WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement Tuesday on reports that the Department of Defense has further delayed the awarding of the contract to replace the U.S. Air Force’s aging aerial refueling tankers:

"These endless delays come at the expense of our men and women in uniform, American workers, and our economy. I want to hear directly from the Pentagon on why we are again delaying this contract for a company that has had ample time to bid and compete. I also want to know why we continue to bend over backwards to accommodate an illegally subsidized foreign company.

"Concession after concession has been made to keep Airbus at the table. Yet we have seen no bid and no sign that they are willing to play by the rules. In fact, all we have seen are delay tactics and repeated efforts to gain U.S. market share and undercut American workers.

"Boeing’s workers have the know-how and product to build these tankers. They are ready to compete. It’s time to stop playing the waiting game and get these tankers into the hands of our men and women in uniform."

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If you want to know what life in the Third World is like, just ask Lisa Pack, an administrative assistant who works in the roads and transportation department in Jefferson County, Alabama. Pack got rudely introduced to life in post-crisis America last August, when word came down that she and 1,000 of her fellow public employees would have to take a little unpaid vacation for a while. The county, it turned out, was more than $5 billion in debt — meaning that courthouses, jails and sheriff's precincts had to be closed so that Wall Street banks could be paid.

As public services in and around Birmingham were stripped to the bone, Pack struggled to support her family on a weekly unemployment check of $260. Nearly a fourth of that went to pay for her health insurance, which the county no longer covered. She also fielded calls from laid-off co-workers who had it even tougher. "I'd be on the phone sometimes until two in the morning," she says. "I had to talk more than one person out of suicide. For some of the men supporting families, it was so hard — foreclosure, bankruptcy. I'd go to bed at night, and I'd be in tears."

Homes stood empty, businesses were boarded up, and parts of already-blighted Birmingham began to take on the feel of a ghost town. There were also a few bills that were unique to the area — like the $64 sewer bill that Pack and her family paid each month. "Yeah, it went up about 400 percent just over the past few years," she says.

Posted By Mike Hall On April 6, 2010 @ 2:48 pm In Corporate Greed, In the States | No Comments

After an explosion at a Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Wash., killed five United Steelworkers ([1] USW) members and severely injured two other workers, the petroleum industry claimed its safety record is exemplary. Says USW President Leo W. Gerard:

It’s incredible this industry brags about its safety record just after five people were killed in a refinery explosion.

After the April 2 explosion, officials of the American Petroleum Institute told reporters that the industry was not getting enough credit for its health and safety record, citing drops in injury and illnesses rates during the past several years.

Also, says the USW, National Petrochemical & Refiners Association officials bragged that the industry has a lower injury rate than the U.S. manufacturing sector as a whole.  Says Gerard:

The problem is the injury and illness rates the trade associations cite are misleading and do not give the full picture of health and safety within the refining sector. The recordable injury rates that [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] OSHA collects measure items like slips, falls, sprains and fractures, not poor safety practices that lead to incidents like explosions and fires. There’s a difference between a sprained ankle and an explosion that kills five people.

The USW members killed were Matthew C. Bowen, 31; Darrin J. Hoines, 43; Daniel J. Aldridge, 50;  Kathryn Powell, 29, and Donna Van Dreumel, 36. Two others are still hospitalized with severe burns. They are USW member Matt Gumbel, 34 and Lew Janz, 41, a supervisor and longtime USW member.

WASHINGTON – Today, as part of its ongoing commitment to continuously improve housing relief efforts, the Administration announced adjustments to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) programs. These program adjustments will better assist responsible homeowners who have been affected by the economic crisis through no fault of their own. The program modifications will expand flexibility for mortgage servicers and originators to assist more unemployed homeowners and to help more people who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth because their local markets saw large declines in home values. These changes will help the Administration meet its goal of stabilizing housing markets by offering a second chance to up to 3 to 4 million struggling homeowners through the end of 2012. Costs will be shared between the private sector and the Federal Government; the Federal cost of these changes will be funded through the $50 billion allocation for housing programs under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Click here to read the full press release.

Fellow Anglers and Sportsmen/Sportswomen,

 The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance is holding the 1st  Annual Turkey Hunting contests.  We invite you to share this with your union friends and family, as we challenge all members across North America to Harvest, photograph, and enter your wild turkey in this years’ competition.  Please click on the link below for all details. If you are unable to click the link, you can find out all the information, by going to our website www.unionsportsmen.org 

Tim’s Turkey Hunting Contests

http://www.unionsportsmen.org/index.php/promotions/turkeycontest2010

The North Central Washington Central Labor Council will hold a rally on
 April 6 at 6:00 p.m. in support of FAMILY WAGE JOBS at Centennial Park on Wenatchee Avenue. 
 
