Thursday, September 29, 2016

STATE GOVERNMENT

► In today’s Bellingham Herald — Washington minimum wage on the rise in 2017 — Some workers will get a slight bump in pay on Jan. 1. The state announced the minimum wage will increase 6 cents to $9.53 an hour in 2017. Some areas have approved minimum wages that are higher than the state level, including Seattle and Tacoma.

ALSO TODAY at The Stand — Without I-1433, minimum wage to rise just 6 cents

► From Teamsters 117 — DOC Teamsters awarded 10.5% in interest arbitration decision — All Teamster correctional employees will receive no less than 10.5% over the 2017-19 biennium if funding is approved by the legislature. The award calls for a 4.5% increase effective July 1, 2017; a 3% increase effective July 1, 2018; and a 3% increase effective Jan. 1, 2019 for nearly all classifications. Several classifications will also receive range increases. This award shows the enormous value of having interest arbitration. (In this 2013 photo, Teamsters 117 members rallied at the State Capitol in support of interest arbitration legislation, which passed that session.)

LOCAL

► In the Issaquah Press — Front Street Market sold by longtime owners to Detroit businessman — On Sept. 22, the current owner informed workers they had two weeks of employment remaining at the store. All would be terminated on Oct. 6 but could reapply for jobs with the store’s new owner. There will be one significant difference, however. Front Street Market workers were unionized, represented by UFCW Local 21. But the store’s new owner is advertising for workers on Craigslist at pay rates as low as $10 per hour.

► In today’s Olympian — Former Oyster House employees picket, allege hostile, dysfunctional workplace — A number of former Oyster House employees picketed their former employer on Wednesday, alleging a host of concerns, including workplace hostility and a toxic, dysfunctional environment.

TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

► MUST-READ in the NY Times — More wealth, more jobs, but not for everyone: What fuels the backlash on trade deals — For generations, libraries full of economics textbooks have rightly promised that global trade expands national wealth by lowering the price of goods, lifting wages and amplifying growth. But trade comes with no assurances that the spoils will be shared equitably.

Across much of the industrialized world, an outsize share of the winnings have been harvested by people with advanced degrees, stock options and the need for accountants. Ordinary laborers have borne the costs and suffered from joblessness and deepening economic anxiety. These costs have proved overwhelming in communities that depend on industry for sustenance, vastly exceeding what economists anticipated. Policy makers under the thrall of neoliberal economic philosophy put stock in the notion that markets could be trusted to bolster social welfare. In doing so, they failed to plan for the trauma that has accompanied the benefits of trade. When millions of workers lost paychecks to foreign competition, they lacked government supports to cushion the blow. As a result, seething anger is upending politics in Europe and North America.

BOEING

► From AFP — Morocco signs deal for major Boeing hub — Morocco signed an agreement with Boeing on Tuesday to build a new hub for the US aerospace giant that officials hope will create thousands of skilled jobs. King Mohammed VI oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding in the northern port city of Tangiers to establish an industrial zone where up to 120 Boeing suppliers and sub-contractors could operate. Industry Minister Moulay Hafi Elalamy said the Boeing industrial zone could create up to 8,700 jobs.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

► From The Hill — House approves stopgap funding, averting costly shutdown — The House on Wednesday approved a bill to fund the federal government through December 9, averting a costly shutdown two days ahead of the deadline. The logjam broke after House GOP leaders agreed to waive a budget rule to put $170 million for Flint in a separate water resources bill in exchange for Democratic support to clear the continuing resolution. GOP budget writers also agreed to fund a $1.1 billion emergency aid package to halt the spread of the Zika virus.

► In today’s NY Times — Paid sick leave for federal contractors is mandated by Labor Department — The Obama administration, in its latest effort to update workplace policies it says have lagged far behind the realities of Americans’ lives, will require federal government contractors to provide paid sick leave to their workers.

► From The Hill — White House threatens to veto bill delaying overtime rule — The White House has threatened to veto a Republican-backed bill to delay the administration’s controversial rule expanding overtime pay to some 4.2 million Americans.

ALSO at The Stand — State’s Republicans vote to delay overtime pay for millions

NATIONAL ELECTIONS

► In today’s — Newspaper loses subscribers, receives death threat after endorsing Hillary Clinton — The Arizona Republic lost subscribers and received a death threat after endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. Its Editorial Editor said there was no consideration of disgruntled readers in his paper’s decision to back a Democrat for the first time in its 126-year history: “We know we’re doing the right thing. We feel very good about this decision.”

► From Think Progress — Trump digs in on why refusing to pay taxes makes him ‘smart’ — At the first presidential debate earlier this week, Republican nominee Donald Trump seemed to admit that he doesn’t pay anything in federal income taxes. But he’s spent the days since lying about what he said.

► In today’s — Trump campaign memo tells surrogates to bring up Clinton sex scandals — The Trump campaign has circulated a memo telling surrogates to bring up Bill Clinton’s sex scandals while defending Trump’s comments about women like former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.

► From TPM — Proud adulterer blames woman for not stopping husband’s adultery — Trump’s calling out Hillary Clinton for her husband’s actions is the way Trump has always looked at marriage. Putting the onus on women to stop their husband’s affairs is classic Trump.

NATIONAL

► From Reuters — Chicago teachers union sets October 11 strike date — The Chicago Teachers Union voted on Wednesday to set an Oct. 11 date for a possible strike that could disrupt classes for tens of thousands of students in the country’s third largest public school system.

T.G.I.T.

► The Entire Staff of The Stand is off work on Friday. So today we present tomorrow’s T.G.I.F. birthday boy, Phish frontman Trey Anastasio, who will turn 52. We’ve never been huge fans of his jam band although, clearly, many many are. So we were at a bit of a loss about which song to choose, until we found this one.

Watch as Trey tries, with mixed success, to remember the lyrics to “I Am the Walrus,” a song that was mixed by The Beatles at Abbey Road studios on the very day of Trey’s trey-day (3rd birthday). Who says we don’t do our research here at The Stand?! Mr. Anastasio deserves our sympathy for struggling with the lyrics. Legend has it that, after John Lennon heard a teacher at his former primary school was having students analyze Beatles’ lyrics, he deliberately wrote this song with a lot of nonsense words. Enjoy!

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