NEWS ROUNDUP
Scab traffic jam | Amazon fine with fines | Nixon x 25 = Trump
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
COVID
► LIVE from the Seattle Times — Coronavirus daily news update, March 29 — The latest count of COVID-19 cases in Washington totals 1,453,251 infections (14-day average of cases per day: 903) and 12,454 deaths.
► From KNKX — Researchers track the pandemic’s toll on health workers’ mental health — For the past few years, health care workers have kept working without a break through surge after surge of the pandemic, through countless deaths and endless staffing shortages. A recent study tracked the toll taken on their mental health. And it found a majority of American health care workers reporting symptoms that include depression and thoughts of suicide.
► BREAKING from the AP — FDA OKs another Pfizer, Moderna COVID booster for 50 and up — U.S. regulators on Tuesday authorized another COVID-19 booster for people age 50 and older, a step to offer extra protection for the most vulnerable in case the coronavirus rebounds. The FDA’s decision opens a fourth dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to those people at least four months after their previous booster.
LOCAL
► From the PS Business Journal — Suppliers say 30 people held ‘against their will’ for hours at Seattle concrete plant — Just after noon on Friday, around 100 striking ready-mix truck drivers held roughly 30 people “against their will for over four hours” at the Stoneway Concrete plant in South Seattle, a spokesperson for the sand-and-gravel companies said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This headline and story are ridiculous. What’s next? “I-5 rush-hour commuters held against their will in backup!” If you read far enough into the story, at issue was whether peaceful picketers were delaying trucks by closer to 3 minutes instead of the court-mandated 2 minutes. Rather than negotiating in good faith toward a resolution to this strike, owners are focused on trying to increase their capacity to operate with scab drivers, sending out hysterical press releases, and busting the union. Shame on them.
► From the Seattle Emerald — Union security officers rally for respect — Many came together at a march and rally at Westlake Park to demand a stronger union contract that addresses training needs, staffing issues, in addition to sexual harassment, racism, and unsafe conditions experienced in the work place. There are approximately 4,000 security officers represented by SEIU6, according to MLK Labor Executive Secretary Treasurer Katie Garrow.
► From the NY Times — New supply chain risk: 22,000 dockworkers who may soon strike — The potential conflict centers on negotiations over a new contract for more than 22,000 union workers employed at 29 ports along the West Coast of the United States. The contract for the ILWU expires at the end of June. The dockworkers have moved unprecedented volumes of cargo during the pandemic, even as at least two dozen succumbed to COVID-19, according to the union. They are aware that many of the shipping terminals in Southern California are controlled by global carriers that have been racking up record profits while dramatically increasing cargo rates. Odds for a deal without drama are “50-50,” declared Jim McKenna, the chief executive of the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the shipping terminals in talks with the union.
THIS WASHINGTON
► From the Seattle Times — Fine with fines? Amazon isn’t making enough changes to protect warehouse workers, WA says — Amazon and Washington’s workplace safety watchdog are trapped in a cycle. Citation. Appeal. Repeat. Regulators with the state Department of Labor and Industries have cited and fined Amazon four times in the past 11 months — a total of $81,000 — for alleged violations of workplace safety laws, accusing the company of setting an unsafe pace that puts employees at risk as they quickly move package after package. The company disputes the violations, saying it sets a safe and comfortable pace of work and is constantly looking for new technologies and processes to keep workers safe in its warehouses and delivery stations. Amazon appealed the first three citations and plans to appeal the fourth. Those appeals, the start of an often lengthy legal process, don’t mean Amazon can continue operating as usual. But, for the most part, Amazon still is.
► From the (Everett) Herald — Island County officials decry subpar ferry service — The ferry system has blamed its staffing shortage on a number of factors, including a paucity of maritime workers, a wave of retirements and increases in cases of COVID-19 for current employees.
THAT WASHINGTON
► From the Tri-City Herald — Biden administration proposes ‘disappointing’ Hanford budget cut in 2023 — The Biden administration has proposed less money for the Hanford nuclear reservation next year than Congress approved earlier this month for the current fiscal year. Monday an administration budget request was sent to Congress that recommended about $2.4 billion for the Hanford site in fiscal 2023. That is $172 million less than the current spending level. And it is far less than Washington state officials say is needed to keep Hanford environmental cleanup on track.
► From Roll Call — Committee sets vote for Supreme Court pick Ketanji Brown Jackson — The Senate Judiciary Committee’s 22 members can explain their views at the April 4 vote on Jackson’s nomination
EDITOR’S NOTE — That’s about 25 times Nixon’s 18.5-minute gap! BTW, Watergate reporter Bob Woodward shares the byline on this latest Washington Post scoop.
NATIONAL
► From the IAM — Machinists Union reaches industry-leading tentative agreement for 7,000 members at Southwest Airlines — Approximately 7,000 IAM-represented workers at Southwest Airlines will be voting on a contract that delivers industry-leading job protections and pay scales for Southwest Airlines’ customer service employees. The four-year tentative agreement also provides better mandatory overtime rules and creates a better quality of life for IAM members.
► From CBS News — Vote concludes in Amazon union election in Alabama — The nearly 6,000 workers at the plant finished voting on whether to form a union, but results are not expected to be publicly disclosed until later this week. Voting is also wrapping up at a second facility in Staten Island, New York, with vote counting set to begin on March 31.
EDITOR’S NOTE — What’s the best, surest way to close gender and racial pay gaps? A union contract. Get more information about how you can join together with co-workers and negotiate a fair return for your hard work that applies to everyone at your workplace. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.