Tuesday, July 28, 2020

COVID-19

► LIVE from the Seattle Times — Coronavirus daily news update, July 28 — The latest count of COVID-19 cases in Washington totals 53,321 infections (7-day average of new infections per day: 826) and 1,518 deaths (7-day average of deaths per day: 9)

► From the NY Times — What will schools do when a teacher gets COVID-19? (by Emily Oster) — Bottom line: When schools open, there will be cases. It is necessary to have a concrete plan for what will happen when this occurs. CDC guidance suggests schools probably do not need to close for a single case, but beyond that, it pushes the decision largely onto schools and local health departments… The evidence from other countries suggests schools could take a variety of approaches. My view is that the most important thing is that they are explicit about which approach they will take. Not just in broad strokes, but in detail. And more than that, in advance.

The Stand (July 24) — WEA demands safety first in any plans to return to school this fall

► From the NY Times — The cult of selfishness is killing America (by Paul Krugman) — Many on the right are enraged at any suggestion that their actions should take other people’s welfare into account. This rage is sometimes portrayed as love of freedom. But people who insist on the right to pollute are notably unbothered by, say, federal agents tear-gassing peaceful protesters. What they call “freedom” is actually absence of responsibility. Rational policy in a pandemic, however, is all about taking responsibility.

ELECTION

► From Crosscut — Campaign spending in WA Senate race signals tax battle to come — The intense focus on the State Senate race in the 5th District highlights some Democrats’ growing frustration with members of their party who won’t support new taxes on businesses and the wealthy. Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah), a former banking manager and current small business owner, opposed a tax on big banks last year and has signaled he won’t vote for a tax on capital gains. By contrast, Democratic challenger Ingrid Anderson, a nurse who lives outside Snoqualmie, has said she supports such taxes. Her campaign website criticizes Mullet for having “vocally opposed many measures of progressive, alternative revenue.”

The Stand (July 20) — Big business funds Republican-led attack on nurse

EDITOR’S NOTE — Ingrid Anderson is endorsed by the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. See the full list of WSLC endorsements in races for Congress, Washington State Legislature, and statewide offices and judicial races.

POLICE BRUTALITY

This nurse in scrubs gets blasted by spray while trying to grab someone away from police. Her “day job” is RN at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. She told me helping people is her calling and that’s why she’s here. And yes, her skin burns all over. #Q13FOX #SeattleProtests pic.twitter.com/fWxrCfl9Ph

— Simone Del Rosario (@SimoneReports) July 26, 2020

► From the Seattle Times — Black Lives Matter accuses Seattle Police of ‘ambushing’ demonstrators; say police are in contempt of court over weekend clashes — Attorneys for Black Lives Matter-Seattle King County have asked a federal judge to hold the Seattle Police Department in contempt of an injunction prohibiting the indiscriminate use of tear gas, pepper spray or other crowd-control weapons, alleging officers “ambushed peaceful protesters” and trampled journalists and medics trying to help the injured.

► From The Hill — 2 in 3 support racial justice protests: Gallup — Ninety-two percent of Black Americans said they support the protests, compared to 89 percent of Asian-Americans, 70 percent of Hispanics and 59 percent of white respondents.

► From the Washington Post — More federal agents dispatched to Portland as protests rise in other cities — The Trump administration is sending more federal agents to Portland, already the site of aggressive policing tactics that activists and city officials across the country say are inspiring more-violent clashes and re-energizing protests.

► From HuffPost — Portland ‘Wall Of Moms’ sues DOJ, Homeland Security for violating constitutional rights — The lawsuit asks a court to order the militarized federal squads to stop using excessive violence to silence peaceful protesters.

► From The Atlantic — There is nothing conservative about what Trump is doing in Portland (by Paul Rosenzweig and Arthur Rizer) — Unconstitutional police activity is not conservative. It’s authoritarian.

BOEING

► From the PSBJ — Sources: Boeing may slow 777X program to help its big airline customers — Boeing may delay launching wider production of its new 777X jetliner for three months or longer, if necessary, to help its pandemic-battered major airline customers, aerospace industry sources say.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From the Washington Post — Economic relief talks ramp up as GOP releases bill; Democrats, White House officials meet — A fraught showdown over the next coronavirus relief bill got underway Monday as Senate Republicans unveiled a $1 trillion package and congressional Democratic leaders met with top White House officials. All parties faced a tight deadline for a breakthrough as expanded jobless aid benefits are set to expire later this week.

