‘minority unionism’— A leading labor expert says the OUR Walmart campaign, which last month mounted a strike by 500 retail store employees, demonstrates the potential of an oft-debated model: what scholars call “minority unionism.”
HOLIDAYS
NATIONAL
► In today’s Washington Post — At federal government agencies, survey finds lagging job satisfaction — It’s no secret that federal workers are feeling worn down. They’ve had their salaries frozen and are at the center of a partisan debate over the value of their work. A report due out Thursday, based on the largest sample ever of the workforce of 2 million, confirms a steady decline in morale and ebbing commitment.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 9 a.m.