Monday, November 4, 2019

VOTE!

Find that ballot and VOTE! It must be mailed — postage free! — by tomorrow or deposited in a ballot drop box by 8 p.m. tomorrow. Here are labor’s endorsements for your consideration. Visit your county auditor’s website for more information, including how you can still vote if you’ve misplaced your ballot.

MORE LOCAL COVERAGE on Tuesday’s election and what you need to know to vote in your community from the Bellingham Herald, (Everett) Herald, KING-5 News (Seattle), (Vancouver) Columbian, and the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

► In the Spokesman-Review — I-1000 deserves voters’ support (by Rep. Marcus Riccelli and Larry Valadez) — Voting to approve I-1000 would start to unwind some of the systemic economic disadvantages faced by veterans, women, communities of color and persons with disabilities in Washington state. Forty-two other states in the country already have affirmative action policies in place to help level the playing field for all communities. It’s well past time to join the overwhelming majority of other states who have made a public commitment to ensure better economic outcomes for every citizen. Spokane is a beautiful place to work, play and raise a family. Let’s make sure all our neighbors can share equitably in the prosperity our region has to offer.

► In the Seattle Medium — I-1000 is about qualified people having an opportunity to participate in our prosperous economy (podcast) — Marilyn Strickland, President and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and former mayor of Tacoma, talks about I-1000 and the opportunity would provide to all residents of Washington state.

ALSO TODAY at The Stand — Ex-Seahawk Doug Baldwin urges voters to approve I-1000/R88 — “We need to create a level playing field for women, veterans, and minorities to get a fair shot at hiring, contracts, and access to education,” said Baldwin in a new TV ad aired during Sunday’s Seahawks game. “Change doesn’t happen without action, especially when it’s entrenched in discrimination and disparities. That’s why your vote is essential.”

► In today’s Seattle Times — I-976 will bring pain, set back progress (editorial) — The destructive initiative would drain about $700 million from infrastructure funds annually. This means less money to keep roads safe and stable, and more time lost to capacity-limiting emergency repairs when conditions deteriorate. Such is the price of ripping up transportation budgets to make car tabs a flat $30. Ballot initiative promoter Tim Eyman’s gimmick would have voters kill off funding for sidewalks, bus routes, police patrol of state highways and other crucial aspects of the state’s transportation network. Voters should make the sensible decision and reject this dangerous proposition.

ALSO at The Stand — Union leaders urge voters: Vote NO on I-976

► In today’s Seattle Times — Officials scramble to notify 1,000 potential voters about a registration glitch ahead of Tuesday’s election — The issue occurred with potential voters registering at Washington’s health plan website, which provides an option to register when people sign up for health or dental coverage.

LOCAL

► In the Seattle Times — Kalama methanol plant is about more than just much-needed jobs (by Larry Brown, Mike Bridges, and Mark Riker) — The women and men of the labor movement are committed to growing our economy in an environmentally responsible way. That’s why we join in coalition with others in the environmental and progressive communities to promote solutions that protect our environment and create and maintain quality, family-sustaining jobs. We work to meet the needs of our people and our economy by confronting climate change. That’s why we supported enacting zero-carbon electricity standards in the last Legislative session. And it’s why we support Northwest Innovation Works’ proposed methanol manufacturing facility in Kalama.

► From Teamsters 117 — UNFI unprepared to negotiate over severance for laid off Teamsters — UNFI arrived without their lead negotiator and unprepared to bargain with Teamsters Local 117 and Local 313 when they met with the Union on Thursday and Friday in Tukwila to discuss severance packages for Teamsters who are facing layoffs by the Company. As a result, the two-day negotiations session resulted in little progress.

► In the News Tribune — Tacoma bridges need hundreds of millions in repairs. Where will the money come from? — Nearly half of Tacoma’s 38 city-owned bridges are “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete,” raising questions about how City Hall will find the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to replace or reconstruct several of them. Two of the aging bridges have been closed for five years.

