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Council backs I-124, Smith backs Jayapal, Obama backs trickle-down…

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

 


LOCAL

 

I-124-seattle-protects-women_sq► From The Stranger — Seattle City Council endorses ballot measure to give hotel workers new protections against sexual harassment — The Seattle City Council voted Monday to officially get behind an initiative to offer hotel workers new protections against sexual harassment and workplace injury. Initiative 124, which will be on Seattle voters’ ballot this fall, would require panic buttons and other protections against sexual harassment and assault. It would also require hotel owners to help pay workers’ healthcare, limit housekeepers’ workloads, and protect workers’ jobs when hotels transfer ownership.

ALSO at The Stand — I-124 would protect women working in Seattle’s hotels

► In today’s Seattle Times — Federal judge says he won’t let union hold Seattle police reform ‘hostage’ — U.S. District Judge James Robart, pointedly reacting to the Seattle police union’s rejection of a tentative contract, said Monday he would not let the powerful labor group hold the city “hostage” by linking wages to constitutional policing. Kevin Stuckey, the new president of the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild, said the union is prepared to sit down with the city and reach a deal.

► Today in Union Thuggery™ — IAM 751 motorcycle event raises $10,000 for charity — Machinists Union District Lodge 751’s 15th annual Puppy Putt motorcycle event raised nearly $10,000 for Guide Dogs of America, which provides service dogs and training in their use free of charge to people who are blind or have impaired vision.

 


STATE ELECTIONS

 

► In today’s Seattle Times — Raising minimum wage (via I-1433) would drive out youngest workers (by Preston Cooper of the Manhattan Institute, a Koch-funded think tank in New York) — Federal law permits workers under the age of 20 to earn no less than $4.25 an hour for their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment. But since more restrictive state laws supersede federal laws, young Washingtonians cannot take advantage of this exemption.

ALSO TODAY at The Stand — Right-wingers bring same old scare tactics to young workers

Photo by Joe Mabel (from Wikimedia Commons)► From The Stranger — Pramila Jayapal lands Congressman Adam Smith’s endorsement in the race for the 7th — “I’ve watched Pramila work for the last 15 years, delivering real results for the people of the Puget Sound region, both as an organizer and as an elected official,” Smith said. “I’ve worked closely with her on a number of issues from immigration reform to minimum wage, and am impressed with her ability to work towards real solutions while bringing strong coalitions together. Rarely do we have the opportunity to elect someone to the House who brings this level of vision, experience, leadership and relationships to the table.”

► From AP — Latest poll shows Clinton, Inslee leading in Washington

► In the Spokesman-Review — Poll has bad news for Trump, Bryant in Washington

► In the (Everett) Herald — Gubernatorial candidate Bryant says he won’t vote for Trump

EDITOR’S NOTE — Apparently, Washington says it won’t vote for either of them.

 


NATIONAL ELECTIONS

 

► In today’s Washington Post — Trump proposes ideological test for Muslim immigrants and visitors to the U.S. — Donald Trump called for a Cold War-style mobilization against “radical Islamic terror,” repeating and repackaging calls for strict immigration controls — including a new ideological litmus test for Muslim visitors and migrants — and blaming the current level of worldwide terrorist attacks on President Obama and Hillary Clinton.

► From Politico — How we killed the Tea Party (by Paul Jossey) — Greedy super PACs drained the movement with endless pleas for money to support “conservative” candidates — while instead using the money to enrich themselves. I should know. I worked for one of them.

 


TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

 

Obama-Then-I-Said-trade► From Politico — Obama to take trade battle to the heartland — The White House is making an all-out push to win passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in the lame-duck session of Congress, organizing 30 events over the congressional recess to gin up support for the agreement. Despite his embrace of Clinton, Obama has been unwilling to abandon a deal that he regards as central to his legacy simply to avoid political fallout for her campaign. The White House’s increasingly aggressive push on trade is only further alienating the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. They fear Obama is discrediting Clinton among working class voters by continuing to press for a vote in the lame duck.

trickle-down► In today’s Washington Post — Here’s why we’re still arguing about trickle-down tax policy (by Jared Bernstein) — If facts could kill the trickle-down myth, I’d be giving its eulogy at its gravesite. Instead, part of what’s going on here is that candidates like Donald Trump are doing the bidding of their wealthy donors, if not themselves… But the real target of these plans is the size of government itself. Since large tax cuts don’t come close to paying for themselves and Republicans won’t countenance any tax increases, the only way to truly offset the cuts is to reduce spending. Consider the distributional outcomes from this scenario: the tax cuts benefit the wealthy while the spending cuts invariably whack the poor. What’s so misguided about all of this is that, based on just demographics alone — not to mention climate change, geopolitics, and inequality — meeting our future challenges will demand more, not less, tax revenue.

► ICYMI in the Rolling Stone — A Republican Workers’ Party? (by Matt Taibbi) — If we’re going to be honest about what’s happened in the last 30 or 40 years, the new iteration of the Democratic Party has embraced hocus-pocus neoliberal theory that is not much different from trickle-down economics. The Democratic Party leaders have been fervent believers in the globalization religion since the late Eighties, when the braintrust at the Democratic Leadership Council made a calculated decision to transform the party from one that depended largely on unions for financial and logistical support to one that embraced corporate objectives, in particular free trade.

 


NATIONAL

 

► From Politico — $15 minimum wage movement to vote on organizing mass fast-food worker strike — The “Fight for $15” minimum wage movement will hold its first-ever convention Saturday, where roughly 3,000 who will vote on a resolution calling for mass strikes among fast-food workers nationwide.

► From the Catholic Labor Network– Catholic Hospital negotiation on opposite coasts turn in opposite directions — After many months at the bargaining table, where staffing levels were a major sticking point, members of the Washington State Nurses Association ratified a contract August 3 covering nurses at Spokane’s Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. In Western New York a different story is unfolding.

 


TODAY IN NONSENSE™

 

walker-scott-15► Today in Nonsense — Walker blames Clinton for ‘inflaming situation’ in Milwaukee — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) says Hillary Clinton‘s response to the unrest occurring in Milwaukee is only making the situation worse.

EDITOR’S NOTE — What did Clinton say? “Look at what’s happening in Milwaukee right now; we’ve got urgent work to do to rebuild trust between police and communities. And get back to the fundamental principle: Everyone should have respect for the law and be respected by the law.”

Meanwhile, in Scott Walker’s backyard, the Milwaukee County Sheriff blames the protests on “the growth of the underclass.” A staunch opponent of Black Lives Matter, Sheriff David Clarke previously called Ferguson protesters “vultures on a roadside carcass” and has gone so far as to say that Black Lives Matter would eventually team up with the terrorist group ISIS.

Or perhaps, Walker should read this from the Associated Press — By many measures, Milwaukee is toughest U.S. city for blacks

 


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