The current recession has been devastating for a large and growing number of families in the region.  Thousands have lost their jobs and homes or had their business go bankrupt.  If this was not tragic enough, many local employers have decided that the current economic environment has provided them with the opportunity to attack the wages and benefits of workers who are the heart and soul of our community.
 
The time for action is NOW!  Whether you belong to a union or not, please join us on April 6th.  Let the political and economic powers in the region know that everyone who works day in and day out are struggling to raise their families and pay for even the most basic services such as shelter and health care.  People deserve to be paid a living wage with benefits.  It is imperative that we send a message to local city and county government that now is the time to move forward on economic development that will create sustainable family wage jobs that will benefit everyone in North Central Washington.
 
There will be guest speakers, food, soda and water.

From Associated Press and staff reports
March 25, 2010

Giving a boost to Eastern Washington, state lawmakers last week passed a temporary sales-tax break for companies that build and operate server farms in rural areas.

The sales and use tax exemption, which would take effect in April and last until 2018, applies to server equipment, software and electric infrastructure at eligible computer data centers in rural areas.

The measure was approved on a 91-2 vote in the state House and heads to Gov. Chris Gregoire for final adoption.

Supporters said the tax exemption will help Washington compete for construction of server farms, the massive, computer-filled buildings that tech companies use to handle data storage and Internet traffic for e-mail, instant messaging and other products.

“The Port of Quincy is very excited about the passage of (the bill), as it will help attract more development and expansion of high-tech industries, such as data centers, in rural areas of Washington such as Quincy,” said Curt Morris, the Port of Quincy’s commission president.

“As a result, the Port of Quincy greatly appreciates the legislature’s passage of (the bill), which will create new economic development and jobs and greatly increase our rural property tax base.”

A handful of data centers already are operating in Eastern Washington, which boasts cheap hydroelectric power and ample real estate. But in 2007, the state ruled that data centers were not covered by a sales tax break meant for manufacturers.

The House of Representatives made history last night with its vote to renovate America’s health care system – extending coverage to millions of working families and ending abusive insurance industry practices.

Taking on a multimillion dollar campaign funded by big insurance companies to kill the bill, the House voted 220-211 to make health care reform a reality.

Said IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill:

This bill is a big first step on the road toward reforming our health care system so it works for everyone. Since the days of Harry Truman, comprehensive health reform has been a top priority for the labor movement. Last night Congress and President Obama made history by taking tough action against the insurance industry and making affordable and comprehensive health care coverage available for millions of working Americans.

As reported on the AFL-CIO Blog, the bill will:

•Immediately stop greed-driven insurance company abuses such as denying care based on pre-existing conditions
•Toughen penalties on employers that try to run from their responsibilities
•Put the burden of paying for health care where it belongs–on the wealthy
•Get life-saving health coverage to 30 million more people and improve coverage for millions more
•Reduce prescription drug costs for seniors and save money for small businesses.
The House bill contains most of the main features of the Senate version, which was passed with a supermajority of 60 senators on Christmas Eve.

Last night the House also passed a reconciliation bill that contains improvements to the original Senate version of the bill. The reconciliation bill now moves on to the Senate for a vote.

To watch President Hill talk about the health care bill, click below:

By Michelle Dunlop
Herald Writer

EVERETT — The Boeing Co.’s tanker will create 10 times as many U.S. jobs as its former competitor’s would have, according to a study paid for by Boeing.

The study, released Wednesday, by consulting firm Sonecon, LLC, was funded by Boeing before its rival, duo Northrop Grumman and EADS, withdrew from a $35 billion contest to supply the Air Force with aerial refueling tankers.

Boeing’s tanker, based on the Everett-built 767 jet, will create 62,606 to 70,706 jobs in the United States over the 20-year life of the contract, according to the study. The job figures in the report refer to direct positions only and do not include jobs created at suppliers or other indirect jobs.

About 12,000 of the jobs will be in Washington state, Boeing reports separately. Boeing also says that 70 suppliers here in the state will work on its KC-767 tanker.

“The great thing about our aerospace industrial base is that it translates into good jobs and long-term employment in Washington state and around the country,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., in a statement.

The Northrop and EADS tanker, which would have been based on an Airbus A330 jet, would create only about 7,080 new jobs in this country, according to the study. The parent company of Airbus, EADS planned to have its and Northrop’s tanker assembled in Mobile, Ala. Leaders from European countries have voiced concerns over the fairness of the Air Force’s contest, after Northrop and EADS said the competition was slanted in Boeing’s favor.

Full Article