Thursday, January 26, 2017

IMMIGRATION

► From The Hill — Trump signs orders on border wall, immigration enforcement

► In today’s NY Times — Trump blocks Syrian refugees, orders Mexican border wall

► From Huffington Post — Read draft text of Trump order limiting Muslim entry

ALSO at The Stand — WSLC: Trump’s orders ‘bring shame to the U.S.’

► In today’s Seattle Times — Seattle ‘won’t be bullied,’ will fight Trump’s sanctuary-city order, mayor says — Seattle Mayor Ed Murray called Wednesday “the darkest day in immigration history” since the internment of Japanese-Americans as President Trump signed an order cracking down on so-called “sanctuary cities” for undocumented immigrants. Murray, surrounded by hundreds of supporters on the steps of City Hall, said Seattle won’t back down. The mayor said he’s prepared to lose “every penny” the city receives from the federal government. That amounted to about $85 million in 2015. “The executive order signed today by the president has put our nation toward a constitutional crisis,” Murray said, promising to use any legal means to fight it.

► In today’s NY Times — ‘Sanctuary City’ mayors vow to defy Trump’s immigration order — The mayors of American cities large and small reacted with outrage on Wednesday as President Trump signed an executive order saying he would halt funding to municipalities that did not cooperate with federal immigration officials. The defiant officials — from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and smaller cities, including New Haven; Syracuse; and Austin, Tex., said they were prepared for a protracted fight.

► From KUOW — Northwest farmworker communities wary of Trump administration’s plans — Most farmers in rural eastern Washington state say they only hire legal workers. But there’s a polite fiction of living and working there. Federal immigration officers raid farms and ranches here. And people get deported. Latino workers like IM are skeptical: “All the families are scared. You know, about what they say, or what will happen in the future.”

► From AP — Restaurants: The next front for the immigration debate? — Dozens of restaurants nationwide are seeking “sanctuary” status, a designation owners hope will help protect employees in an immigrant-heavy industry and tone down fiery rhetoric sparked by the presidential campaign.

► From AFL-CIO Now — We can’t return to the days of workplace immigration raids — In a speech at Catholic University earlier this month, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka acknowledged the very real fear that immigrant workers in our country are feeling as President Donald Trump begins his term in office and pledged that the labor movement will stand strong and united in defense of all working people:

“In the weeks and months ahead, if Mr. Trump does as he has promised, millions of working people will be afraid to go to work. They’ll be afraid to take their children to school, let alone speak up when they encounter abuse or exploitation. They’ll need information, they’ll need support and they’ll need active solidarity. And our homes, our communities, our workplaces and our unions will be vulnerable unless we all stand strong together. You see, the American labor movement will be part of the infrastructure of response and protection against mass deportation and any other efforts to criminalize working people.”

THIS WASHINGTON

► From Politico — Democrats launch scorched-earth strategy against Trump — What began as a high-minded discussion about how to position the Democratic Party against President Donald Trump appears to be nearing its conclusion. The bulk of the party has settled on a scorched-earth, not-now-not-ever model of opposition. “They were entitled to a grace period, but it was midnight the night of the inauguration to 8 o’clock the next morning, when the administration sent out people to lie about numerous significant things. And the damage to the credibility of the presidency has already been profound,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. “They were entitled to a grace period and they blew it. It’s been worse than I could have imagined, the first few days.”

► In today’s Seattle Times — Kudos to Microsoft for bold public-policy goals for Washington state (editorial) — Microsoft’s surprisingly bold engagement on Washington state policy issues is welcome, especially this year.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Following is an excerpt from Microsoft’s legislative agenda:

EQUAL PAY IN THE WORKPLACE

Washington voters have signaled their interest in ensuring that the workplace provides meaningful opportunities for everyone.  Meanwhile, over the last several sessions, some lawmakers have proposed legislation to mandate equal pay.  In general, their proposals have often met with less than support from the business community.

We want to work with lawmakers and the business community to pursue strong compromise proposals on equal pay and paid family leave that will provide important protections and predictability to employees and employers alike.  We believe the time has come to find a path that can meet the needs of stakeholders across the economy, and we hope that 2017 can bring a breakthrough in this space.

► In today’s Seattle Times — State Senate leader signs letter backing Trump education pick Betsy DeVos — Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville) has signed a letter supporting Betsy DeVos, the billionaire philanthropist who is President Trump’s pick for secretary of education.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Ask him whether he agrees with DeVos that guns should be allowed in schools because of the threat of grizzly bears, Schoesler would likely say, “It’s none of your business.”

