DAILY NEWS
Subsidizing Boeing job loss, Alcoa reprieve, divide and conquer…
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
STATE GOVERNMENT
► From KPLU — House Democrats pick up some Republican support for bill to tie Boeing tax break to jobs — A group of House Democratic lawmakers is trying again to link Boeing’s tax break to the number of jobs the company keeps in the state. This time, they’ve won support from two Republicans: Reps. Cary Condotta (R-Wenatchee) and Richard DeBolt (R-Chehalis).
► In the Bellingham Herald — Ericksen’s bill would prohibit state agency from setting carbon cap — A new bill sponsored by Sen. Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale) takes aim at Gov. Jay Inslee’s carbon policies by prohibiting state regulators from adopting rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions without legislative direction.
► JOB OPPORTUNITY with the state Veterans Affairs Dept. — Veterans Apprenticeship Program Specialist — Are you interested in developing statewide apprenticeship opportunities and pathways to skilled trades and employment and training programs for veterans and individuals transitioning from military service? As the Veterans Apprenticeship Program Specialist you will provide organization-wide and statewide project management and coordination responsibilities and serve as an expert in the area of apprenticeships and workforce development. This position will be responsible for developing recommendations and strategic plans with a statewide impact and must exercise a high level of independent judgment.
LOCAL
► From Slog — SMASH offers healthcare aid to low-income Seattle musicians, industry professionals — A new nonprofit organization called SMASH (Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare) has arisen to provide “health education, advocacy, and healthcare” to low-income Seattle-area musicians and music-business professionals.
► From Medium.com — A sex advice columnist says unions are great — Sex advice columnist and podcaster Dan Savage has supported unions and working people for pretty much his entire adult life. He has talked about how union contracts were an important first place for sexual equality wins — where gay couples won health care and retirement benefits and other basic protections offered for years to heterosexual married couples.
IMMIGRATION
► In today’s NY Times — The Supreme Court, the Nativists and Immigrants (editorial) — President Obama’s action to protect undocumented parents from deportation was well within his authority.
► In today’s Washington Post — U.S. undocumented immigrant population falls below 11 million, continuing nearly decade-long decline, report says — The total undocumented immigrant population of 10.9 million is the lowest since 2003, says the report from the Center for Migration Studies. The number of undocumented immigrants has fallen each year since 2008, the report says, driven primarily by a steady decline in migrants from Mexico.
TODAY’S MUST-READS
► From The National Journal — How politicians divide, conquer, and confuse American workers based on race — Since the 1960s, American workers have been subjected to a steady drumbeat of political messages designed to divide them by race and class, resulting in a dramatic weakening of bargaining power and job security. That is the conclusion of an analysis of nearly 50 years worth of political and economics data by Ian Haney López, Boalt Professor of Law at U.C. Berkeley… “When we are artificially divided, … we lose,” Trumka said. “The labor movement is not big enough to [counteract] negative messages alone, which is why we’ve been reaching out to political progressives, civil-rights organizations, environmental groups, and others.”
► From Huffington Post — Who lost the white working class? (by Robert Reich) — Why did the white working class abandon the Democrats? The conventional answer is Republicans skillfully played the race card… True, but this isn’t the whole story. Democrats also abandoned the white working class. Democrats have occupied the White House for 16 of the last 24 years, and in that time scored some important victories for working families — the Affordable Care Act, an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Family and Medical Leave Act, for example. But they’ve done nothing to change the vicious cycle of wealth and power that has rigged the economy for the benefit of those at the top, and undermined the working class. In some respects, Democrats have been complicit in it.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.