NEWS ROUNDUP
Prison safety, ‘training wages,’ silica rule, we gently weep…
Friday, April 22, 2016
STATE GOVERNMENT
► Call to Action from WFSE — Stand with Special Commitment Center members! — The Special Commitment Center wants to require 18 security guards to fight fires at $10 a fire. Ten bucks a fire is insulting! Call DSHS Secretary Pat Lashway at (360) 902-7800 and demand a safe workplace with professional firefighters that are trained and paid for life-saving work on McNeil Island.
MINIMUM WAGE
► From Fast Company — After a year, Seattle’s new minimum wage hasn’t raised retail prices — Researchers from the University of Washington presented data that showed “little or no evidence” of price increases in most sectors. Before the minimum wage law took effect, most retailers said they would have to charge more — and most low-wage workers were worried that they would have to spend more for necessities. So far, that hasn’t happened.
LOCAL
► From the Western Front — Lawyer: WWU defies labor law — The unpaid training courses required of students working in advising positions on Western Washington University’s campus do not appear to be following the federal and Washington state labor laws, said a Seattle-based attorney specializing in wage-and-hour law.
► From The Stranger — Tim Eyman declares war on Sound Transit — again — While his latest offering, Initiative 1421, doesn’t mention the words “Sound Transit,” Eyman’s intent is clear. The initiative would cap car-tab fees at $30 statewide. Today, those fees vary across the state and are higher in Seattle and the surrounding area because of an added fee that helps fund Sound Transit.
► From KUOW — Tesoro’s Anacortes refinery fined for federal violations — The Environmental Protection Agency wants the refinery to pay about $720,000 for safety violations that were spotted during an inspection five years ago. According to the EPA, accident prevention plans for workers handling chemicals were not clear.
BOEING
► In today’s Seattle Times — Boeing to offer buyouts to 200 South Carolina workers — Boeing plans voluntary layoffs among engineering employees at its North Charleston, S.C., complex. The cuts would be the first such reduction for the North Charleston complex. In the Puget Sound region, Boeing has begun cuts expected to eliminate 4,000 jobs, and at least one unit has targeted a 10 percent cut, according to an internal document obtained by The Seattle Times. Across Boeing’s local workforce, such a cut would amount to 8,000 jobs.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
► From Politico — Ryan says he doesn’t have the votes to pass a budget — Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday said he does not have enough GOP support to pass a budget, something he once called the basic function of governing when he was House Budget chairman. When Democrats failed to pass budgets while they were in the majority, Republicans pilloried them for failing to do their job.
NATIONAL
► From Huffington Post — The legal problem that could crash Uber — If Uber’s drivers are really independent contractors like the company claims, it could be breaking a whole different set of laws: The antitrust statutes that protect consumers from corporate collusion.
► From The Guardian — Airbnb’s controversial deal with labor union falls apart after intense backlash — Discussions between Airbnb and the SEIU fell apart in the face of criticism from other labor unions that represent hotel workers as well as the SEIU’s own members.
THANK YOU
► Words can’t describe…
R.I.P. Prince Rogers Nelson.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.