Tuesday, May 22, 2018

BOEING

► From AP — Union vote set for some South Carolina Boeing workers — Some employees at Boeing’s plant in South Carolina will soon vote on whether they want to join the International Association of Machinists union. The NLRB ruled Monday that 178 flight readiness technicians and inspectors at the manufacturer’s North Charleston plant can vote May 31 on whether to join the union. Boeing tells local media outlets it will appeal the ruling, arguing that the smaller group is too hard to set different rules for and that any union vote should include all 3,000 production employees.

LOCAL

► In today’s Seattle Times — Worker dies in fall at Sound Transit light-rail construction site in Bellevue — A construction worker died early Tuesday after he fell 30 feet to the ground while working on a column for Sound Transit’s Eastside light-rail extension at Highway 520 and 148th Street in Bellevue. The victim was believed to be a longtime employee of Sound Transit’s contractor, Kiewit-Hoffman.

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Mukilteo board president explains denial of union demand — Board president John Gahagan said they are “very willing to meet and discuss increased compensation” but declined the Mukilteo Education Association demand “because it is not necessary to reopen our existing contract in order to discuss providing MEA members with increased compensation allowed by the state during 2018-19.”

► MUST-READ in today’s News Tribune — It’s time to ditch the inferiority complex if we really want to sell Tacoma (by Matt Driscoll) — The original “City of Destiny” has tried to sell this area to the world and the region so many times that it feels like a new approach is long overdue… That’s the thing — there’s so much here to sell. From quality to life to the people to the untapped business opportunities and beyond, there’s little question that Tacoma and Pierce County are ripe for investment, entrepreneurship and new people. Put another way, the hard, frantic sell on Tacoma ultimately sells us short — and, historically, it hasn’t worked. Instead, we end up looking like a guy in a headset at the county fair trying to offload Shamwows instead of a city and a county with something real to offer. It’s not a great look, because as is so often the case, the proof is in the pudding — not the PR. Maybe we don’t need a new video as much as we need to ditch the inferiority complex.

JANUS

FROM THE CALENDAR at The Stand — THIS MORNING, Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity (OWLS) are holding a labor-community informational picket to “Shame the Freeloader,” Mark Janus, who is a featured speaker of the Washington Policy Center at their “Solutions Summit.” The picket is from 7 to 8:30 a.m., at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue, 900 Bellevue Way. Mark Janus is the lead plaintiff in the case Janus vs. AFSCME, which seeks to impose anti-labor, open shop laws on public sector unions. Get details.

► In the Chicago Tribune — A Supreme Court ruling for Janus would be judicial activism at its worst (by Univ. of Chicago law professor Robert Bruno) — The legality of “fair share” laws — which currently affect 5 million teachers, firefighters, nurses and other public sector workers in 23 states and the District of Columbia — was established by the court more than four decades ago. Ever since, a network of well-funded interests has sought ways to reduce worker earnings by weakening the bargaining power of employees. In Janus, a right-leaning Supreme Court is expected by one vote to nullify the laws of those 23 states, which could invalidate wording in thousands of state and municipal contracts. The change would be an extraordinary act of judicial lawmaking irreconcilable with conservative principles that publicly shame “judicial activism.” … Ultimately, we don’t require lawyers, doctors, accountants or large corporations to provide services for free. We don’t forbid them from using the fees they do collect for political purposes. Yet when it comes to unions, the courts apply a very different standard. Janus could take this double standard to an entirely new level by effectively forcing wage cuts on 5 million workers and shrinking our nation’s economy. If that’s not judicial activism at its worst, what is?

PREVIOUSLY at The Stand —

— Janus (Part 1): The fix is in at the Supreme Court (March 6)

— Janus (Part 2): Get ready to defend your freedom (March 7)

► From Politico — Blue states strike first against awaited anti-union court ruling — Blue state lawmakers are waging a preemptive strike against an anticipated U.S. Supreme Court decision that could decimate the power of public-sector unions across the nation. New York and New Jersey officials are pursuing an end-run around Janus v. AFSCME, a case that could give government workers across all states the option of declining to pay union fees even if they benefit from that union‘s contract negotiations.

FROM the WSLC’s 2018 Legislative Report — Public employees achieve ambitious agenda

THIS WASHINGTON

► In today’s Seattle Times — Fueling 2020 speculation, Jay Inslee to headline Democratic Party event next month in Iowa — Gov. Jay Inslee will headline the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Hall of Fame celebration June 23 in Altoona, Iowa. He is visiting in his role as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), trying to slice away at the party’s record deficit in governorships… Three years ago, the event Inslee will be attending attracted the Democratic Party’s top 2016 presidential hopefuls, including Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. It was described by POLITICO that year as Democrats’ first “cattle call” event of the presidential race.

