DAILY NEWS
Sakuma caves, IBT takes on Uber, big NLRB ruling, working sick…
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
LOCAL
► In the Skagit Valley Herald — Sakuma Bros. Farms to allow farmworkers to vote on union representation
ALSO at The Stand — Glaziers’ strike slows construction in Seattle, Everett, elsewhere
► In the (Everett) Herald — Window installers strike against major glass contractors
► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Unions halt Hanford tank work over vapor protection — The Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council called a halt Monday to any work in the Hanford tank farms without supplied air respirators. Dave Molnaa, president of HAMTC, said he would not lift the stop-work order until supplied air respirators are mandatory for all work in Hanford tank farms.
ALSO at The Stand — Hanford work halted over safety concerns
► From The American Prospect — Seattle progressives fight inequality: Teamsters take on Uber — Teamsters Local 117 has mounted a multi-pronged campaign to organize the city’s for-hire drivers, those who sit at the wheels of 1,000 regulated yellow and orange cabs, as well as their nearly 10,000 competitors who are deployed via apps backed by billions in venture capital at Uber and Lyft. For all the drama surrounding Uber’s invasion of America’s cities, this battle in Seattle is unique because the Teamsters aim to build a union that unites what are usually two opposing groups or workers. Their goal is to build one union that wields power for all the for-hire drivers, not an association without bargaining rights or worker power.
► From The Stranger — REI workers call for better pay and working conditions, consider unionization — Low-level REI employees, including some in Seattle, say they struggle with too few hours and too much scheduling unpredictability, making it hard to live off their jobs at the company.
STATE GOVERNMENT
► In today’s Peninsula Daily News — State DOT: Human error resulted in unplanned Hood Canal Bridge closure — An uneven lift span on the state Highway 104 bridge caused the closure when a hydraulic fluid valve that was inadvertently left closed after preventive maintenance work last week.
AEROSPACE
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Boeing supplier Triumph Group to lay off half its Everett workers — The aerospace supplier confirmed plans last week to close its Everett-based subsidiary, Triumph Structures-Everett, by March 2017. It notified the state that it plans to lay off 99 of its roughly 200 employees starting Sept. 30.
► From Bloomberg — Boeing and Airbus rack up orders from Asia, Europe — On Day 2 of the 2016 Farnborough Air Show Tuesday, Boeing pulled ahead of Airbus in the aircraft order stakes, announcing more deals in China and one with Europe’s biggest tour operator, before its European rival hit back with a blockbuster 72-jet sale to Go Airlines India Pvt.
► From AP — Boeing announces 737 deal with Chinese airline — Boeing has announced an order from Kumming Airlines for 10 of its 737 Max 7s, which are designed for operations from high-elevation airports.
ELECTION 2016
► In today’s NY Times — Bernie Sanders, following many of his supporters, is set to back Hillary Clinton — When Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont takes the stage to endorse Hillary Clinton on Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H., a majority of his supporters will have already told pollsters they would back her in a general election.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
► From NPR — Obama renews call for a ‘public option’ in federal health law — The president on Monday called on Congress to revisit the controversial idea of providing a government-run insurance plan as part of the offerings under the Affordable Care Act. He says a lack of competition among insurance plan offerings in some regions may warrant a new look.
► In today’s NY Times — Failed spending bills pile up in Senate amid dispute over budget deal — After years of warfare over fiscal cliffs, government shutdowns and the debt ceiling, congressional Republicans pledged in January to work diligently through the dozen regular spending bills needed to finance the federal government — and Democrats promised to cooperate. But as Congress prepares to recess until September, it has become clear that a presidential election year was not the ideal time to get back to so-called regular order.
NATIONAL
► In today’s Washington Post — Half of America’s childcare workers need food stamps, welfare payments or Medicaid — The people who are paid to watch America’s children tend to live in poverty. Nearly half receive some kind of government assistance: food stamps, welfare money, Medicaid. Their median hourly wage is $9.77 — about $3 below the average janitor’s.
► In today’s NY Times — Rudy Giuliani’s racial myths (editorial) — The country won’t get past its stunted discourse about racialized violence when people like Giuliani are spreading poisonous disinformation.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
EDITOR’S NOTE — Washington state can do something about this public health crisis this fall by voting YES on Initiative 1433.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.