:: rawblogXport ::

:: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 ::

Union protests Georgia-Pacific hiring out-of-state workers
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Unemployed union steamfitters, electricians and plumbers are protesting Georgia-Pacific's decision to hire a nonunion contractor with out-of-state workers to expand its paper mill on the lower Columbia River.

The decision comes after Georgia-Pacific won a $12 million tax break to add a $200 million tissue-paper machine to its Wauna paper mill. The mill, 56 miles northwest of Portland, is part of an enterprise zone, a statewide economic development tool used to attract investment.

Illinois DOT and workers' union team up to stress safe driving in work zones The Laborers International Union is unveiling a new billboard this week urging motorists to slow down and drive safely in work zones. The billboard shows the flagger who died in May sitting in the woods with his son with the message, "Me and my daddy. Daddy was killed in a construction zone. Now I'm alone. Please slow down."

Quarter of Highway Bridges Are Deficient
WASHINGTON -- More than a quarter of all U.S. highway bridges are considered deficient, a high number but a marked improvement after a decade of increased government spending.

The number of bridges considered deficient -- they need repairs, cannot adequately handle traffic loads or do not meet safety standards -- declined 18 percent from 1992 to 2002, from 199,090 to 163,010, according to an Associated Press computer analysis of Federal Highway Administration data.

That new total still amounts to 28 percent of bridges.

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