Last week brought a victory for Microsoft temp workers and temp workers of all types in all industries. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Microsoft's temporary workers can qualify for the same stock option benefits as permanent employees. The original definition of a temporary contract worker typically involves working for only a short period of time or a limited number of hours, or working for more than one employer while maintaining control over your own work. The court ruled that Microsoft's temp workers don't meet the usual definition of temporary contract workers (in other words, they work more than part-time, they work on long-term assignments, Microsoft controls the nature of their work, and Microsoft supplies the office space and equipment that these workers use). This decision only affects the access to the stock option plan and not access to health insurance, sick leave, paid holidays, and vacation benefits. Those will be ruled on in separate cases. The court, however, shocked Microsoft by expanding the class of workers affected by the decision from the small group of original plaintiffs to any temp workers who worked at least part-time for five months or longer since the company went public in 1986. Stephen Strong and David Stobaugh are the attorneys handling the case.--Maria Tomchick From: "Ruling Favors Microsoft Temps," by Tina Kelley, The New York Times, 5/14/99, and "Court Broadens Class in Microsoft Case," Reuters, 5/14/99.

Tina Podlodowski's decision to bow out of this year's city council race spreads the field that had been crowding into the one previous open seat being abandoned by Sue Donaldson. The most immediate effect was that we'll see Charlie Chong again; as soon as Tina quit, Charlie jumped in, and his name recognition almost guarantees that he'll at least survive the primary. But there are longer-term impacts to the decision by Podlodowski, who had been widely seen as maneuvering for a future mayoral run. That had led to council friction with another rumored mayoral aspirant, Peter Steinbrueck, who is in the process of being re-elected without serious opposition. Steinbrueck has been quietly edging toward the center in many of his less public council stances; a survey by Mayor Schell's office reportedly revealed recently that Steinbrueck, of all council members, had the record of voting most consistently with Schell--a seemingly odd match of Green council member and pro-developer mayor. Depending on the appetite of the so-far surprisingly quiet Schell for multiple terms, Steinbrueck is no lock to continue his visible role as (along with Nick Licata) one of the two outspoken populists on city council. Such populists have a hard time getting elected mayor. Just ask Charlie Chong. But, of course, there's no guaranteee that Podlowoski--who reportedly has more of an appetite for the top-down executive business world than the rampant committeeism of city council--won't run for mayor anyway. She's got plenty of time, and money.--Geov Parrish

An item from the as always invaluable Anderson Valley Advertiser ( 12451 Anderson Valley Way, Boonville CA 95415, $40/year): "...Tokyo just elected a fascist mayor. Shintaro Ishihara defeated 19 other candidates who wanted to lead Japan's largest city. Among other blood and steel notions inspiring Mr. Ishihara, the new mayor claims a return to `Asian values' will save Japan from an international financial conspiracy against Asia mounted by American Jewish bankers. His latest book arguing the conspiracy case is called `Declaration of Economic War.' It contains a chapter called `The Bullying of Asia by the Merciless American Jewish Trio' of Robert Rubin, Madeleine Albright and George Soros. Ishihara promises to reintroduce `moral education' in Tokyo's schools, the course of instruction favored Japanese fascists forced on all the Japan in the pre-World War Two era."

Regular ETS! contributor Troy Skeels is one of the minds behind a cool new free quarterly newsprint publication, Instant Planet. It's around town; check it out! --G.P.

Well, the German Greens have voted to support the bombing of Serbia and Kosovo. But it wasn't an easy poll: the Green Party leadership had to invoke the specter of a national crisis to get the grassroots to go along. German Foreign Minister and Green Party member Joschka Fisher and other party leaders, such as Antje Radcke and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, lamented that a vote against the bombing would split the German government coalition apart and force the Socialists to dump the Greens in search of a more willing partner. Yet Fisher also said that, regardless of the vote's outcome, he would never implement an unconditional, open-ended NATO ceasefire...which begs the obvious question: was there really a crisis, or was the Green Party leadership just screwing its membership? Nevertheless, the tactic worked, and it allowed Cohn-Bendit to wax philosophical: "The time has come to choose between force and cowardice." Yet it seems the Green leadership chose both--and possibly at the cost of a split within the Green Party between those willing to support power at any price and those who support the party platform of peace and non-interventionism. The anti-bombing delegates pointed out that the NATO bombing had not prevented a single deportation, killing, or rape in Kosovo, and that it had destroyed all signs of a healthy opposition to Milosevic in Serbia. Fortunately, there's still a healthy opposition to the Green leadership: during the debate over this vote, several hundred Green Party members formed a human chain around the conference building and attempted to block the entrance. Baton-wielding police arrested 50 people. But one protester broke the crowd and threw a paint bomb in Fisher's face.--M.T. From: "German Greens swallow bitter pill, back military action in Kosovo," AFP, 5/14/99.

What does it say about diversity in our highest political circles when only two out of the well over a dozen declared presidential candidates oppose the Kosovo bombings: Pat Buchanan and Dan Quayle? Every other Republican and every Democrat thinks it's a swell idea. This despite a split Congress and a skeptical public. Once again, the folks in charge simply assume that they know better than us little people. In the earlier stages of this country, such attitudes fomented revolution. Why people think they have a voice in how this country is governed--or why they don't demand one-- mystifies me.--G.P.

Workers at the enormous Powell's Bookstore in Portland, Ore., voted this month to join the ILWU. The 360 workers first created their own organization, Local 5, then sought support from ILWU and from bibliophiles nationwide who aided the workers on "union supporter shopping days" by buying books at the store or over the Internet. Next: Border's Books/Music/Videos/Union Shop?

R.I.P. Shel Silverstein.