NEWS ROUNDUP
Let Charles Walk ● Sharing is caring ● R.I.P., Dr. John
Friday, June 7, 2019
FREE SPEECH
► BREAKING from The Columbian — Heritage students walk out in support of student barred from ceremony — Dozens of Heritage High School students walked out of class Friday in solidarity with a classmate who alleges school administration has turned a blind eye to bullying, harassment and sexual assault on campus.
► In today’s Columbian — Heritage senior barred from ceremony after remarks — A Heritage High School senior was banned from participating in Saturday’s graduation after going off-script in a speech at an assembly and accusing school staff of failing to respond to bullying, harassment and sexual violence against students. At an all-school assembly recognizing high school seniors, 17-year-old Charles Chandler presented a poem starting with a description of the challenges students will face in their years at school. It’s an innocuous ode to teenage years at first, describing heartbreak, friendships and bullying. Then he veers off: “And to you underclassmen, who have to endure all the things the school will throw at you for two or three more years, a school where the administration closes their eyes to everything that happens in the school. The sexual assault, the bullying, the depression, the outcasts, and they do nothing to fix it.”
The audience could be heard gasping in a video of his speech, then bursting into applause.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Watch his speech at YouTube and ask yourself, what are we teaching our children when they are given an opportunity to speak out about something important — are brave enough seize that opportunity — and then are punished because the grownups (school administrators) disagree with them or are embarrassed? #LetCharlesWalk!
BOEING
► BREAKING from the Seattle Times — Boeing didn’t plan to fix 737 MAX warning light until 2020 — After discovering a problem in 2017 with a cockpit warning light on the 737 MAX, Boeing decided it would defer an update to fix the issue until 2020, congressional officials said Friday.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Boeing turns to high-powered defense attorneys in 737 MAX investigation — As Boeing responds to a federal criminal investigation related to the 737 MAX, the company has assembled a deeply connected defense team. The behind-the-scene roles of such powerhouse lawyers reflect the high stakes for Boeing. It is simultaneously seeking to convince regulators and the public that the 737 MAX can be safely returned to the skies, while quietly maneuvering through a legal thicket as U.S. Justice Department attorneys aggressively examine how the jet was originally deemed safe before two deadly crashes.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Meanwhile, as Boeing circles the legal wagons…
► From KSN — Spirit implementing short workweek in wake of 737 MAX issues — Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kan., is implementing short workweek starting Friday, June 21 in wake of 737 MAX issues. The company is shortening the workweek to 32 hours (20% per-week salary impact) for all salaried, management and executive employees working on commercial airplane programs. Spirit is attempting to reduce costs as it deals with the impacts of the 737 MAX grounding.
IMMIGRATION
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Consumers, exporters could be hit by new tariffs proposed for Mexico — If the United States imposes tariffs on Mexican goods next Monday as Trump has proposed, Washington exporters might hold their breath to see if Mexico retaliates or Congress takes action to counteract them. Certain consumers might see the impacts sooner with an increase in the price of motor vehicles, which are one of the largest categories of imports from Mexico, or other commodities.
► In today’s Seattle Times — U.S. immigration reform, not Mexico tariffs (editorial) — Tariffs should be a last resort to correct other countries’ unfair trade policies. They must not be used for political purposes or to shift blame for domestic failures. But that’s what Trump is doing by threatening Mexico with tariffs if it doesn’t support his hard-line stance on immigration. Americans should see these threats for what they are: bullying and distractions from our failure to enact meaningful, compassionate immigration reform and constructive, deliberate foreign policy.
► In today’s Seattle Times — Jayapal says former White House chief of staff ‘cashing in’ on immigration policies — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7th) is seeking more information on reports that former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, after helping to implement the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, has joined the board of directors of the company that operates the largest shelter for unaccompanied migrant children.
NATIONAL
► MUST-READ from Axios — Labor’s shrinking share of profits — Dating back to the 1940s corporate profits and labor rose and fell together, reflecting the general growth of the economy, note economists at the St. Louis Fed: “The past decade and a half seems to be different, though. Never have corporate profits outgrown employee compensation so clearly and for so long.” What’s happening: Capital Economics chief economist Neil Shearing says the change has to do with a shift in incentives for decision makers at large companies.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Want your share? Get a union! Here’s 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 Reuters — U.S. job growth slows sharply, heightens fears about economy — U.S. job growth slowed sharply in May and wages rose less than expected, raising fears that a loss of momentum in economic activity could be spreading to the labor market.
► In today’s NY Times — As Walmart turns to robots, it’s the workers who feel like machines — Over the past 50 years, Walmart has recast the fabric of American life, jostling mom-and-pop shops, reshaping small towns and transforming how millions work and shop. But the superstore titan’s latest gamble is an entirely new kind of disruption — the biggest real-world experiment yet for how workers, customers and robots will interact. The nation’s largest private employer has unleashed an army of robots into more than 1,500 of its jumbo stores, with thousands of automated shelf-scanners, box-unloaders, artificial-intelligence cameras and other machines doing the jobs once left to human employees.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Which helps explain this…
► From Bloomberg — Walmart’s CEO calls on Congress to boost minimum wage — Calling the current $7.25 minimum wage “too low,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said it’s “time for Congress to put a thoughtful plan in place” to boost it.
T.G.I.F.
► Malcolm Rebennack Jr., the flamboyant New Orleans singer-pianist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer known as Dr. John, died yesterday. The Entire Staff of The Stand had the pleasure of seeing Dr. John at Jazz Alley in Seattle in 2006 about a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated his hometown. Between songs he lamented the slow and ineffective response of the federal government to that tragedy, and suggested that race and class were factors. The people of Puerto Rico would probably agree. Here is the good doctor performing with The Band in The Last Waltz. R.I.P., Malcolm.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.