NEWS ROUNDUP
IAM’s 777X talks, stalled UW contract, everyday heroes…
Monday, November 4, 2013
BOEING
ALSO at The Stand — Washington is the clear choice for the 777X (by David Groves)
ELECTION
“West Coast airports have been leaders in addressing the issues of low pay and high turnover in our airports,” said Ken Jacobs, chairman of the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. He argues that low pay “has impacts on the airports themselves in terms of turnover and quality of performance that affect safety and security.”
ALSO at The Stand — Alaska Airlines fighting to keep wages low (Oct. 29) — In bankrolling the “no” campaign, Alaska Airlines is joined by other SeaTac corporate interests that want to maintain low wages in the area, including the car rental companies, the large chain hotels, and the Washington Restaurant Association.
► From AP — State elections have national implications — In the airport city of SeaTac, a campaign backed by labor unions seeks to raise the minimum wage to $15 for many workers. In Whatcom County, an unprecedented amount of outside money is influencing an election that may shape whether the area becomes home to the largest coal shipping terminal on the West Coast. Statewide, voters will decide whether to put labels on genetically modified foods in a campaign that has drawn hefty donations from food industry businesses such as PepsiCo, Monsanto and General Mills.
LOCAL
ALSO at The Stand — UW English Language Faculty struggling to get fair 1st contract (Oct. 22)
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Spokane Police Guild approves contract with city — A tentative labor contract for the Spokane police union appears dead on arrival in City Council chambers because it fails to embrace the recent voter-approved mandate about investigating officer wrongdoing.
► In the (Longview) Daily News — Longview teachers, district stall on contract talks — For now, there’s still no talk of a strike, and the two sides have tentatively scheduled another round of bargaining talks for Nov. 18.
► From AP — Record farm production in 2012 in Washington — Washington is the nation’s top apple producer, growing about 60 percent of the U.S. crop. Washington also leads the nation in sweet cherries, pears, red raspberries and hops.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Mmmm. Hops.
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
► At TPM — How insurers are hiding Obamacare benefits from customers — Across the country, insurance companies have sent misleading letters to consumers, trying to lock them into the companies’ own, sometimes more expensive health insurance plans rather than let them shop for insurance and tax credits on the Obamacare marketplaces.
► In today’s NY Times — Under the ACA, millions eligible for free policies — Millions of people could qualify for federal subsidies that will pay the entire monthly cost of some health care plans being offered in the online marketplaces, a surprising figure that has not garnered much attention, in part because the zero-premium plans come with serious trade-offs.
► In Sunday’s NY Times — Insurance policies not worth keeping (editorial) — This overblown controversy has also obscured the crux of what health care reform is trying to do, which is to guarantee that everyone can buy insurance without being turned away or charged exorbitant rates for pre-existing conditions and that everyone can receive benefits that really protect them against financial or medical disaster, not illusory benefits that prove inadequate when a crisis strikes.
► In the New Republic — The media labeled her an Obamacare victim. Here’s what she really thinks. — “I would jump at it,” she said of her new health insurance options under the ACA. “With my age, things can happen. I don’t want to have bills that could make me bankrupt. I don’t want to lose my house… Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.”
► At Huffington Post — Lessons of Obamacare mess: Public is better (by Robert Kuttner) — there was a much simpler way of achieving this. We could have extended Medicare to everyone. Or if that was politically unthinkable, we could have extended Medicare a few years at a time — first to 60 year olds, then to 55 year olds, then to the young, and so on until everyone was covered.
NATIONAL
► In today’s NY Times — Senate vote on workplace bias against gays poses test for GOP — A major test of how carefully Republicans can navigate the intraparty politics of sexuality will come on Monday, when the Senate holds a crucial vote on a bill to outlaw workplace discrimination against gay men, lesbians and transgender people.
► From ABC News — Top hospital suspends black lung program after ABC News report — Johns Hopkins Medicine has suspended its black lung program pending a review in response to an ABC News investigation with the Center for Public Integrity that showed how medical opinions from doctors at the prestigious hospital have helped the coal companies thwart efforts by ailing mine workers to receive disability benefits.
TODAY’S MUST-SEE
► A bus driver is being hailed as a hero for preventing a woman from jumping off a bridge over a Buffalo highway. Darnell Barton stopped his bus over the Scajaquada Expressway when he saw the women standing on the wrong side of the guardrail.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.