DAILY NEWS
TPP threat, port connect-the-dots, piece-rate case…
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
THE THREAT OF T.P.P.
The remaining provisions are very controversial. We know from news leaks and public statements that TPP would grant global corporations new legal rights, expand monopoly protections for pharmaceuticals and relax Wall Street regulations. These would happen while weakening our worker and environmental protections, limiting policy options in public health and restricting Internet freedom. TPP is really about power relationships, granting more power and influence to global corporations — who already have plenty of both.
PORT CONNECT-THE-DOTS
► From AP — West Coast seaports fully reopen as contract talks resume — West Coast seaports fully reopened Monday after two days during which no ships were unloaded amid a labor dispute between dockworkers and their employers.
EDITOR’S NOTE — So why’d the shippers do it?
EDITOR’S NOTE — Umm.. have you ever heard of Fast Track? Well, the weekend shutdown didn’t work. Now what will the PMA try?
► In today’s Oregonian — PMA ratchets up tension by casting doubt on longshore union’s contract demands — The Pacific Maritime Association is making public more details of its contract negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, blasting the union’s demands. For months, the negotiating went on behind closed doors, but the port operators are revealing key details about the talks to ratchet up tension.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Really? Negotiating in public when they’re in federal mediation? They seem pretty laser-focused on blaming dock workers for everything, rather than reaching a deal. What about the ILWU claims that there is no port slowdown at all, but instead, congestion is due to short-sighted cost-cutting moves by the shippers to use mega-ships and sell off their chassis operation?
► In Calif. Apparel News — More chassis might not solve port congestion problem — As larger cargo container ships, known as mega-ships, keep arriving at the two ports, containers quickly stack up on the docks. Chassis shortages and dislocations have been a major contributor to the port congestion problem… Getting the kinks ironed out of the chassis problem is key to getting the ports running efficiently.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Huh.
REFINERY STRIKE
ALSO at The Stand — Refinery workers taking a life-or-death stand (by Leo W. Gerard)
► From Reuters — USW, Shell to resume talks Tuesday over U.S. refinery pact — Royal Dutch Shell and the United Steelworkers union will resume negotiations on Tuesday over a new labor contract for U.S. refinery workers, the company said on Monday as the walkouts stretched into their ninth day.
STATE GOVERNMENT
► In today’s Seattle Times — Time for Olympia to clear roadblocks for a transportation package (editorial) — For at least two years, the state Legislature has been seized in an unproductive argument about whether and how to approve a multibillion-dollar transportation investment package. It’s past time to end the melodrama and get the state moving again. The Legislature should seize the opportunity now because fuel prices are at their lowest levels in a decade. Lawmakers should also wrap up a transportation deal before fierce negotiations begin on an education-focused operating budget.
► In today’s News Tribune — Bill would require ballots to note costs of initiatives — Voters’ ballots would note the potential financial impact of initiatives under a measure debated on Monday before a Senate committee.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Higher-ed spending in Texas lured UW’s president — Texas A&M University might not be as highly ranked in national ratings as the University of Washington, and College Station is no Seattle. But Texas has one thing Washington does not: more money for higher education.
LOCAL
► In the Yakima H-R — Piece-rate break case attracts nationwide interest — A variety of labor advocates, farm industry associations and government agencies have filed seven briefs on the ramifications of requiring agricultural employers to pay piece-rate workers separately for rest breaks.
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Fire District 1 to float ‘benefit charge’ — One of Snohomish County’s largest fire districts is rethinking how it does business. Fire District 1, serving much of southwest county, may add what’s called a “benefit charge” that would replace part of the fire levy.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
► From AP — Republican-controlled Congress to vote to repeal NLRB rule — Congressional Republicans launched a drive Monday to repeal a recent National Labor Relations Board rule updating procedures for union representation elections, setting up a likely veto showdown with President Barack Obama.
► At TruthOut — Obama’s 2016 budget is relatively good on Social Security (by Diane Archer) — While President Obama’s proposed Medicare policies leave a lot to be desired, he gets it right on Social Security. The president proposes to move tax revenue from the Social Security retirement fund to the Social Security disability fund, which would otherwise not be able to pay full benefits towards the end of 2016. And, he has dropped his proposal for a reduction in benefits through a chained CPI.
► In today’s NY Times — Left, right align in fighting Obama’s trade agenda — An odd marriage of convenience between liberal Democrats and Tea Party Republicans is squeezing President Obama on his ambitious trade agenda, forcing the White House and top Republicans to fight a two-front war on an international economic effort the president hopes to secure before he leaves office.
► At Politico — At stake in immigration debate: Billions of dollars — Immigration riders attached to the Homeland Security spending bill by the House GOP turn out to actually widen the budget deficit over the next 10 years. As a result, the $39.7 billion measure will need a supermajority of 60 votes under Senate budget rules, even if Republicans get past the Democratic filibuster.
► At Politico — Senate GOP low on Homeland Security options — Senate Republicans are running low on options on funding for the Department of Homeland Security — staying tangled in a messy fight over President Obama’s executive actions on immigration as time runs short before the Feb. 27 deadline.
NATIONAL
► At Huffington Post — Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner blocks unions from collecting ‘fair share’ fees — Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) continued his campaign against labor unions on Monday, using executive authority to block public employee unions from collecting mandatory fees from workers. An AFSCME spokespersons said the union doesn’t use fair share fees for political contributions and called the move “a blatantly illegal abuse of power.”
► At AFL-CIO Now — Christie says ‘NO’ to Buy American — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) didn’t veto just one Buy American bill, he vetoed five Buy American bills that passed the New Jersey Legislature with bipartisan support.
► At Think Progress — Tennessee’s drug tests for welfare snare 37 people out of 16,000 applicants — Less than one half of one percent of Tennesseeans who applied for public assistance flunked a drug test in the first six months of the state’s experiment with drug screenings for welfare recipients.
EDITOR’S NOTE — We’d be willing to bet more than 37 of the 535 members of Congress would fail such a test.
► At BuzzFeed — To avoid ACA fee, Staples threatens to fire staff for working more than a 25-hour week — In 2015, an Affordable Care Act provision requiring large employers to offer health insurance to staff working more than 30 hours a week kicked into effect. Now, some part-time staff at Staples say management has become extra vigilant about limiting their hours.
EDITOR’S NOTE — As we needed another reason to avoid Staples.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.