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Don’t ignore CTCs ● ‘I was tired’ ● Shoddy in SC ● Stop & Shop deal

Monday, April 22, 2019

 


THIS WASHINGTON

 

► In the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin — Community colleges can’t be ignored in state budget (editorial) — These schools play an essential role in our state’s economy, which is something that seems to be undervalued. We can no longer afford to take these schools for granted. Whatever the reason, community colleges have been woefully underfunded by the state Legislature for several years. That needs to change now. The lack of funding is eroding these schools as retaining faculty is becoming more difficult.

ALSO at The Stand — We must stop starving our state community, technical colleges (by Dr. Shouan Pan and Annette Stofer)

► From the AP — State senator draws anger after saying nurses probably spend time playing cards — A Walla Walla County lawmaker has angered nurses and spawned a flurry of viral hashtags and memes on social media by saying that some nurses may spend a lot of time playing cards in small, rural hospitals. Republican State Sen. Maureen Walsh made the comments this week while debating a Senate bill that would require uninterrupted meal and rest breaks for nurses. The bill would also provide mandatory overtime protections for nurses.

ALSO at The Stand — Rally, petition to save nurse/tech break bill — Attend an Emergency Rally for Patient Safety at the State Capitol in Olympia this Wednesday, April 24. Patient safety advocates have to send a loud message that ALL hospitals deserve patient safety, and ALL nursing and tech staff deserve break and mandatory overtime protections! RSVP and get more details at the Facebook event page.

► In the Tri-City Herald — Walsh regrets comment about nurses playing cards. But Walsh still opposes bill. — “I was tired,” she said. “I said something I wish I hadn’t.”

EDITOR’S NOTE — So just to be clear, you were tired and you made a mistake you regret. Isn’t that the whole point of the bill you oppose? Making sure nurses and frontline healthcare workers gets rest breaks so they don’t make mistakes?!

► In the Tri-City Herald — Walk 12 hours in our shoes, angry nurses say after senator’s ‘playing cards’ remark — More than half a million people have signed two petitions on change.org demanding that state Sen. Maureen Walsh spend a 12-hour shift shadowing a nurse.

► In the (Everett) Herald — Crunch time in Capitol as lawmakers await final budget deal — Although Democrats control both chambers this year, it’s not a cinch everything is decided by April 28, the final legislative day. Especially the budgets.

► In the News Tribune — Statewide school levy ‘fix’ has put Tacoma in a fix (by Kathi Littman and Shon Sylvia) — Without action by state lawmakers to make the new levy cap more flexible, enriching investments in Tacoma schools will disappear – not because our community decided not to make them any longer, but because the Legislature told us we couldn’t… We are grateful to Tacoma lawmakers for building recognition among their colleagues of the need to provide districts with levy flexibility. We urge them to continue this important work by passing HB 2140 this session.

► In the Spokesman-Review — Spokane school district proposes shorter Fridays and larger class sizes as budget cuts loom — Budget cuts and layoffs at Spokane’s public schools may mean that students are let out of school one hour and 15 minutes early every Friday to give teachers weekly preparation and planning time. The extra time would be in response to the elimination of school librarians as teachers will be asked to lead library time for their classes rather than using that time for lesson planning and other outside-of-class work. This year, the district has 12 early release Fridays, in which students are dismissed two hours early. That works out to 24 hours of missed instructional time per year. The shorter Friday schedule proposed this week would shave another 28 1/2 hours annually.

► In the Spokesman-Review — State legislators’ HEAL Act targets environment, inequality — Lawmakers concerned about how environmental problems adversely affect lower-income communities have put forth what they call the HEAL Act, which stands for healthy environment for all.

 


BOEING

 

► In Sunday’s NY Times — Claims of shoddy production draw scrutiny to a second Boeing jet — When Boeing broke ground on its new factory near Charleston in 2009, the plant was trumpeted as a state-of-the-art manufacturing hub, building one of the most advanced aircraft in the world. But in the decade since, the factory, which makes the 787 Dreamliner, has been plagued by shoddy production and weak oversight that have threatened to compromise safety. A New York Times review of hundreds of pages of internal emails, corporate documents and federal records, as well as interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees, reveals a culture that often valued production speed over quality. Facing long manufacturing delays, Boeing pushed its work force to quickly turn out Dreamliners, at times ignoring issues raised by employees… Safety lapses at the North Charleston plant have drawn the scrutiny of airlines and regulators. Qatar Airways stopped accepting planes from the factory after manufacturing mishaps damaged jets and delayed deliveries. Workers have filed nearly a dozen whistle-blower claims and safety complaints with federal regulators, describing issues like defective manufacturing, debris left on planes and pressure to not report violations. Others have sued Boeing, saying they were retaliated against for flagging manufacturing mistakes.

► In the Miami Herald — In week ahead, Boeing needs to assure investors that its financial outlook is clearing up — With the world’s best-selling passenger plane grounded, Boeing needs to reassure investors in the week ahead that its financial outlook is clearing up. The company is due to report first-quarter financial results on Wednesday. Five days later, it holds its annual shareholder meeting.

 


THAT WASHINGTON

 

► In today’s Washington Post — Supreme Court to decide if anti-discrimination employment laws protect on basis of sexual orientation and gender identity — The court accepted three cases for the term that begins in October. They include a transgender funeral home director who won her case after being fired; a gay skydiving instructor who successfully challenged his dismissal; and a social worker who was unable to convince a court that he was unlawfully terminated because of his sexual orientation.

► From the Hill — Fight over census citizenship question hits Supreme Court — The justices will hear arguments on Tuesday over the administration adding the question, a controversial move that has sparked legal battles throughout the U.S. court system.

► In today’s NY Times — Trump’s washing machine tariffs stung consumers while lifting corporate profits — What appears to have happened is a case study in how a measure meant to help domestic factory workers can rebound on American consumers, creating unexpected costs and leaving shoppers with a sky-high bill for every factory job created.

 


NATIONAL

 

► BREAKING from the Boston Globe — Tentative deal reached between Stop & Shop, striking workers — Stop & Shop and its striking workers reached a tentative agreement Sunday night, bringing an end to a 10-day work stoppage that crippled New England’s largest grocery chain — closing dozens of stores, delaying food from reaching others, and keeping away loyal shoppers in large numbers. The Stop & Shop workers who were on strike will return to work Monday morning, a union spokesman said Sunday night.

► In the People’s World — Stop & Shop strikers get boost from AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka — ”We have your back today, tomorrow, and as long as it takes.” That was the message from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka at a spirited rally of 200 striking workers and supporters. “You are fighting not just for yourselves but for an America that respects its workers. We won’t give in. We won’t back down. Because we’re the ones who do the work.”

► In the Maine Beacon — Hundreds of Maine teachers demand right to strike — A fiery blaze of Maine teachers — all dressed in red — filled the legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee on Wednesday, demanding the right to have equal footing at the bargaining table with school administrators.

► From HuffPost — Disney heir Abigail Disney calls CEO Bob Iger’s $65 million pay ‘insane’ — The heir to the Disney entertainment empire continues taking the company to task for Iger’s $65.6 million compensation last year, which a study says was 1,424 times the median employee pay.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Abigail Disney’s Twitter thread on this is a MUST-READ.

 


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

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