Wednesday, August 15, 2018

PAY OUR TEACHERS

► From KIRO 7 — Hundreds of teachers to rally for higher pay — Hundreds of teachers in Western Washington school districts will be rallying for higher pay Wednesday. Many of them of them say they’re closer to going on strike.

► In today’s Columbian — Woodland schools, teachers reach salary agreement — Woodland Public Schools and the Woodland Education Association came to an agreement during a bargaining session Sunday night that would give the teachers a 22.82 percent increase on their base salary. The union will hold a ratification vote Friday.

► In today’s Columbian — Evergreen teachers, supporters knock school district’s offer of 1.9% raise — Hundreds of Evergreen Public Schools union members and their supporters turned the district office’s parking lot into a sea of red Tuesday evening as they demonstrated in favor of increasing teachers’ wages. Those in the crowd at the school board meeting protested what they called an “insulting” offer by the school district, and described feeling “disrespected” by and “disgusted” with district leadership.

► In today’s Kitsap Sun — Kitsap teachers hoping for big raises in contract negotiations — About 100 teachers from the Central Kitsap and North Kitsap districts rallied Monday outside the regional office of the WEA in North Kitsap’s Twelve Trees Business Park. Members of North Kitsap Education Association’s bargaining team got a rousing cheer as they prepared for that district’s first day of negotiations.

LOCAL

► From Crosscut — Seattle sued (again) over hotel worker protections — A Washington D.C.-based industry group for large employers is suing Seattle over its protections for hotel workers — recently enacted as part of a voter-approved initiative that was passed in 2016. The initiative has already been challenged once in King County Superior Court by hotel industry groups, but a judge dismissed that suit in June 2017. “It’s just another example of the industry fighting tooth and nail to block some really basic health and safety requirements that voters voted overwhelmingly to approve in 2016,” said Abby Lawlor with Unite Here Local 8.

► From Bloomberg — Shortage of engines: Boeing delivers fewest 737s since 2012 — Boeing delivered only 29 single-aisle jetliners last month, the lowest tally since January 2012, as the planemaker dealt with supplier constraints that left dozens of unfinished 737 aircraft parked around the Renton factory.

► From KIRO 7 — Man in critical condition after being pulled from Duwamish Waterway — When a crew member fell off a Rotterdam container ship, SSA Marine’s Jason Maxwell saw the man in distress and jumped into the water to help him. ILWU 19 members performed CPR until medics arrived.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Gov. Jay Inslee thanked Jason Maxwell for his heroics.

► In today’s Seattle Times — 39 new restaurant openings to try around the Seattle area

EDITOR’S NOTE — Remember when business groups said increasing Seattle’s minimum wage and allowing employees to earn paid sick leave would kill the restaurant business? Good times. Good times.

THIS WASHINGTON

► In today’s Seattle Times — CWU fires Rep. Matt Manweller over alleged inappropriate conduct — Central Washington University has fired professor and state Rep. Matt Manweller (R-Ellensburg) following its latest investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior by the lawmaker. The university said it wouldn’t make public an investigation report into the allegations until later this month, but that Manweller’s employment had ended. In previous years the university looked into two other allegations of sexual harassment made against Manweller. The lawmaker, meanwhile, was the subject of another, separate complaint made last year at the Legislature.

► From The Stranger — Washington state is on track to have the most wildfires ever this year — “We currently have 17 large fires burning and are on pace to have the most fires ever this year,” said Carlo Davis, spokesperson for the state Department of Natural Resources. Contributing factors, Davis said, include climate change and unhealthy forests.

ELECTION

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — At last, some better numbers for ballot returns (editorial) — Interest in congressional races is a likely factor, but free ballot postage may have helped, too.

► From Politico — Top takeaways from a groundbreaking election night for Democrats — Democratic voters in two states made history: In Vermont, by nominating the nation’s first transgender candidate for governor, and in Connecticut by positioning the first African-American woman to represent the state in Congress. The first Somali-American will almost certainly be headed to Congress from the Minneapolis area, and another Muslim, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) will stand for statewide office this fall.

► From The Hill — Ironworker and star of viral video wins Dem primary for Ryan’s seat — Ironworker Randy Bryce, more popularly known as “Ironstache,” is projected to win the Democratic primary for the seat being vacated by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

► From The Hill — Democrats should fully embrace their union roots (by James Feigenbaum) — On August 7, union leaders celebrated as Missourians overwhelming voted to overturn a Republican-backed state law to institute “right-to-work,” a misleadingly-named policy that undercuts union fundraising by letting workers avoid paying fees for union-provided workplace benefits. After decades of union defeats, this victory could be a critical one for organized labor and for the Democratic Party.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From Politico — Business looks to Kavanaugh to extend Supreme Court hot streak — Industry groups, led by the Chamber of Commerce, have spent decades bringing lawsuits and filing briefs to the top court in hopes of reining in regulatory power and winning rulings favorable to business. And court-watchers believe Brett Kavanaugh, would help industry continue its hot streak at the court.

► In today’s NY Times — The court nominee’s hint on tax dollars for religious schools — Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court could advance efforts to make publicly funded vouchers available to students attending religious schools, advocates say.

► In today’s Washington Post — With little fanfare, Trump and McConnell reshape the federal judiciary — The Republican-led Senate’s rapid approval of appellate judges in the past two years is likely to have a broad impact on the nation, as the circuit courts will shape decisions on immigration, voting rights, abortion and the environment for generations.

► From The Hill — Trump-Amazon feud shadows critical Postal Service report — The Trump administration is expected to release a report in the coming weeks on reforming the U.S. Postal Service, an event that could revive President Trump’s feud with Amazon.

ALSO at The Stand — Congress: Block privatization of America’s Postal Service! — A bipartisan group of U.S. representatives introduced a House Resolution calling on Congress to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the U.S. Postal Service remain an independent agency of the federal government and not be subject to privatization.

UPDATE — Since The Stand posted this story on Aug. 2, urging folks to contact U.S. Representatives asking them to sign on as a co-sponsor of the anti-privatization resolution, Washington Reps. Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen and Denny Heck have all signed on as co-sponsors. Send a message today urging your Representatives to co-sponsor it!

NATIONAL

► In the Long Island Business News — Huntington Station Target workers seek union vote — UFCW Local 1500 has filed a petition with the NLRB on behalf of workers at the Target in Huntington Station seeking a vote on whether to unionize. The store, if it chooses to unionize, would become the first in the chain with about 1,700 in the United States to do so.

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