Progressive news from near and far

condensed and compiled by Paul Schafer

Instant Runoff Voting Initiative Filed

The Coalition for Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) in Washington has filed an initiative with the Washington Secretary of State entitled "The Voter's Full Choice Initiative." IRV would replace the two "dueling" primary systems being debated in Olympia. Initiative backers contend that primaries are costly and poorly attended, and that IRV not only is a much fairer system for electing officeholders, it will also save taxpayer money. To vote under the IRV system, voters rank each candidate as their first choice, second choice, third, and so on, which means that the field need not be winnowed down before the general election with a costly primary.

Backers also believe that mainsteam politicians will be convinced of the value of IRV when they realize that it solves the "spoiler" problem as major-party candidates are likely to benefit from being picked as a second or third choice by minor-party voters. Other advantages to IRV are probable increases in voter interest and turnout; better reflection of the will of the people; clearer mandate for a winning candidate's position (because no candidate ever wins with less than 50% support); emphasis on positive, issue-based campaigns; and an easy-to-understand system. For further information, including details of how IRV works, see The Coalition for Instant Runoff Voting site at www.irvoting.org/. (Works in Progress, Thurston County, April 2004)

$115,000 Seattle Strip-Search Suit settlement

Jasmine Wells and Brian Walton, college students from Alaska, were Christmas-shopping in downtown Seattle on November 30, 2000. Their visit coincided with an evening assembly of activists commemorating the WTO protest of exactly one year before. The two students, who had never even heard of the WTO, stepped out of a coffee shop right as Seattle Police were making a sweep of all persons on that part of Fourth Avenue, including shoppers and bystanders. They were handcuffed and taken to King County Jail, even after showing police their Christmas purchases. They were released on bond the next morning, but while in custody they were strip searched and subjected to body-cavity inspections, which, in Ms. Wells's case, violated a twenty-year-old federal injunction against strip searches of women charged with minor offenses ("Pedestrian Interference" and "Failure to Disperse"). Wells and Walton sued in district court, alleging a number of claims ranging from arrest without probable cause to malicious prosecution. King County and the City of Seattle settled the suit on May 21, 2003, paying $115,000, and agreeing to change the strip-search policies at King County jails. (Prison Legal News, Seattle, WA, March 2004)

State Worker Unions Endorse Gregoire

After months of candidates' forums, candidate visits to union meetings, and interviews of the four major candidates, the Statewide Executive Board of the WFSE/AFSCME (Washington Federation of State Employees, affiliated with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) overwhelmingly endorsed Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire for governor on February 20th.

WFSE/AFSCME Executive Director Greg Devereux told reporters at a SeaTac press conference, "She's fair and decisive, and those are critical traits in any effective leader." Gregoire said of the endorsement, "It's particularly meaningful to me because I'm a former member of the Federation." Three-term AG Gregoire was praised as having "top-to-bottom" knowledge of state government, having started out years ago as a clerk typist. (Washington State Employee [WFSE/AFSCME], Olympia, WA, April 2004)

Tight Labor Victory at Powell's Books

International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 5 of Portland, Oregon, struggled for nine months in a dispute with Powell's Books before reaching a tentative agreement on March 2. Union members had mostly positive opinions of the agreement. Employee Jason Chan, who works at the West Burnside "City of Books" location, said that though the pay increases were "very weak," the health care package was "decent." Chan added that "health care is the most prominent concern for people here [Powell's] and I'll be willing to vote for it." ILWU Local 5 President Mary Winzig felt confident that union membership would ratify the new contract. Winzig also praised the contract's language, stating that, "We got a sunset clause on discipline, notification of discipline, and broader union access to other stores and warehouses." She also pointed out the lack of a co-payment for preferred health-care providers, saying that "if we had a 10% co-pay, that would have been devastating, especially for folks with kids." The tentative agreement provides a 2% raise in April of every year through 2007, which Winzig put into historical perspective, saying, "In the era of the Bush Regime, we were able to get a pay raise." (Portland Alliance, Portland OR, April 2004)

Oregon AFL-CIO backs Darigold boycott

The Oregon AFL-CIO has removed Bi-Mart, Cummins Northwest Inc., and Certaintead Corporation from their annually updated Do Not Patronize/Unfair List. Bi-Mart, after being on the list for several years, was removed after it was purchased by employees. But Wal-Mart stores, Shilo Inns, Plympton & Associates, Dunkin & Bush Inc., and Darigold remain on the Do Not Patronize list. Darigold was added at the request of the Teamsters union, after the national AFL-CIO called for a boycott of Darigold to support 200 workers from Teamsters Local 66 in Seattle, who have been locked out of their jobs since August 31, 2003. After Local 66's contract expired in July 2003, workers rejected a contract proposal "because Darigold shifted too much of the costs of health care onto the workers, in addition to wage cuts and unlimited right to subcontract any work at any time," said Teamsters spokesman Chip Roth. After this rejection, Darigold didn't negotiate; they went straight for the lockout on around Labor Day. Soon after, Darigold shut down a warehouse in Oregon and laid off fourteen employees, and then outsourced sixty truck-driver jobs.

The national boycott targets all Darigold products, including milk, butter, yogurt, ice cream, and novelty dairy items. (Northwest Labor Press, Portland OR, April 2, 2004)

Blocking a Bridge For Grizzlies

The Flathead National Forest issued a special permit to the Flathead Snowmobile Association last November for the construction of an eight-foot wide steel bridge. This bridge gave snowmobiles and ATVs access to areas in the northern Swan Mountains.

The Swan View Coalition sued to have the bridge removed, noting in the lawsuit that the bridge would allow motorized access into a wildlife habitat after March 15th, when grizzlies are emerging from their dens, a period when grizzlies and their cubs have been shown to be especially vulnerable to motorized disturbances. The suit also alleged that the legally required planning process for the bridge had not been conducted.

In response to the lawsuit, the Forest Service quickly agreed to remove the bridge. As it is still covered with six feet of snow, barricades have been erected to block access until the snowmobile club can remove the bridge in early summer.

Keith Hammer of the Swan View Coalition said that the Forest Service issued the bridge permit knowing it would be brought to court, in order to "shift blame for motorized closures to the conservation community," but Forest Service spokeswoman Denise Germann denied that accusation. (The Missoula Independent, March 25, 2004)