Thursday, December 1, 2016

 

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LOCAL

 

► In today’s News Tribune — Tacoma police officer dies after shooting at East Side home — A Tacoma police officer was fatally shot Wednesday while responding to a domestic violence call on the city’s East Side, sparking an hourslong standoff with a volley of gunfire.

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Review finds distrust at Hanford tank farms; 6 more workers tested — Workers and union leadership have considerable distrust for the way the Department of Energy and its contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, are managing chemical vapor issues. “Distrust is related to worker perceptions regarding lack of transparency, miscommunication between labor and management, and management skepticism that workers are being sickened from vapor exposures,” said a report issued Monday. Meanwhile, six more workers were given medical evaluations Wednesday for possible exposure to chemical vapors, bringing the total since spring to more than 60.

► In today’s Seattle Times — City asks federal judge to step into Seattle police labor dispute tied to reforms — The judge’s decision could establish whether the court or collective bargaining will be the guiding force under a consent decree requiring the Seattle Police Department to address excessive force and biased policing.

► In today’s Seattle Times — Bernie Sanders urges Seattle progressives to ‘stand up, fight back’ — His visit was part of a national book tour in which he dishes out policy prescriptions and details his experiences campaigning for president. More than 900 fans packed a church for the sold-out event in Seattle.

 

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THIS WASHINGTON

 

► From the Workers Independent News — Washington State AFL-CIO: Workers can win if we stay in the fight — David Groves of the Washington State Labor Council: “Advocates for working families should keep their chins up and keep fightin’ the good fight… Even though there’s a dark cloud over our nation right now with what happened in the presidential race, there are a lot of victories happening around the country in various places and certainly in Washington state and elsewhere that we can build upon.”

 

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AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

 

► In today’s Bellingham Herald — Whatcom County residents sign up for insurance amid uncertainty over fate of Obamacare — “It’s very important that people take advantage of the time now to get health insurance. Many people will qualify for financial help or free coverage, depending on their income,” said Michael Marchand, spokesman for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange.

► From The Hill — Poll: Only 1 in 4 want ObamaCare repealed — The poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that 26 percent of the country wants to repeal the entire law. Meanwhile, 30 percent want to expand the law, 19 percent keep it as is and 17 percent scale it back. The results come as Republicans are planning to repeal ObamaCare early next year… The poll finds an uptick in Republican respondents who want to scale back the law, rather than fully repealing it, since the election.

► In today’s Seattle Times — Obamacare: Improve, don’t repeal (editorial) — The ACA is neither perfect nor as flawed as the many Republican leaders believe. Much more can be done to make health insurance affordable and accessible to all Americans. But getting rid of Obamacare would be a step backward.

 

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THAT WASHINGTON

 

► In today’s Washington Post — President-elect’s picks would form the wealthiest administration in modern American history — Many of Trump’s appointees were born rich, attended elite schools and increased their fortunes as adults.

► In today’s NY Times — Trump’s economic cabinet picks signal embrace of Wall St. elite — In a campaign commercial that ran just before the election, Donald Trump’s voice boomed over a series of Wall Street images. He described “a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth, and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations.” The New York Stock Exchange, the hedge fund billionaire George Soros and the chief executive of the investment bank Goldman Sachs flashed across the screen. Now Mr. Trump has named a former Goldman executive and co-investor with Soros to spearhead his economic policy.

► In today’s Wall St. Journal — Mnuchin made millions from financial crisis — Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, made millions buying failed IndyMac.

► From Politico — Trump Treasury pick made millions after his bank foreclosed on homeowners — In Florida, Steven Mnuchin’s company foreclosed on a 90-year-old woman after a 27-cent payment error.

► In today’s NY Times — Donald Trump’s ‘Monster’s Ball’ (by Charles Blow) — He assembles a team of billionaires and bigots.

► From Huffington Post — Carrier to keep jobs in U.S. after Trump offers state incentives — United Technologies’ Carrier unit said it got financial incentives from Indiana and a pledge from Trump to improve the climate for business in the United States in exchange for keeping more than 1,000 jobs (out of 2,100) in the state rather than moving (all of) them overseas.

► In today’s Washington Post — Carrier just showed corporations how to beat Trump (by Sen. Bernie Sanders) — Trump has endangered the jobs of workers who were previously safe in the United States. Why? Because he has signaled to every corporation in America that they can threaten to offshore jobs in exchange for business-friendly tax benefits and incentives. Even corporations that weren’t thinking of offshoring jobs will most probably be re-evaluating their stance this morning. And who would pay for the high cost for tax cuts that go to the richest businessmen in America? The working class of America.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Negotiating with terrorists promotes terrorism.

► From The Hill — Top union considers endorsing Ellison for Dem Party boss: report — The AFL-CIO has reportedly asked members of its executive council if the labor group should endorse Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) for chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

► From Think Progress — Keith Ellison’s radical plan to save the Democratic Party — Rep. Keith Ellison: “I also think [the DNC] is perceived as too top-down. We do a good job at fundraising from labor and having them go knock on doors, but they’re not at the table enough. The party needs to have the labor voice featured at the table much more prominently. They could help us form the message and deliver the message. They don’t feel as included as they should be.”

 

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NATIONAL

 

► In today’s L.A. Times — Labor prepares to defend its victories on higher wages and worker rights — In a scene reminiscent of old-fashioned labor activism, workers and their supporters marched Tuesday through Los Angeles International Airport and in airports and restaurants across the U.S., demanding higher pay and union representation for low-wage workers. The protests were peaceful, but they may just be a prelude of battles to come, as unions face a new administration in Washington and efforts to roll back labor victories.

► In today’s Seattle Times — Trump and organized labor on collision course (by William Gould) — Now that the White House, Congress and soon the high court are in the hands of the Republicans, workplace-democracy principles enshrined over more than 81 years are imperiled. Only creative parliamentary techniques and public outrage can slow or stop this.

 

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T.G.I.T.

 

► The Entire Staff of the Stand is taking Friday off, so we’ll see you on Monday. Until then, there’s this…

 

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