DAILY NEWS
777 cuts loom, MultiCare heal thyself, GOP attack on Social Security…
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
BOEING
► In today’s Seattle Times — Boeing cutting output of 777 cash cow, dealing a blow to jobs and revenue — A 2012 economic study conducted for the state by consultancy CAI estimated that at that time more than 12,000 Boeing employees worked directly on the 777 program. The most vulnerable to layoffs are the machinists who build the airplane. Roughly 3,400 mechanics work directly on assembling the 777 in the Everett factory, and hundreds more work on fabricating the jet’s tail and wing components in Frederickson.
► From IAM 751 — Holden responds to report on 777 production rate cut — Machinists Union District Lodge 751 President Jon Holden: “Going forward, we will discuss with the company the potential for using voluntary layoffs, with the hope of avoiding involuntary layoffs. We also will monitor other Boeing job moves during this time. We have great concern about the number of jobs leaving our facilities in Puget Sound for new locations where the company is creating jobs, capacity and capability outside of Washington state.”
LOCAL
ALSO at The Stand — Support Tacoma General nurses at safe staffing action Dec. 14
► In the (Aberdeen) Daily World — Hospital increases UFCW wages by 2 percent — All UFCW employees at Grays Harbor Community Hospital will notice a two percent increase in wages in their Dec. 23 paycheck, but that does not mean negotiations between the hospital and the union are anywhere near an end.
► In the (Longview) Daily News — PeaceHealth St. John technical workers vote to align with union — More than 100 technical workers at PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center in Longview voted to join SEIU Local 49.
► In the PSBJ — Alaska Airlines, aircraft mechanics union reach tentative five-year deal — The airline and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association say the deal has “significant pay increases and added job protection provisions.”
► In today’s Seattle Times — Minimum-wage raises ahead next month; in Seattle, $15 for some — The minimum wage will climb in 2017 in a patchwork fashion: Washington workers not covered by the increases in Seattle, Tacoma or SeaTac will get a 16 percent boost to $11 per hour.
ALSO at The Stand — On Jan. 1, state minimum wage rises to $11
► In today’s Seattle Times — Portland targets CEO pay to save the American dream (by Jerry Large) — A lot of research now suggests the American dream of earning more than your parents is pretty much dead. Don’t look to the federal government for help in the near future. Look to your local jurisdiction — and don’t give up.
THIS WASHINGTON
EDITOR’S NOTE — Saldaña’s appointment is/was strongly supported by organized labor.
► In the Seattle Times — Preserve state’s legacy of ethical government (editorial) — 1) End the Legislature’s self-serving exemption from the Public Records Act. 2) Stop shielding “dark money” campaign spending. 3) Feed the campaign-finance watchdog: the Public Disclosure Commission.
THAT WASHINGTON
► From Huffington Post — Top House Republican unveils plan to gut Social Security — President-elect Donald Trump distinguished himself on the campaign trail as the rare Republican candidate promising not to cut Social Security and Medicare. But Republicans in Congress have other plans for the two popular social insurance programs — and they are wasting no time rolling them out.
► In the Washington Post — Obama authorizes larger raise for federal employees — President Obama has authorized a larger-than-expected pay increase for federal employees, just in time for the Christmas bills. In letters to the House and Senate, Obama authorized an average pay raise for 2017 of 2.1 percent, instead of the 1.6 percent he submitted in August.
► From AFGE — AFGE applauds Obama action giving federal employees 2.1% pay raise in January — “Federal employees certainly deserve this modest boost in their pay, following years of pay freezes and minuscule increases that have left them worse off today than they were at the start of the decade,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said.
► In today’s NY Times — Veterans groups urge Trump to keep Obama’s VA secretary — The nation’s largest veterans groups are urging President-elect Donald J. Trump to keep President Obama’s secretary of veterans affairs, Robert A. McDonald, out of concern that his rumored candidates’ inexperience and ideological leanings could cripple the massive veterans health care system.
► From Huffington Post — Trump’s Labor pick should know worker safety laws. His company’s been fined for breaking them. — Several Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. locations have been investigated and cited by the Labor Department for not paying workers what they’re owed during Puzder’s time at the helm of CKE. The company and its franchisees apparently have plenty of experience dealing with workplace safety fines as well, according to a review of OSHA inspection records.
► From Yahoo Finance — Trump’s choice for Labor is under fire from the left – and the right — The right-wing news site Breitbart is attacking the Puzder nomination because it sees him as soft on immigration.
NATIONAL
► From The Hill — State revenue growth slows, sparking fear of recession — State tax revenue growth slowed in the first several months of the new fiscal year, forcing legislators and budget officials in states across the country to slash projections and spending plans while raising concerns that the next economic recession is just around the corner.
► In the N.H. Union-Leader — Right-to-work legislation changes considered for NH — Republican Gov.-elect Chris Sununu said he’s “fairly” confident the Legislature will pass a right-to-work bill in 2017 that he will sign, but it’s too early to say whether it will include unions representing public — as well as private-sector — union members.
► In the Washington Post — Contract workers at National, Dulles airports vote to strike — Contract workers at Dulles International and Reagan National airports will walk off their jobs sometime this month, joining a growing number of workers across the country staging strikes as part of a national push for better working conditions and a $15-an-hour “living wage.”
► From The Guardian — Amazon accused of ‘intolerable conditions’ at Scottish warehouse — Amazon has been accused of creating “intolerable working conditions” after allegations that workers have been penalized for sick days and that some are camping near one of its warehouses to save money commuting to work.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.