NEWS ROUNDUP
Stay home, if you can ● Restore ‘hero pay’ ● Damaging democracy
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
COVID-19
► LIVE from the Seattle Times — Coronavirus daily news update, Nov. 17 — The latest count of COVID-19 cases in Washington totals 131,532 infections (7-day average of new infections per day: 1,584) and 2,548 deaths (7-day average of deaths per day: 12)
► From KUOW — Hospital workers are tired, and frustrated by lax COVID-prevention behavior — With coronavirus cases surging in Washington state and across the country, Gov. Jay Inslee issued new restrictions for the next four weeks. Says Cassie Sauer, President and CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association:
“The biggest challenge is qualified staff, people who can work in the intensive care units and critical care units taking care of the sickest patients. Our staff are exhausted. I think that’s a really important thing for listeners to hear. We’ve had so many statements of support for frontline health care workers. The most important thing you can do to support your frontline health care workers is to not get sick, so you don’t need their care. By staying home, canceling your Thanksgiving plans, that is a strongest statement of support, strongest action of support you can do for your frontline health care workers.“
EDITOR’S NOTE — Meanwhile, some essential workers cannot stay home. In fact, some are being threatened with firing if they do…
► From the Spokesman-Review — Grocers preparing for surge in demand as new statewide restrictions, busy holiday season approach — UFCW Local 1439, a union representing grocery workers in Washington and North Idaho, will be sending letters to grocers asking how they plan to enforce the 25% occupancy requirement as overcrowding in stores is a concern for employees, said UFCW 1439 president Eric Renner. The union will also be joining a national union effort to restore “hero pay,” a $2 hourly premium for employees who continue to work at grocery stores during the pandemic, Renner said.
► From KUOW — Washington restaurants brace for thousands of layoffs with statewide ban on indoor service — Restaurant officials call it a sad day for the industry. Washington state is shutting down indoor service at restaurants, bars, and gyms for the next four weeks at least — possibly longer. A third, record-breaking surge of new COVID-19 cases led Gov. Jay Inslee to announce the new restrictions on Sunday.
► From Reuters — Strict new limits imposed coast to coast in U.S. as COVID-19 surge continues — Health experts warn the coming holiday travel season and the onset of colder weather will only exacerbate the nationwide spike in coronavirus infections.
► LIVE from the Washington Post — Iowa governor, who disparaged mask mandates as ‘feel-good’ measures, reverses course — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) announced a statewide mask mandate on Monday, months after dismissing such orders as “feel-good” measures with little impact. Coronavirus infections in the state have doubled over the past month, and the number of hospitalized patients reached a new high on Monday.
► From HuffPost — North Dakota hits highest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world — South Dakota is close behind as residents of both states also have the lowest rate of face mask use.
BOEING
► From CNBC — Boeing’s 737 MAX is set to return to the skies as industry reels from the pandemic — The Boeing 737 MAX is nearing clearance to fly again after a 20-month ban prompted by two fatal crashes that sent the company into a crisis, but the planes are returning to a different problem. The coronavirus pandemic has roiled airline finances around the world, hurting demand for new planes and helping to drive up cancellations and deferrals.
► From FlightGlobal — Boeing 737 MAX will be inspected for foreign object debris prior to service return — All Boeing 737 MAX jets will be inspected for foreign object debris (FOD) prior to returning to revenue service, according to Boeing.
► From the PSBJ — Aerospace suppliers brace for hardships, new wave of consolidations — There will be failures and fresh rounds of consolidation among beleaguered aerospace suppliers in the aftermath of COVID-19, a top manufacturing management consultant predicts.
THIS WASHINGTON
► From the Seattle Times — Some Washington residents told they have to repay jobless benefits — Over the last several weeks, thousands of Washingtonians have been notified by ESD that their unemployment benefits were being changed, suspended or even reduced — and, in some cases, had to be repaid entirely. ESD officials said the problems are largely temporary and stem from federal regulations requiring the agency to move some recipients from a federal relief program to the regular state unemployment program. The agency said many of the affected workers can restart suspended benefits and avoid repayment simply by filing a new claim with ESD.
► From the Olympian — Tacoma’s Rep. Jinkins reelected state House Speaker, caucuses start to choose leaders — With less than two months to go before the 2021 legislative session begins, Washington state legislators are choosing the core leaders who will guide them through law-making and budget-writing while in the throes of a pandemic.
