DAILY NEWS
Promoting voting | TPP: It’s baaack | Monopsony: Do not pass Go
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
THIS WASHINGTON
ALSO at The Stand — Washington Voting Rights Act passes House
► In today’s Centralia Chronicle — Automatic voter registration passes out of Senate — Depending on how things shape up in the state House, Washington could soon allow automatic voter registration. SB 6353, introduced by Sen. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia) passed out of the Senate earlier this month on a 34-13 vote and is now awaiting action in the House.
► In today’s News Tribune — Same-day registration: A good idea, but where are the funds? (editorial) — Big thumbs up for same-day registration, the voter-friendly process that allows eligible Washingtonians quick access to the polls, but where, oh where, are the funds to facilitate it?
► From KUOW — Will Inslee veto bill that limits transparency in the Legislature? — A dozen newspapers across Washington state are running editorials Tuesday demanding that Gov. Jay Inslee veto what they are calling a “secrecy” bill. It’s legislation that would exempt legislators from the state Public Records Act.
ALSO at The Stand:
Public Records Act expands disclosure, but protects privacy (By Sen. Jamie Pedersen)
► In today’s Seattle Times — Not ‘veto-proof’: Inslee can and must kill legislative-secrecy bill (editorial) — Vetoing the bill would show legislators they are not, in fact, above the law, and that the state’s executive will stand up to them when their actions diverge from the public interest.
► In today’s News Tribune — In defiance of FCC, Washington’s lawmakers vote to uphold net neutrality rules — On a 35-14 vote Tuesday, the state Senate sent a bill to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk that would implement a local version of Obama-era regulations requiring internet service providers treat all web traffic equally. The measure also flies in the face of FCC officials, who repealed the national rules last year and said states can’t implement their own.
EDITOR’S NOTE — At press time, there is no word on whether federal restrictions on free meals from clients was a factor in Ericksen’s decision.
► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Longtime Tri-City legislator Rep. Larry Haler won’t seek re-election — The Richland Republican, who’s represented the 8th Legislative District for 14 years, made the announcement Tuesday: “There are many ways to give back and serve the communities we value. I consider myself extremely blessed to have served for so long in this capacity. However, it is time for someone else to step forward and bring fresh ideas, new energy and a unique perspective to the state House of Representatives.”
LOCAL
► From the MLKCLC — MLKCLC celebrates 130th anniversary with ‘Labor Oscars’ — The Martin Luther King County Labor Council celebrated its 130th year by hosting the first-ever “Labor Oscars.” The awards gala was held at the Museum of History and Industry on Saturday, Feb. 24 and was attended by workers as well as labor, business, and political leaders. See the full list of winners in 25 categories.
THE WAR ON UNIONS
► From The Atlantic — When the Supreme Court doesn’t care about facts (by Garrett Epps) — Lawyers for Janus cited very few facts, even though they were asking the court to reverse a 40-year-old precedent that allows public-employee unions to collect “agency fees” for the cost of representing non-member employees in collective bargaining… A responsible course would be to remand the case for the creation of a factual record to supplant some of the airy theorizing the advocates (and the justices) engaged in. But that would allow public-employee unions to carry on for another year or two. And that’s what’s really wrong with the whole Janus proceeding. The conservative justices don’t even try to hide it: The case is really about politics — about their feeling that public-employee unions are too powerful and that the policies they favor are hurting the country and they are all Democrats and they need to be stopped right away.
ALSO at The Stand — The Janus case: What it is, who’s behind it
► In the NY Times — Striking a blow for the big guys (by Yvonne Walker) — The Janus decision is critical to every community because every community is dependent upon the tireless good work of our educators, medical specialists and civil servants. Please do not be deceived if the Supreme Court, as seems likely, decides against unions. We ask the public to stand with us: to support working families, union members and public employees, and to fight for workers’ rights as we combat the epidemic of income inequality. Help us protect our ability to take care of our families and retire with dignity.
► In the Boston Globe — America needs union jobs (by Elizabeth Warren and Steven Tolman) — When he was gunned down by an assassin’s bullet in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis. His last political act was to support sanitation workers as they fought for economic security and dignity on the job. Dr. King understood that the struggle for equality and justice is not limited to civil rights. It also includes economic justice. So, as he led the great struggle for civil rights, he also fought for labor rights.
THAT WASHINGTON
► From CNN — A year later, NAFTA is still alive — Yet more than a year into his presidency, NAFTA is alive. And it’s poised to survive. Representatives from the United States, Mexico and Canada are meeting in Mexico City this week for Round 7 of negotiations to rewrite the three-nation trade deal. The talks, which began in August, have not gone well. But a growing number of trade watchers think the deal will live.
► In today’s NY Times — Detained immigrants cannot have bail hearings, court says — In a rare move signaling intense disagreement at the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen G. Breyer dissented from the bench, saying the majority was violating fundamental constitutional principles.
DRAIN THE SWAMP
► In today’s NY Times — Ben Carson’s HUD, planning cuts, spends $31,000 on dining set for his office — Carson’s wife is accused of pressuring officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development for an expensive redecoration of his office.
NATIONAL
EDITOR’S NOTE — Even in so-called “right-to-work” states, when we fight, we win!
TODAY’S MUST-READ
► In today’s NY Times — Corporate America is suppressing wages for many workers (by Alan Krueger and Eric Posner) — A growing body of evidence pins much of the blame for stagnant wages on a specific culprit, one for which proven legal weapons already exist. But they are not being used.
The culprit is “monopsony power.” This term is used by economists to refer to the ability of an employer to suppress wages below the efficient or perfectly competitive level of compensation. In the more familiar case of monopoly, a large seller — like a cable company — is able to demand high prices for poor service because consumers have no other choice. It turns out that many corporations possess bargaining power over their workers, not just over their consumers. Their workers accept low wages and substandard working conditions because few alternative job opportunities exist for them or because switching jobs is costly. In other words, in the labor market, effectively a small number of employers are competing for their labor. …
Monopsony power is frequently created through noncompete clauses and no-poaching agreements and is aimed at the most vulnerable workers. In a new study for the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project, we report survey results in which we find that one in five workers with a high school education or less are subject to a noncompete. A quarter of all workers are covered by a noncompete agreement with their current employer or a past one. …
Antitrust reform to address labor market abuses is one of those rare issues that could secure bipartisan agreement. Democrats should support reform because it would help workers and lower-income families. Antitrust violations are also counter to the free-market ideals that Republicans claim to hold.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.