► In today’s (Longview) Daily News — Following Texas shooting, Rep. Walsh proposes letting K-12 staff concealed carry — State Rep. Jim Walsh (R-Aberdeen) is proposing legislation that would allow certified and trained K-12 staff to carry concealed firearms on campus. Rich Wood, a spokesman for the Washington Education Association, said Monday that the state’s teachers union does not support arming teachers in schools. “Putting more guns in schools is not going to make them safer,” he said.

EDITOR’S NOTE — On Saturday, WSLC union delegates voted to endorse Erin Frasier, a workforce development professional, Pe Ell mom, and Democratic challenger to replace Rep. Walsh in the 19th District. Learn more about Erin.

► In today’s Yakima H-R — Attorney General Bob Ferguson vows to fight for Dreamers — When he stopped in Yakima on Monday to discuss the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, he was surprised by the engagement he received from the community. Ferguson garnered cheers from the crowd often as he explained how confident his office is in its many lawsuits against the Trump administration, including one that seeks to block DACA from being scrapped. “It was inspiring,” Ferguson said of the crowd. “I had no idea so many people would show up.”

THAT WASHINGTON

► From AP — Conservatives threaten Ryan’s job if bipartisan immigration bill goes to vote — Leaders of warring House Republican factions searched for an immigration compromise as some conservatives warned of consequences for Speaker Paul Ryan if he allowed party moderates to push a bipartisan bill through the chamber without strong GOP support.

EDITOR’S NOTE — The centrist Republicans are five signatures away from forcing a vote on bipartisan legislation to create a path to citizenship for Dreamers brought to the U.S. as children. Hard-liners call that “amnesty” and are threatening Ryan’s remaining months as Speaker unless he blocks a bill that clearly has enough votes to pass.

► From the Seattle P-I — Does Rep. McMorris Rodgers represent her constituents? (by Joel Connelly) — In the past few weeks, two Republican House members from Washington, U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse and Dave Reichert, have joined other GOP members in calling on House Speaker Paul Ryan to allow a floor vote on legislation that would allow young, undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States. McMorris Rodgers has not joined the call for a vote. Nor did she lift a finger when Reichert and Newhouse helped force a vote to renew the U.S. Export Import Bank, on which hundreds of Washington businesses depend to finances sales of products across the Pacific, and across the Pond.

► In today’s Washington Post — Supreme Court rules that companies can require workers to accept individual arbitration — The cases involve non-unionized workers, but labor leaders said it was representative of how the court sides with business over workers.

EDITOR’S NOTE — AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka’s statement released Monday:

Today, five justices on the Supreme Court decided that it is acceptable for working people to have our legal rights taken away by corporations in order to keep our jobs. This decision forcing workers to sign away the right to file class-action suits against such illegal employment practices as wage theft, sexual harassment and discrimination is outrageous—and it is wrong. In this case, the newest justice has joined the dangerous trend of this court to side with corporations over working people. We call upon Congress to immediately enact legislation making clear that no worker can be forced to give up their right to effectively challenge illegal conduct in the workplace in order to keep their job.

► In today’s NY Times — Trump team’s infighting thwarts victory on China trade — Deep divisions and ceaseless jockeying for influence in the White House’s trade team helped deprive Trump of a quick win on his most cherished policy agenda.

► From Reuters — U.S. bank profits up 27.5 percent in first quarter 2018 from last year — U.S. banks reported $56 billion in profits in the first quarter of 2018, up 27.5 percent from one year ago as institutions began to take advantage of a lower effective tax rate, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported Tuesday.

► From Politico — ‘Too inconvenient’: Trump goes rogue on phone security — President Donald Trump uses a White House cellphone that isn’t equipped with sophisticated security features designed to shield his communications, according to two senior administration officials — a departure from the practice of his predecessors that potentially exposes him to hacking or surveillance.

NATIONAL

► From Politico — Education Department launches ‘top-to-bottom’ review of teachers’ grant program — It’s a financial nightmare for public school teachers across the country: Federal grants they received to work in low-income schools were converted to thousands of dollars in loans that they now must pay back.

► In today’s Washington Post — Here’s what to know as voters in Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and Arkansas head to the polls today — While the Democrats’ race for governor of Georgia has earned the most attention, congressional contests in Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas may reveal more about the shape of the party in this year’s midterm elections.

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