► From the Seattle Times — After four years of Betsy DeVos, what a Biden presidency will mean for education in Washington
ELECTION
► From the Washington Post — The longer Republicans cower to Trump, the more damage they do to democracy (editorial) — Every day that Republicans dignify Trump’s sore-loser tantrum, the notion that the election was stolen gets further entrenched among his supporters. The only plausible outcome, as they well understand, is that a large portion of the electorate will view President-elect Joe Biden — and the nation’s electoral system — as illegitimate.
► From Politico — Trump blocks Biden’s incoming staff in unprecedented ways — It’s a situation without parallel since at least 1963, when a federal law implemented the modern presidential transition process, mandating the sharing of office space and the spending of money for the process. The posture threatens to leave Biden’s team unprepared in January when it takes over a millions-strong federal workforce.
► From Politico — Health officials sound alarm over impact of Trump’s transition blockade — As coronavirus cases spike, those on both sides of the aisle say the president’s refusal to concede the election could cripple the nation’s ability to control the pandemic.
► From Politico — Biden pressures Trump on coronavirus: ‘More people may die if we don’t coordinate’
THAT WASHINGTON
► From The Hill — Biden urges Congress to pass Democrats’ COVID-19 relief package — “Right now, Congress should come together and pass a COVID relief package like the HEROES Act that the House passed six months ago,” Biden said. House Democrats passed a $3 trillion version of the HEROES Act in May and passed a $2.2 trillion, slimmed-down version of the package in October. Both versions of the package include money for state and local governments, enhanced unemployment benefits, and a second round of stimulus payments.
► From the Seattle Times — Shutdowns increase need for federal relief (editorial) — What’s mostly needed is Republicans and Democrats in Congress to negotiate in earnest on a relief package, now, and provide crisis leadership that’s not coming from the lame-duck, pouting president. The urgency is underlined by the virus resurgence, prompting Washington’s new shutdown and similar measures in other states.
► From The Hill — Biden meets with top CEOs, labor union leaders — President-elect Joe Biden held a virtual meeting with major industry CEOs and labor union leaders on Monday to discuss the economic recovery during the coronavirus pandemic. Participants included the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka, SEIU’s Mary Kay Henry, UAW’s Rory Gamble, UFCW’s Marc Perrone, and AFSCME’s Lee Saunders. Trumka said “the most important thing” is that a future Occupational Safety and Health Administration protects workers.
TODAY at The Stand — Trumka urges Biden, Harris to ‘reestablish OSHA’s mission’
From Fox Business — Biden pledges that unions will have ‘increased power’ under his administration — “I made it clear to the corporate leaders,” Biden said during remarks about the U.S. economy. “I said ‘I want you to know I’m a union guy. Unions are going to have increased power.’ They just nodded. They understand. It’s not anti-business. It’s about economic growth.”
► From Politico — Biden win revives immigration talk — Talk of a potential agreement under Biden comes as Congress has tried and failed in recent years to clinch a deal related to the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. GOP senators pointed to immigration as one area of potential compromise under a government likely to be divided next year.
► From Roll Call — Biden will support Amtrak; can he convince GOP? — The president-elect’s ability to build up Amtrak will largely rest on which party controls the Senate after the Georgia runoffs.
NATIONAL
► From Vox — The Supreme Court will hear a new attack on unions. The implications are profound. — The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would hear Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, a case targeting a 45-year-old California regulation that allows union organizers to briefly enter agricultural workplaces to speak to farmworkers. But the case has implications that stretch well beyond labor organizing. Among other things, Cedar Point could potentially allow businesses to deny entry to health inspectors and other government officials who ensure that those businesses are being operated safely.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
► A Special Report from Reuters — A cop shoots a Black man, and a police union flexes its muscle — Silvon Simmons was shot three times in an upstate New York city. Then he was accused of trying to kill the cop who fired at him. His story is a study in the kinds of police practices that have sparked protests across America – and it shows the enormous challenge cities face when trying to enact change… struggles to give communities greater oversight are playing out in much of America, where – with few exceptions – police are left to police themselves. That power to ward off outside scrutiny derives from union contracts and state labor laws. Reuters analyzed labor contracts signed or extended over the last five years by 100 of the nation’s largest cities. Most – 88 – set strict limits on how civilian complaints are investigated or how cops are punished. Even with policing under intense scrutiny nationwide, unions in some cities recently have won new rights that make oversight even harder. Such protections enable cops with histories of misconduct complaints, like Ferrigno, to remain on the beat.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.