DAILY NEWS
Was it worth it? ● Goose poop ● Win in Denver ● Apple music
Friday, February 15, 2019
SHUTDOWNS AND EMERGENCIES
ALSO at The Stand — Rally Saturday at Sea-Tac Airport: No more federal lockouts! — Although it appears that this latest shutdown that would begin at midnight Friday will be averted, Saturday’s rally will go on. The message is the same: stop playing political games with federal employees’ lives and stop putting aviation safety at risk! Participants will gather Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Sea-Tac International Airport’s Flag Pavilion at International Blvd and S. 182nd St. Learn more.
► In today’s Washington Post — Was it worth it? Many suffered in Trump’s wall budget loss (by Joe Davidson) — Was it worth it? Was Trump’s 35-day shutdown and the menace of another three weeks of dispute worth more than a month without pay for 800,000 federal employees? Was it worth it to force about half of them to work in a state of involuntary servitude? Was it worth it for the contractors and other business people who lost income with no assurance of back pay? Was it worth it for the services that taxpayers lost? Was it worth it for the national and international shame, disgust and confusion that smeared Uncle Sam’s reputation? Was it worth it for a southern border wall most people don’t want and Trump repeatedly promised Mexico would fund? The answer for all responsible people is a resounding no.
► In today’s Washington Post — ‘Off the rails’: Inside Trump’s attempt to claim victory in his border wall defeat — After three weeks of pained negotiations to keep the federal government open, Trump almost blew the whole thing up again on Thursday… For Trump, the negotiations were never really about figuring out how to win. They were about figuring out how to lose — and how to cast his ultimate defeat as victory instead.
► In today’s NY Times — Trump will declare a national emergency. What happens next? — Congress has tools to override the president’s declaration, but opponents most likely do not have the votes to overcome a veto.
► From Politico — Legal war looms over Trump move to declare border emergency — Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency in order to access funds Congress refused to appropriate for his border wall is set to unleash a furious legal war that could bog down the project for months or years.
► From The Hill — Pelosi warns GOP: Next president could declare national emergency on guns — “Let’s talk about today: The one-year anniversary of another manifestation of the epidemic of gun violence in America,” Pelosi said. “That’s a national emergency. Why don’t you declare that emergency, Mr. President? I wish you would. But a Democratic president can do that.”
OUR “GOLDEN GOOSE”
EDITOR’S NOTE — Meanwhile, don’t be surprised when you do your taxes to discover you are paying MORE this year. That horrible tax giveaway to corporations and the rich was strongly supported by Washington’s Republican Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse. And now its resulting deficits are being used as an excuse to cut Social Security and Medicare, just as the labor movement warned it would.
► In today’s NY Times — Amazon’s retreat on New York City HQ followed unexpected backlash — Amazon on Thursday canceled its plans to build an expansive corporate campus in New York City after facing an unexpectedly fierce backlash from lawmakers, progressive activists and union leaders, who contended that a tech giant did not deserve nearly $3 billion in government incentives.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Amazon: Canceled New York jobs likely to go elsewhere; company will ‘continue to evaluate’ growth in Seattle — “We currently have more than 9,000 open roles in Seattle and will continue to evaluate future growth,” the company said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
EDITOR’S NOTE — 1) Is a “role” what the rest of us call a job?
Seattle’s “hostile climate” has helped Amazon grow into the biggest corporation in the planet and helped create the world’s richest man (supplanting the previous world’s richest man, also from here). Meanwhile, this particular alive-and-well golden goose has been crapping out jobs with a median pay of under $29,000. That means that half of Amazon’s employees earned less than that. As Henry Grabar points out at Slate, when fewer and fewer people benefit, cities can no longer worship growth at any cost. And that’s why the Times’ jobs-no-matter-what ideology is so tired and out of touch with the moment. It’s that kind of thinking that helped create this era of historic wealth inequality, corporate control of our lives, oligarchy — and the growing backlash against all three.
► In the Washington Post — Why more and more people don’t want tech giants like Amazon moving into their neighborhood — Tech companies bring in small armies of workers but these are rarely recruited from the neighborhoods in question and the new arrivals drive up prices for locals. While city leaders may love the new additions, residents don’t.
LOCAL
► In the Tacoma Weekly — Nathe Lawver adds name to Tacoma City Council race — Nathe Lawver has announced he is running for Tacoma City Council, District 1. Lawver has spent much of the past 10 years working on policy to improve the lives of hard-working people in the city of Tacoma, including the City’s landmark minimum wage increase and paid sick leave laws. He is endorsed by Anders Ibsen who currently holds the position and is term limited out of running for a third term.
THIS WASHINGTON
ALSO at The Stand — In 2019, let’s start balancing our tax code
► In today’s Seattle Times — Former Eastside lawmaker arrested after drinking with underage relative, police say — Police officers on Sunday arrested former state Rep. Jay Rodne (R-Snoqualmie), who according to a police report, said, “you guys are making a huge mistake.”
► In today’s Seattle Times — Former state Sen. Joe Fain to lead Bellevue Chamber of Commerce
THAT WASHINGTON
► From Bloomberg — Six out of 10 U.S. CEOs see Trump’s tariffs as helping — With the U.S. and China starting a fresh round of trade talks this week, a new survey showed more American executives see their businesses gaining from a potential increase in tariffs than being hurt by it.
HOWARD THE SCHMUCK
NATIONAL
EDITOR’S NOTE — When we fight, we win. Get more information about how you can join together with co-workers and negotiate a fair return for your hard work. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today.
► From HuffPost — Severance pay could be the next big progressive labor cause — The recent mass store closures at retail chains Toys R Us and Sears have spawned a campaign to guarantee severance pay to laid-off workers. Its backers now face their first big legislative test: a bill in New Jersey that would make severance a requirement for large employers.
► From Variety — Game Workers Unite wants Activision Blizzard to fire its CEO — The grassroots labor organization is calling on Activision Blizzard to fire CEO Bobby Kotick following massive layoffs at the video game publisher earlier this week. “Upending 800 workers’ lives while raking in millions in bonuses for you and your c-suite buddies isn’t leadership, it’s theft,” Game Workers Unite said on Twitter. “We, the workers of Activision and their friends, have had enough. Join us in saying that it’s time to #FireBobbyKotick.”
ALSO at The Stand — Why you should get excited about tech sector organizing (by Amy Yi)
T.G.I.F.
► On Saturday night, The Entire Staff of The Stand will be at this band’s sold-out show at The Showbox in Seattle. (Save the Showbox!) The last time we saw Guster at that historic venue in 2003, Maroon 5 opened for them. We’ve seen Guster perform several times since and they never disappoint. Watch this. We guarantee that you will never see/hear a more beautiful song performed with an apple.
Bonus T.G.I.F.! (Just because we love this band.)
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.