DAILY NEWS
Anger over Alcoa closure ● Phase 1 of 4 ● 92% say: Save USPS!
Monday, May 4, 2020
LOCAL
► LIVE from the Seattle Times — Coronavirus daily news update, May 4 — The most recent count of COVID-19 cases in Washington totals 15,185 infections (up 182 from yesterday) and 834 deaths (up 4), according to the state Department of Health.
► From the (Everett) Herald — Cities cut events, jobs and services to brace for tax losses — With businesses closed and commerce stymied, sales are down. Sales tax comprises a large share of cities’ general fund, which covers fire, planning and police and other administrative positions in a city. Snohomish County, projecting a shortfall of $26 million, froze hiring in all departments for 60 days. The Everett City Council approved about $2.5 million in cuts in every department except fire/emergency medical services and police.
► From the Olympian — Projected Olympia budget shortfall caused by COVID-19 exceeds $10 million — The city has already made $2.7 million in cuts to discretionary spending out of the general fund by implementing a hiring freeze. More cuts may be needed.
ALSO TODAY at The Stand — Tell Congress to provide state COVID-19 aid — Begin Public Service Recognition Week by supporting state and local public employees.
► From the Seattle Times — State members of Congress blast Trump over Alcoa smelter closure in Ferndale, tariff war with China — Local U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to President Trump on Friday describing the pending closure of the Alcoa aluminum smelter near Ferndale as a failure of his trade war with China and calling for a harder line on curbing that nation’s overproduction. “We have a shared interest in addressing unfair trading practices and protecting American jobs in the domestic aluminum industry, but it is clear that your current policies are not working,” the letter says. It’s signed by Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Reps. Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen.
The Stand (April 29) — IAM seeks federal help to save Intalco Works
► From the Tri-City Herald — Testing at Tyson plant near Tri-Cities finds nearly 1 in 8 with coronavirus. 2 have died. — Some 144 workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant near the Tri-Cities have tested positive for COVID-19 in testing done at the plant near the Tri-Cities in recent days, as a second worker there may have died… Tyson workers were falling ill through April, with 104 COVID-19 cases linked to the outbreak in residents of four counties — Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla and Umatilla, Ore. — just before testing of workers at the plant began. Tyson Foods is still considering when to reopen the plant after it closed for testing.
ALSO at The Stand:
(April 29) — UFCW: Trump meatpacking order needs worker protections
(April 28) — Murray rips Tyson Foods over worker safety, delayed response
(April 23) — The Union Difference: A tale of two plants — Teamsters at the Lamb Weston potato plant in Pasco have workplace safety and respect on the job. Nonunion workers at the Tyson beef plant down the road have Washington’s biggest COVID-19 hotspot.
► From the (Everett) Herald — Even in a pandemic, buses and transit keeps rolling — Millions in federal CARES Act funding is marked for Community and Everett transit agencies.
► From the Spokesman-Review — At long last, Idaho Freedom Foundation’s karmic backlash arrives (by Shawn Vestal) — After a campaign by the group to organize protests defying Gov. Brad Little’s stay-home order – and after helping to instigate a protest at a Meridian police officer’s home led by the wannabe patriot hero Ammon Bundy – the intensity of criticism flowing toward the IFF from conservatives has been remarkable. It seems that long-simmering resentment of the group, which likes to throw its weight around the Statehouse, has burst into the open at last after IFF’s irresponsible effort to turn viral ignorance into a wingnut battle for freedom.
The Stand (May 1) — Lifting stay-home orders too soon is an attack on workers (by Peter Starzynski) — The same right-wing groups that oppose unions are backing the “reopen” protests.
THIS WASHINGTON
► From the AP — Inslee announces 4-step plan for lifting virus restrictions — Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday that the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order would be extended through at least May 31 and said there will be a four-stage phase in for lifting of restrictions, starting with allowing retail curbside pickup, automobile sales and car washes by mid-May.
► From the Seattle Times — Restaurants? Libraries? Sports? Here’s when things in Washington might reopen according to Inslee’s 4-phase plan
ALSO TODAY at The Stand — Lost health coverage? Here’s what you need to know
► From the Seattle Times — Washington hospitals, community health centers face a new crisis: red ink — Hospitals’ budget shortfalls could swell to $900 million for March and April in the state. Federal funds are supposed to put these institutions on more stable financial footing, but the Washington State Hospital Association said it’s not likely enough.
► From the Spokesman-Review — State’s top election official says Postal Service critical to Washington elections — An underfunded or broke USPS could threaten the freedom and fairness of Washington’s elections, said Secretary of State Kim Wyman, a Republican. She urged Congress to provide emergency funding to ensure the agency’s survival.
THAT WASHINGTON
► From Government Executive — Americans support Postal Service bailout, polls show — In one survey, 92% of American voters said they supported financial relief for USPS as part of the next coronavirus relief bill. In another, two-thirds of respondents said Congress should directly appropriate funds to the Postal Service, while just 15% rejected the idea. The Postal Service has stressed the dire need for assistance, asking Congress for $75 billion through various means to avoid running out of cash by Sept 30.
The Stand (April 13) — Tell Congress to support our Postal Service!
► From Democracy Now — Trump attacks post office while carriers, clerks die from COVID-19 — Trump claims the agency is only losing money because it is undercharging Amazon and other companies for shipping. “It just isn’t true,” says American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein.
ALSO TODAY at The Stand — Tell Congress to provide state COVID-19 aid — Begin Public Service Recognition Week by supporting state and local public employees.
► From The Hill — Trump says next coronavirus relief bill has to include payroll tax cut — Trump on Sunday said he won’t support another round of coronavirus stimulus legislation unless it includes a payroll tax cut, a measure that has muted support among lawmakers in Congress.
EDITOR’S NOTE — “Payroll tax cut” means cutting what employers and workers pay into Social Security and Medicare. People this wouldn’t help amid COVID-19: 30 million unemployed people, millions more whose hours have been cut, tipped workers, and anybody who wants to maintain or strengthen Social Security and Medicare.
► From HuffPost — Congress will extend unemployment boost ‘over our dead bodies,’ vows GOP Sen. Graham — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) insisted that extending enhanced benefits would incentivize people to stay home rather than return to work.
► From The Hill — Trump rips George W. Bush after he calls for unity amid COVID-19 outbreak
NATIONAL
EDITOR’S NOTE — Tired of being disrespected? Get a union! Find out 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 the NY Times — Three hospital workers gave out masks. Weeks later, they all were dead. — The pandemic has taken an undisputed toll on doctors, nurses and other front-line health care workers. But it has also ravaged the often-invisible army of nonmedical workers in hospitals, many of whom have fallen ill or died with little public recognition of their roles.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.