DAILY NEWS
UFCW merger rejected | The real death toll | Unions’ greater good
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
LOCAL
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Vandervert’s financial troubles spill into Spokane construction projects, sites around the region — The 42-year-old company’s business failure has created chaos at construction sites throughout the Northwest. Creditors have filed more than $46 million in claims for payment.
► In the Columbian — Stamp Out Hunger food drive gets more than 73 tons — One of Clark County’s biggest annual food drives packed on a few pounds this year, with the Stamp Out Hunger campaign collecting more than 73 tons.
THIS WASHINGTON
► In the Spokesman-Review — Active initiative campaigns have to kick into high gear — Signatures have to be turned into the Secretary of State’s office by the first week of July, and getting on the ballot takes slightly more than a quarter-million valid signatures from registered voters, no duplicates allowed.
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — PDC budget depleted by legal expenses in case against Eyman — Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s legal pursuit of Tim Eyman is contributing to a growing pool of red ink for the state agency that enforces Washington’s campaign finance laws.
► In the Seattle Times — More women take aim at glass ceiling in campaigns for Washington Legislature — More women are running for the Washington state Legislature this year — than possibly ever. But after breaking records for female representation a couple of decades ago, women have struggled to break the glass ceiling in Olympia. Will the 2018 elections be different?
► In the Bellingham Herald — Two Larsen challengers not alone as candidates with criminal convictions — Two of the candidates seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen in the fall election have a criminal past — including a Western Washington University student convicted of attempted theft in Bellingham less than a year ago.
THAT WASHINGTON
► In today’s Washington Post — Harvard study estimates thousands died in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria — At least 4,645 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria and its devastation across Puerto Rico last year, according to a new Harvard study released Tuesday, an estimate that far exceeds the official government death toll, which stands at 64. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that health-care disruption for the elderly and the loss of basic utility services for the chronically ill had significant impacts across the U.S. territory, which was thrown into chaos after the September hurricane wiped out the electrical grid and had widespread impacts on infrastructure. Some communities were entirely cut off for weeks amid road closures and communications failures.
► In today’s Washington Post — Trump once favorably compared Puerto Rico’s death toll to Katrina’s. A study now says twice as many died in Puerto Rico.
► In the NY Times — Trump moves to ease the firing of federal workers — Seizing on a longtime ambition of many Republicans, President Trump on Friday overhauled rules affecting at least two million federal workers, making it easier to fire them and rolling back the workplace role of their unions.
ALSO at The Stand — Trump moves to silence federal workers
EDITOR’S NOTE — The “mutinous centrists” reportedly include retiring Rep. Dave Reichert, who is trying to force a vote (that will easily pass) granting Dreamers a path to citizenship. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse have refused to sign the discharge petition that would force that vote.
► In today’s NY Times — White House moves ahead with tough trade measures on China — The Trump administration said on Monday that it would proceed with plans to impose a series of punitive trade-related measures on China in the next month, intensifying pressure on Beijing as trade talks between the countries continue.
► In the Seattle Times — Guaranteed jobs may not solve the Democrats’ bigger problem with many voters (by Jon Talton) — Tribalism and fear mean a guaranteed job won’t change this primal calculus across most of the country (that identity trumps economic interest among many voters). Liberals and the left will have to win many elections to change this. If they can even unite among themselves.
NATIONAL
► From CBS — American CEOs make, in 1 day, what it takes the average worker to earn in a year — The results, gathered by the AFL-CIO, are shocking, especially when CEOs fail to compensate others, says Sukits. While not all companies have filed yet, companies with the greatest disparities include Weight Watchers where the CEO makes 5,908 times the median employee salary there, Mattel where the CEO makes 4,987 times, Abercrombie & Fitch where the CEO makes 3,431 times, McDonald’s where the CEO makes 3,101 times, and Gap where the CEO makes 2,900 times the average worker.
► From In These Times — After Janus, should unions abandon exclusive representation? (by Kate Bronfenbrenner, Chris Brooks and Shaun Richman) — The Janus case has sparked a wide-ranging debate within the labor movement about how to deal with the “free-rider problem” of union members who benefit from collective bargaining agreements but opt-out of paying dues. We asked three labor experts to discuss what’s at stake in the case and how they each think unions should respond.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
In sum: If Democrats want to put the greater good above special interests, they will prioritize the policy goals of organized labor next time they take power. If they want to put winning elections above all else, however, then they will do the exact same thing.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.