Who spent what on politics
Whether it was the race for the presidency or for the U.S. Senate, candidates undoubtedly spent a ton of money on political ads this year.

And it was the Republicans - mostly backed by big business - who spent the lion's share on political spending when expenditures are examined nationwide.

According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the business community contributed $841.8 million to political candidates and parties from the start of 1999 through Sept. 30. Union campaign finance committees contributed $56.3 million.

That's an incredible amount of money, but must people who watch television or listen to the radio - especially in the swing state of Michigan - would say there's no doubt that a record amount was spend on campaigning this year.

All told, the business community outspent labor 15-1 in political contributions, compared to 11-1 in the last presidential election.

Most of the business spending was in so-called "soft money" - unlimited donations direct from business and lobbies for issue ads or to political parties, which then use it for candidates.

That's why the only chance labor-friendly candidates have to win elections is through grass-roots campaigning.

Native tribes have right to work (for less?)
In a recent decision that could open a hole in federal labor law, an appellate court panel ruled that Native American tribes could enact right-to-work laws.

By a 2-1 vote in a case involving the Pueblo of San Juan, N.M., and a timber company from Idaho, a three-judge panel of the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said tribal sovereignty overrode the National Labor Relations Act because both the law and Congress were silent on NLRA's application to tribes.

The National Labor Relations Board, joined by Local 1385 of the Western Council of Industrial Workers, part of the Carpenters, sued to uphold the federal law. The tribe drew support from the anti-worker National Right-to-Work Legal Defense Foundation.

"I think the potential impact of this is enormous," says Mike Pieti, WCIW Executive Secretary-Treasurer. "What if you have a lot of tribal land and GE or some company like that wants to move there and not worry about union security?

"We're unable to bargain on something that was supposed to be bargained. They (the opponents) have added another layer of right-to-work. We'll take this to the Supreme Court if we have to," he added. "This is not a big case in terms of members - we represented 80 - but morally, it's huge."

NLRB spokesman David Parker said the board "is considering seeking review" of the ruling by the full Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

It's Labor vs. Labor Ready
Labor Ready, Inc., one of the nation's largest construction industry temp services, was the target of nationwide protests on October 25 as unions and human rights groups demanded it treat its temps fairly.

"We rally to shine a bright spotlight on a company that still hasn't learned that its most valuable asset is the people who do the work," said AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney. "Even in this new survival-of-the-fittest economy, you won't succeed for long by exploiting workers."

Labor actions in the construction industry are becoming increasingly common against temporary agencies. Nationwide, construction work now rivals temporary work as the number one industry for temps. Each day nearly 250,000 workers are on the job as temps.

Sweeney pointed out that Labor Ready's temps make the "minimum wage and nothing more - no health care, no sick days, no vacation time, no life insurance or disability coverage, no retirement plans or 401ks."

And, unions charge, the company not only exploits its workers, but also cheats the states.

At the shareholders meeting, unions, which own over 500 shares of Labor Ready, questioned whether the company is paying its required share into state worker compensation systems.

Edward Sullivan, AFL-CIO Building and Trades Department President, said that in some states Labor Ready, whose temps work in predominantly manual labor, classified large numbers of their temps as "clerical office employees." In state compensation systems, clerical or white-collar work requires employers to contribute much smaller amounts, mainly because of the low risk of job-related injuries.

"We're calling on Labor Ready to tell us, 'Are you playing by the rules?' " Sullivan said. "Are you paying your share, or are you trying to make an end-run around your responsibilites?"

Construction down but not out
Reversing two months of decline, U.S. construction spending in September advanced 4 percent, to an annual rate of $456.5 billion.

The September rebound brings the nation's construction contracting spending to a level slightly above the 1999 average, depicting an industry that continues to see expansion, but at a more gradual pace than last year.

All told, during the first six months of 2000, construction spending was up 1 percent over a year ago. However, the Midwest region experienced the deepest decline in construction activity compared to a year ago, down 10 percent.

Meanwhile, despite the downtick in spending the construction added 34,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.