in the Olympian today:

Labor leaders downcast on movement's holiday

BY JIM SZYMANSKI AND ROLF BOONE

On this Labor Day, amid the barbecues, beer and merriment of a holiday, state labor leaders are searching their souls about the state and future of the union movement.

Boeing Machinists are striking against a backdrop of an overall state work force that is 80 percent nonunion. Gasoline prices are at record highs, eating into family budgets, and health care premiums continue to rise as state labor leaders gird for a slow, long-haul campaign to win back the relevancy of workers uniting to improve their lots in life rather than succeeding or failing on their own.

"Anyone who's out there eating hot dogs or carrying balloons on Labor Day ought to be thinking differently," said David Rolf, president of the 28,000-member Service Employees International Union, Local 775, in Seattle.

"Labor unions today," he said, "are totally irrelevant to entire sectors of our economy."

A few facts that were not included in this article:

• Government is unionized at a much higher rate (36%) than private labor (8%).
• Two occupational groups -- educational, training, and library occupations and protective service occupations -- had the highest unionized rates in 2004, at about 37% each. (Protective service occupations include fire fighters and police officers.)
• Washington State is above average for total unionized labor (19%).

Now, given that Olympia is in Washington State (hence above average in unionization), the state capital (hence populated with government workers), and a college town (hence populated with educators), isn't it likely that labor in this town IS relevant to most sectors of the local economy?