DAILY NEWS
Everett gets 777X wing, just 13 votes, ObamaTrade…
Monday, February 17, 2014
BOEING
► In today’s Seattle Times — Boeing picks Everett for building wing of 777X — Boeing has decided to build the new 777X wing facility next to the widebody jet final-assembly plant in Everett, assuring more than a decade of work on advanced composite materials for thousands of Snohomish County workers. An announcement is expected as early as Tuesday.
► At Labor Notes — Outrage at Boeing spurs reformers’ bid for top spots at Machinists Union — For the first time in more than 50 years, the IAM will hold a contested election for top officers. The vote was ordered by the Department of Labor after member Karen Asuncion protested violations in the union’s 2013 uncontested election. An opposition slate, IAM Reform, is headed by former Transportation Coordinator Jay Cronk. Cronk is a former officer because he was fired, after more than 20 years at the International, eight days after he announced his candidacy.
STATE GOVERNMENT
► In the Olympian — Feds relent; no mental-health privatization imminent in Washington — The federal government is stepping back from requiring that Washington change how it spends mental-health money.
► In today’s Seattle Times — State legislators older, richer, less diverse than population — A Seattle Times analysis found that, overall, Washington’s 147-member Legislature tends to be wealthier, older and less diverse than the population it represents. The typical legislator here is similar to those across the nation: a mid-50s white guy.
LOCAL
► In the Olympian — GOP Rep. Doc Hastings calls it quits after 20 years, delighting environmentalists — Washington state Republican Rep. Doc Hastings is calling it quits after 20 years in Congress, an unexpected announcement that drew both cheers and jeers Thursday in the nation’s capital.
► In the Yakima H-R — Candidates emerge for Hastings’ seat in U.S. House — The potential names include former state legislator and Department of Agriculture director Dan Newhouse, state Sen. Jania Holmquist Newbry (R-Moses Lake), Rep. Charles Ross (R-Naches), Sen. Sharon Brown (R-Kennewick), Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck, and Benton County Commissioner Jerome Delvin, a former state lawmaker.
► In the News Tribune — Power line workers, city of Tacoma to re-enter mediation — The city of Tacoma and a union of workers who maintain high-voltage power lines for the city and Tacoma Public Utilities are entering a second round of mediation.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Meanwhile, these folks are working hard outside right now in this miserable weather to restore power to thousands of families.
► In the News Tribune — Pierce County Jail outsources medical care, lays off 15 — The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department began contracting out medical care at the county jail Feb. 1 in a cost-cutting move that laid off 15 full-time workers.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
► From AP — House Dems try to force votes on wage, immigration — House Democrats are determined to cast an election-year spotlight on Republican opposition to raising the minimum wage and overhauling immigration laws. To try to accomplish that in the GOP-controlled House, Democrats are planning to rely on an infrequently used, rarely successful tactic known as a “discharge petition.”
NATIONAL
EDITOR’S NOTE — In Washington state, there are still a few pro-labor radio programs, including:
“We Do The Work,” which airs on KSVR 91.7 FM in Slagit County.
Labor Neighbor Radio, which are on KBCS 93.1 in Bellevue and on KGHI 91.5 in Westport.
Labor programs on KSER 90.7 FM in Everett, including ““Radio Labor Journal.”
► In today’s NY Times — Labor regroups in South after VW vote — Volkswagen labor officials in Germany renewed calls on Sunday for the company’s three-year-old plant here to establish a German-style works council even though its workers voted days earlier against unionizing.
► From AP — After UAW defeat, can GOP fulfill promise of jobs? — Attention turns to whether the GOP can fulfill its promises that keeping the union out means more jobs will come rolling in.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.