DAILY NEWS
UWMC rally today, Kelso teachers strike, united we bargain…
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
REMINDER
TEACHER STRIKES
► In today’s Seattle Times — Union suspends strike; school to start Thursday in Seattle — The Seattle Education Association’s board of directors and its representative assembly both voted to recommend approval of a tentative agreement.
ALSO at The Stand — Seattle teachers suspend strike, back to work
► In today’s (Longview) Daily News — Kelso schools closed Wednesday as teachers strike — Despite 11th-hour negotiations between Kelso’s teachers union and the district Tuesday, schools will be closed today. In a letter to parents, the district said “there will be no access to schools until the strike is over.” The Kelso Education Association voted “overwhelmingly” Monday night to go on strike effective Wednesday morning.
► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Pasco teachers union pays $5,600 fine — The Pasco teachers union has paid $5,600 in court-ordered fines for continuing its strike against the Pasco School District. But a judge has yet to decided if the fines on individual union leaders must still be paid.
LOCAL
► In today’s Seattle Times — Haggen plans broad retreat from costly expansion, filing shows — The Bellingham grocer expects to shed most of the sites acquired in its ambitious 146-store deal, bankruptcy documents show.
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Snohomish County Council to vote on mostly symbolic hiring freeze — Council members are set to vote Wednesday on imposing a hiring freeze for government employees, in another sign of unease over finances. The move might put other leaders on notice, but the main effect would be symbolic.
► In today’s Columbian — Tax info crucial for laid-off firefighters — Battle Ground will switch its firefighting contractor next year, but what that will mean for the 11 firefighters facing layoffs at Clark County Fire & Rescue in large part depends on the city’s next property tax valuation.
STATE GOVERNMENT
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Washington marijuana sales amount to $357 million in 15 months — One-third of a billion dollars. Sales of all marijuana products topped that figure in the first 15 months recreational marijuana has been available in the state.
BOEING
► In today’s P.S. Business Journal — This is why Boeing is moving slowly, deliberately as 737 Max assembly begins — Boeing is ramping up production across many of Washington state’s assembly lines and putting pressure on suppliers to keep up the pace. But there’s one place where Boeing is moving slowly and deliberately: Renton’s new 737 Max production line.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
► From Politico — Ex-Im opponents scoff as GE moves jobs overseas
► From The Hill — Dems press GOP leaders to quickly renew Ex-Im
► From TPM — White House, Reid say they’d OK short-term funding bill to avoid shutdown
NATIONAL
► From AFP — UAW, Fiat Chrysler reach tentative deal — The United Auto Workers union said it had reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for a new four-year labor contract. The deal will serve as a template for the UAW’s contracts with two other major US automakers — GM and Ford — which are also up for renewal.
► In today’s NY Times — Attitudes shift on paid leave: Dads sue, too — As men shoulder more responsibilities at home, they are increasingly taking legal action against employers that they say refuse to accommodate their roles as fathers.
► From Huffington Post — Disgraced United CEO is the reason for income inequality (by Leo W. Gerard) — Jeff Smisek, the guy forced by scandal to resign last week as CEO of the world’s fourth-largest airline, is a major reason American workers can’t get a raise. Smisek and his overpaid boardroom buddies nationwide have swindled American workers and American communities in a scam to amass wealth for themselves and well-heeled stockholders. They’ve extracted value from corporations and put it in their pockets and shareholders’ purses almost to the complete exclusion of investing in their corporations to create new wealth and prosperity.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.