THIS WASHINGTON

► In the (Everett) Herald — Non-compete employment agreements need to be reined in (by James McCusker) — Washington state’s new legislation won’t prohibit the use of on non-compete agreements but will restrict their widespread popularity with employers. It is an example of “nudge” economic policy. Free markets work with remarkable efficiency, but sometimes they need a nudge to keep them on track.

► In the (Longview) Daily News — Child care ‘crisis’ causes missed work, turnover; costs employers $2 billion a year — Hundreds of thousands of families have reduced their hours or quit their jobs because of the challenge of finding child care, according to a report released last week by the State’s Child Care Collaborative Task Force. That report found that the state’s child care crisis is costing Washington businesses more than $2 billion a year.

THAT WASHINGTON

► MUST-READ in the Columbian — Herrera Beutler puts party ahead of country (editorial) — Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler’s characterization of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump as a “farce” is shamefully partisan hyperbole that ignores her oath of office. In joining all House Republicans by voting against rules for a formal impeachment hearing, the Battle Ground Republican has chosen party over country and obfuscation over transparency… Rather than standing on ever-shrinking platforms to defend President Trump, Herrera Beutler should heed the words of Michigan Congressman Justin Amash, who left the Republican Party earlier this year: “This president will be in power for only a short time, but excusing his misbehavior will forever tarnish your name … History will not look kindly on disingenuous, frivolous, and false defenses of this man.”

► In today’s Washington Post — Mulvaney allies to try to stonewall Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, officials say — Russell Vought, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s protege who leads the White House Office of Management and Budget, intends a concerted defiance of congressional subpoenas in coming days, and two of his subordinates will follow suit — simultaneously proving their loyalty to the president and creating a potentially critical firewall regarding the alleged use of foreign aid to elicit political favors from a U.S. ally.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From The Hill — Majority say they are not better off financially under Trump: poll — The Financial Times-Peterson poll released Monday found that almost two-thirds of Americans said their finances haven’t gotten better since Trump has taken office.

► In the Washington Post — The hottest stop for candidates on the 2020 campaign trail? The picket line. — About a year into the race, the road to the Democratic presidential nomination leads through a thicket of striking workers, in a number of states, whether they are in front of a grocery store, an automotive factory or an elementary school.

Via young shanahan/Flickr, adapted by The Stand

► In today’s LA Times — Trump team has a plan for national parks: Amazon, food trucks and no senior discounts — At the urging of a controversial team of advisors, the Trump administration is mulling proposals to privatize national park campgrounds and further commercialize the parks with expanded Wi-Fi service, food trucks and even Amazon deliveries at tourist camp sites. Leaders of the Interior Department’s “Made in America” Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee say these changes could make America’s national parks more attractive to a digitally minded younger generation and improve the quality of National Park Service facilities amid a huge maintenance backlog. As part of its plan, the committee calls for blacking out senior discounts at park campgrounds during peak holiday seasons.

► From the AP — Appeals court agrees Trump tax returns can be turned over — The ruling is certain to be appealed by Trump’s lawyers.

NATIONAL

► From Tech.co — Automation of jobs: The rise, risks, and unknowns — “Our economy is facing some fundamental changes,” says AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler. “We’re already facing questions around the very nature of work.” This is perhaps the prevailing view of high-tech automation in the workplace – change is coming, it’s happening now, and very few people know what it’s going to look like on the ground. However, one thing that most experts agree upon is that the changes will be significant.

► From Reuters — Instacart workers protest as pressure mounts on gig companies — Instacart’s “gig” workers on Sunday were set to target the grocery shopping and delivery firm with a three-day work action aimed at disrupting service and forcing executives to fix inequalities in pay structures that they say are getting worse every year. Discontent in the ranks of the nation’s estimated 75 million freelance, or “gig”, workers is simmering as the richly funded Silicon Valley startups that depend on those laborers are under growing pressure to show that they can turn profits.

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