► From Vox — Senate Republicans have a new stimulus bill. Here’s what’s in it. — The Senate GOP’s Heals Act is notably narrower ($1 trillion) than the House-approved Heroes Act ($3 trillion). The Heals Act includes a second stimulus check similar to the $1,200 in the Cares Act; $16 billion for coronavirus vaccine development, testing, contact tracing, and treatment (vs. $75 billion in the Heroes Act); $105 billion for schools and higher education institutions while Senate Democrats have introduced a $430 billion package that would provide funds for day cares, schools, and higher education institutions; more PPP money for businesses; liability protections for businesses; and Republicans are pushing to cut the expanded UI amount from $600 to $200 through September. Starting in October, their bill would change the sum of workers’ boosted and existing benefits to match 70 percent of their preexisting wages. The Heroes Act would continue the $600 in expanded UI benefits.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Importantly, the GOP plan has NOTHING for state and local governments struggling with lost revenue and NOTHING for the U.S. Postal Service. Without these investments, hundreds of thousands of public employees and postal workers face layoffs, exacerbating the economic downturn, and the public faces major cuts in essential services during a pandemic crisis. The Heroes Act includes a $500 billion investment in state governments, $375 billion for local governments, and $25 billion for the USPS. Also, under the GOP plan, weekly unemployment benefits would drop from a national average of $920.68 per week to $520.68 per week, costing American families — and their local economies — more than $10 billion per week.

Bottom line: the GOP’s Heals Act plan introduced on Monday was 73 days too late and $2 trillion too little. We already have the solution to save lives and livelihoods. Pass the HEROES Act now!

TODAY at The Stand — Join WSLC town hall Thursday with Sen. Cantwell — The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO will be hosting a Pass the HEROES Act virtual town hall meeting with U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 30. Click here to register to participate via Zoom video conferencing.

► From The Hill — GOP’s relief package hits wall in talks with Schumer, Pelosi — The $1 trillion coronavirus relief package unveiled Monday by the White House and Senate Republicans is being dismissed as a non-starter by Democrats, setting the stage for lengthy negotiations as various federal assistance programs are set to expire. Democrats say the GOP legislation falls short of providing enough money for state and local governments, fails to protect renters from eviction and doesn’t invest enough in lower-income communities hit hard by the pandemic.

► From Politico — McConnell’s warning of lawsuit ‘epidemic’ undercut by lack of litigation — Data suggests that coronavirus-related litigation isn’t very contagious.

► From the AFL-CIO TTD — Aviation labor leaders applaud bipartisan majority push for PSP extension — Union leaders applaud 223 bipartisan members of Congress for calling for an extension of the CARES Act Payroll Support Program (PSP) through March 31, 2021.

EDITOR’S NOTE — The unions’ bipartisan House whip list on supporting the PSP extension currently includes every member of Congress from Washington EXCEPT Republican Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse.

The Stand (July 27) — Aviation unions urge extension of Payroll Support Program

TAKE A STAND — Click here to send a message to Congress to extend the CARES Act Payroll Support Program protecting hundreds of thousands of aviation workers.

► From Crosscut — Sen. Patty Murray’s child care plan could rescue weary parents (by Bruce Fuller) — The Washington senator and former preschool teacher wants to get families much-needed relief.

► From Vox — A small federal agency focused on preventing industrial disasters is on life support. Trump wants it gone. — The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is without enough voting members, and its investigations are stuck in limbo.

NATIONAL

► From HuffPost — California child care workers win biggest union organizing election in years — Publicly funded child care providers in California have voted overwhelmingly to form a union, marking what organizers believe is the biggest U.S. union organizing election victory in years. Roughly 43,000 child care providers will now be able to negotiate with the state over a contract that could impact the funding and training they receive for their work. The election was the result of a 17-year campaign waged by public-sector unions to pass state legislation allowing these workers to bargain collectively.

“This is not just a victory for union rights and economic justice. As a movement led by women of color, today’s win is also an important step in the march toward gender justice and racial justice.” – AFSCME Pres. Lee Saundershttps://t.co/E6CYbsdcUb

— AFSCME (@AFSCME) July 27, 2020

► From the American Prospect — In California, child care providers vote to unionize — The identity of these new members is every bit as notable as their quantity. All but a handful are women, and the vast majority are either African American or Latina… AFSCME and SEIU coordinated much of their organizing work in the face of Supreme Court rulings aimed at weakening them both, and the California Child Care Providers United is a joint effort. The union will have its own elected leadership and staff, and will bargain directly with the state. In some of the state’s counties, it will be affiliated with the United Domestic Workers, an AFSCME local; in the other counties, it will be affiliated with one of two SEIU locals.

► From The Onion — Nation’s CEOs sign pledge to continue fucking over Americans

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