DAILY NEWS
Astria bankrupt ● Oregon teachers will strike ● Locke ♥’s NAFTA 2.0
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
LOCAL
► In today’s Yakima H-R — Questions about Astria Health’s bankruptcy filing and what it means for you? — The company says the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process allows all three Astria Health hospitals and all Astria Health Centers to continue to operate as usual. There is no plan to close facilities. In its news release, the company said “employee jobs and wages will not be impacted.” In a memo to employees, obtained by the Yakima Herald-Republic, Astria says that benefits, including employees’ 401(k) will not be affected. The memo states that “no layoffs are anticipated.”
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Up to 45 teachers could get pink slips in Edmonds district — Faced with a projected $17.7 million budget hole for the next school year, the Edmonds School Board will consider a cost-cutting plan in which some teachers, assistant principals, and paraeducators could lose their jobs at the end of this school year.
► In today’s Columbian — Vancouver Public Schools seeks community input on budget cuts — The school district has scaled back its proposed budget cuts in light of new state money, but the 23,000-student district still expects an $8 million deficit.
► In the NW Labor Press — New Seasons Market paid a union-buster a third of a million dollars — In a federally mandated public disclosure, the grocer reported it paid $325,855 to Cruz & Associates, a union-avoidance consultancy based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., “to persuade employees … not to exercise … the right to organize and bargain collectively.” Support for the union campaign flat-lined after the company brought in the anti-union consultants.
BOEING
► From KUOW — Boeing says no flaws in 737 Max. Former engineer points to several. — Boeing continues to maintain there was no flaw in the design of the 737 Max. But a former Boeing engineer who is meeting with federal investigators this week said he can point to several flaws in the automated system known as MCAS. The crashes of two Max planes have left deep concerns about what happened inside Boeing and inside the Federal Aviation Administration during approval of the jet’s design.
ALSO at The Stand — Tell Boeing CEO to reinstate wrongly fired S.C. inspectors
THIS WASHINGTON
► From Crosscut — Free college is coming for WA families making under $50K — The expansive higher-education plan the Legislature approved last month will make college tuition free for families making up to 55 percent of the state’s median family income, or up to $50,400 for a family of four. The plan will do so by creating a dedicated account for college and workforce-education investments, paid for by an increase in taxes on certain professional service businesses, as well as on high-tech companies.
THAT WASHINGTON
ALSO at The Stand — Tell Congress: No new NAFTA until it’s fixed
► In today’s NY Times — Trump advisers accuse China of reneging on trade commitments — Trump, angry that China is retreating from its commitments just as the sides appeared to be nearing a deal and confident the American economy can handle a continuation of the trade war, will increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods on Friday morning, his top advisers said.
► In today’s Wall Street Journal — Trump administration issues rule to allow 30,000 additional seasonal worker visas — The Trump administration moved ahead Monday to allow an additional 30,000 seasonal workers to return to the U.S. this summer, a higher-than-expected number that reflects internal tensions in the White House’s approach to legal immigration. A rule to issue the extra visas, known as H-2Bs, to foreign workers who have held them in the past was announced. To get the visas, businesses will have to show they would suffer irreparable harm without the extra workers and that their workers were cleared for the visas in one of the past three fiscal years.
► In today’s NY Times — Democrats threaten to hold Barr in contempt as White House guards tax returns — The Trump administration ruled out turning over President Trump’s tax returns to the House on Monday and girded for a looming contempt of Congress resolution against Attorney General William Barr.
► In today’s NY Times — Sorry, Mr. Mnuchin. Congress has a right to see Trump’s tax returns. (editorial) — Just as the law is clear on this matter, so too is Supreme Court precedent.
NATIONAL
► From GamesIndustry.biz — Riot Games employees hold walkout over forced arbitration — The walkout, seemingly one of the first of its kind to occur in the games industry, is being held in response to the company’s policy of forced arbitration that has been a part of employee contracts at the company in the past. This came to a head recently when Riot insisted two of five current gender discrimination lawsuits against the company (occurring in the wake of a Kotaku report exposing a culture of sexism at the League of Legends studio) be moved to arbitration, saying the women had waived the right to sue when they were hired.
► From Kotaku — Over 150 Riot employees walk out to protest forced arbitration, sexist culture
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.