LOCAL

► In today’s Yakima H-R — Court ends probe into alleged effort to keep farmworker wages down — A state investigation into alleged influence by a grower group that may have biased a 2015 state farmworker pay survey has been ended by a court decision. The investigation was a second attempt by the state Attorney General’s Office to look into Wafla’s involvement in an allegation that between 5 and 9 percent of responses to a voluntary state Department of Labor and Industries survey appeared biased toward lower wages. The survey is used to set prevailing wages for the federal guest worker program. Wafla was formerly known as the Washington Farm Labor Association.

PREVIOUSLY at The Stand — WSLC, others seek state probe of farm wage manipulation (Jan. 6, 2016)

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Potential chemical vapors reported at Hanford tank farms — An odor consistent with chemical vapors was detected near work trailers outside Hanford’s AP Tank Farm Wednesday. None of the nine workers in the area reported symptoms, and all declined medical evaluations. They were told to leave the area and access was restricted.

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Hanford vapors lawsuit heading to mediation — Parties in a lawsuit seeking better protection for Hanford workers from chemical vapors have agreed to pursue mediation, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

► In today’s Seattle Times — Bellevue teachers, staff plan day of action for racial equity — Bellevue educators and staff members hope to start a districtwide conversation about how to address racism and issues affecting students of color.

► In today’s News Tribune — Don’t allow Pam Roach to keep up abusive habits (editorial) — Her elected colleagues on the Pierce County Council can deal with her famously sharp tongue and imperious behavior. But county staff should not have to.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From Politico — Trump’s flashy executive actions could run aground — President Donald Trump’s team made little effort to consult with federal agency lawyers or lawmakers as they churned out executive actions this week, stoking fears the White House is creating the appearance of real momentum with flawed orders that might be unworkable, unenforceable or even illegal.

► In today’s Washington Post — Hill Republicans want answers. Trump gave them only more questions — and fresh headaches. — House and Senate Republicans began the week expecting specific guidance on what will replace the Affordable Care Act, how quickly taxes might get slashed and how the government will pay for a new border wall and infrastructure plan. But on Wednesday, Trump offered up a fresh set of distractions with a flurry of announcements and early-morning tweets.

PROFILES IN COURAGE

► In today’s Seattle Times — Do Washington’s GOP Congress members agree with Trump’s voter-fraud claim? They aren’t saying — President Trump continues to falsely claim that more than 3 million people voted illegally in November’s elections. Do Washington Republican Reps. Dave Reichert, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers agree that millions of votes were cast illegally? Do they think there were illegal votes cast in their own electoral victories? They’re not saying. Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, on the other hand, says: “I am confident the election system in Washington state is secure and prevents illegal voting… There is no evidence that illegal voting took place anywhere in our state during the 2016 election.”

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Record high for Boeing shares; company comfortable with Trump — “We’ve had the privilege of having a very open dialogue with him on business issues,” Boeing CEO and Chairman Dennis Muilenburg said Wednesday. “We’re very supportive” of Trump’s economic initiatives, he added.

NATIONAL

► From Huffington Post — Trump’s first week in office leaves labor worried about an internal split — Trump is not the president organized labor wanted. But now that he’s in office, filling out his Cabinet and signing executive orders, individual unions and their leaders have been forced to decide whether to play ball or join the burgeoning resistance. Or do a bit of both… Leaders and activists are growing increasingly concerned that the new president could form allies within union ranks even as he sets back the wider cause for years.

► From NY Magazine — The number of American women taking maternity leave hasn’t changed in 22 years — New research finds that, advancements in paid-leave policies or no, women are not taking advantage of maternity leave any more than they did over 20 years ago. Comparatively, the number of men taking paternal leave has tripled since 1994… It’s worth noting that when companies offer paid family leave, studies have found it is actually beneficial to the company, as it helps companies save on health-care costs and decreases turnover.

► In today’s NY Times — Felony charges for journalists arrested at inauguration protests raise fears for press freedom — At least six journalists were charged with felony rioting after they were arrested while covering the violent protests that took place just blocks from President Trump’s inauguration parade in Washington on Friday.

► From AP — NLRB orders union elections for Yale graduate students — The National Labor Relations Board has granted petitions for graduate students in nine departments at Yale University to vote on whether they want union representation.

JUST BECAUSE

► From The Onion — You people made me give up my peanut farm before I got to be president (by Jimmy Carter) — I couldn’t help but notice that the current occupant of the White House owns more than 500 companies, has business interests across the Middle East and Asia, and owes hundreds of millions of dollars to banks he is now responsible for regulating. It seems a touch unfair that a bigger fuss was made about my little peanut operation than all his office towers, hotels, and golf courses combined. All I had was a farm, you know? A small, precious farm. Seriously, it was just a few fields and a warehouse, and you idiots still appointed a special prosecutor and spent six months investigating it.

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