NEWS ROUNDUP
Pay our teachers ● ILWU heroes ● Matt out ● ‘Ironstache’ advances
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 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 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
► 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 — 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
► 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.
► 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.
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.