NEWS ROUNDUP

Nothing can be done, TPP still wrong, never #1…

Friday, October 2, 2015

LOCAL

► From The Onion — ‘No way to prevent this,’ says only nation where this regularly happens — “This was a terrible tragedy, but sometimes these things just happen and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them,” said Lindsay Bennett, echoing sentiments expressed by tens of millions of individuals who reside in a nation where over half of the world’s deadliest mass shootings have occurred in the past 50 years and whose citizens are 20 times more likely to die of gun violence than those of other developed nations.

► In today’s Oregonian — NLRB rules longshoremen intentionally slowed work, made threats in 2012 — But the union dispute with the container-terminal operator at the Port of Portland is not over. The leader of the Portland chapter of the ILWU said the union will appeal the board’s decision to a federal court of appeals.

► In today’s Columbian — Vancouver to receive $790,000 in pot excise taxes — Vancouver City Manager Eric Holmes said he was surprised at how much money Vancouver was getting in marijuana tax revenue. He noted that the long-term reliability of the revenue amount was uncertain, given that Oregon legalized sales of recreational marijuana Thursday.

EDITOR’S NOTE — By comparison, Lacey got $17, 451. C’mon, Lacey!

BOEING

► From The Hill — Pelosi backs discharge petition on Ex-Im Bank — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed Thursday that Democrats will happily join Republican supporters of the Export-Import Bank in their bid to force a vote to renew its charter.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Dear Commercial Media:

Please ask Republican members of Washington’s congressional delegation whether they plan to sign this discharge petition and allow a fair vote on this issue that’s so important to Washington’s economy — and if not, why not. Thanks in advance.

Sincerely, The Entire Staff of The Stand.

► MUST-SEE from British Airways — Building the 787-9 Dreamliner (timelapse)

TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

► In today’s Washington Post — Negotiators say they’re close to a final accord on TPP — U.S. negotiators on Thursday closed in on a final agreement on an expansive Asia-Pacific trade deal, but congressional leaders cautioned that the accord should not be rushed to completion over fears that a subpar deal could lose support among lawmakers.

► From The Hill — House lawmakers express concern about TPP autos provision — A bipartisan group of House lawmakers are worried that proposed rule of origin standards on autos in a Pacific trade deal will hurt the U.S. industry.

► From Politico — What’s still wrong with the TPP (by Rep. Sander Levin) — To fully appreciate what’s at stake, it’s worth looking at what has occurred in auto manufacturing since another major trade deal: NAFTA. In the two decades since it took effect, a major integration of the U.S. and Mexican auto industries has occurred, and Mexico has become the seventh largest producer of vehicles worldwide… Mexico’s comparative advantage in auto manufacturing is significantly constructed on the fact that Mexican industrial workers are paid 1/5th as much as their American counterparts, or less. They do so in a system where the laws are in violation of international worker rights standards and where the system is thoroughly stacked against workers.

CAMPAIGN 2016

► In the Guardian — Trump Hotel workers use candidate’s anti-Latino rhetoric to galvanize union — Organizers in Las Vegas channel outrage into political and union engagement by group that makes up bulk of employees — and a powerful swing state voting bloc.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

► BREAKING from AP — Education Secretary Arne Duncan leaving, sources say — Education Secretary Arne Duncan is stepping down in December after 7 years in the Obama administration. President Obama is tapping Education Department official John King Jr. as acting secretary through the end of his term. But Obama is not nominating King to be secretary.

► From AFL-CIO Now — Senate Republicans just let Perkins Loans die — The House found a rare moment of agreement on Monday, passing a bill by unanimous vote to reauthorize a program that since 1958 has provided colleges with matching funds to provide low-interest loans to students with exceptional financial need. But Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) refused to bring the bill up for consideration, letting the program expire.

► In today’s NY Times — Voodoo never dies (by Paul Krugman) — The tax cuts favored by every Republican candidate just happen to be exactly what rich donors want.

NATIONAL

► In today’s NY Times — Jobs report is lackluster, raising concern on the economy’s course — Employers added a mere 142,000 jobs in September, suggesting that the American economy is losing momentum after a similarly lackluster report for the previous month. The official unemployment rate held steady at 5.1 percent, but hourly wages for private sector workers actually fell slightly after jumping by a relatively robust 0.4 percent in August.

► In today’s WSJ — Women in the workplace — Why aren’t there more women in the upper ranks of corporate America? A major new study by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Co reveals that despite some progress, women are still underrepresented at every level in corporations, and that they face a playing field that they believe is anything but level. A Journal Report looks at what’s holding back women—and what can be done to make progress toward gender equality.

► In today’s NY Times — UAW contract vote at Fiat Chrysler takes a populist tone — A deal by the union’s leadership and the automaker was soundly rejected by rank-and-file workers, who “feel like the leadership has insulted them,” as one autoworker put it.

► From AP — Newark teachers union not in love with breakthrough contract — It was hailed as a breakthrough when the bargain was struck: Top-performing teachers in Newark could get bigger paychecks.

► In today’s NY Times — Private probation company accused of abuses in Tennessee — Providence Community Corrections jailed people who were too poor to pay court fines for traffic violations and misdemeanors, a lawsuit says.

T.G.I.F.

► Trivia Time! What rock band holds the record for the most U.S. Top 40 hits without ever having scored a No. 1 single? Why, it’s the Electric Light Orchestra! This cover of the Chuck Berry classic “Roll Over Beethoven,” the first of ELO’s 20 singles to hit the U.S. top 40, was a perfect introduction to a band that aimed to create modern rock songs with classical overtones. Enjoy.

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.