Friday, May 20, 2022

EDITOR’S NOTE — Apologies for the abbreviated Daily News, but today The Entire Staff of The Stand has to scoot over to the WSLC Executive Board meeting and prep for tomorrow’s COPE Convention.

BOEING

► From Seeking Alpha — Boeing MAX not ready to fly in China any time soon, airline says — China Eastern Airlines dampens hopes for Boeing’s 737 MAX to return to flight in Chinese skies any time soon, as the carrier on Friday outlined several steps needed before operating the plane again, including modifications to the aircraft and further pilot training.

► From WPMI Mobile, Ala. — Boeing turning to Mobile for workers as bitter memories of their battle with Airbus linger — The prospect of a good paying aerospace job is enough to get many people beating a path to your door. Today, Boeing, a rival of hometown plane maker Airbus, brought their door to Mobile… even threw in a corn hole game for extra enticement.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From the Washington Post — Why Biden hasn’t killed Trump’s China tariffs and made imports cheaper — U.S. corporations that have opposed the tariffs from the start hope to capitalize on the inflation scare to win their removal. Yet even eliminating all of the tariffs on Chinese goods — which no one anticipates — would have only a modest impact on prices before the midterm elections. If such tariff cuts had been in effect in April, the 8.3 percent inflation rate would instead have been 8 percent.

► From Roll Call — As abortion ruling nears, state and federal lawmakers rush to prepare — Senate Democrats and the Biden administration are scrambling for ways to protect access to abortion as more states begin taking action to block the procedures before the Supreme Court releases a decision expected to reverse the 50-year-old legal precedent set by Roe vs. Wade.

► From the Washington Post — Nearly 200 Republicans vote against bill to ease baby formula shortage — House GOP leaders were among the 192 Republicans who voted against providing $28 million in aid to the Food and Drug Administration to address the shortage of baby formula — within days of criticizing President Biden for not doing enough on the issue.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Washington Republican Reps. Jaime Hererra Beutler, Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers all voted against the bill.

► From Travel Weekly — Unions oppose proposal to raise pilot retirement age — The two primary pilot unions in the U.S. have come out strongly against a reported plan by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to introduce a bill that would raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots.

► From the Washington Post — How a Social Security program piled huge fines on the poor and disabled — Inflated fees were set in motion during the Trump administration when attorneys in charge of a little-known anti-fraud program run by the inspector general’s office levied unprecedented fines against more than 100 beneficiaries without due process. The sums demanded by the government stunned those accused of fraud. The unusual penalties were not the only break with how the Civil Monetary Penalty program had previously been conducted: Unlike in the past, the chief counsel also directed staff attorneys to charge those affected as much as twice the money they had received in error, on top of the fines, interviews and court testimony show.

NATIONAL

► From the AFL-CIO — Landmark U.S. Soccer collective bargaining agreement makes international history for equal pay in professional sports — AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler (pictured here):

“Thanks to a union contract, the soccer players representing the men’s and women’s national teams will receive equal pay for their equal work for the first time ever. This landmark agreement shows the world that by organizing and fighting together, collective bargaining can create tangible change for gender equity.

“Much of this incredible progress is owed to the trailblazing women who have been at the forefront of the fight to achieve equal pay and respect in sports for generations. From the U.S. Women’s National Teams of 1991 and 1999 to champions like Serena and Venus Williams and Billie Jean King to the sold-out crowds in the stands chanting for equal pay to workers on the factory floor who know that we win when we are united in solidarity.

“Tomorrow, the work continues both on and off the field, but today we celebrate. Because history has been made and #ItsAboutTime.”

► From CPR — Workers at 3 more Colorado Starbucks vote to unionize amid national organizing wave — Baristas at three more Denver and Colorado Springs-area Starbucks coffee shops have voted to unionize. The results were the latest development in one of the largest pushes among organized labor against a major U.S. corporation in recent history.

WHAT A DAY!!! 5 more Starbucks stores won their unions today, bringing the total number of unionized Starbucks stores to over 80 across the country.

— SBWorkersUnited (@SBWorkersUnited) May 20, 2022

EDITOR’S NOTE — Ready for a voice at work? Get 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 Guardian — Revealed: Starbucks fired over 20 U.S. union leaders in recent months — The news comes as Starbucks workers have filed petitions for union elections at more than 250 stores, spanning 35 states. Starbucks’ chief executive Howard Schultz has led a campaign against the union movement calling it “some outside force that’s going to dictate or disrupt who we are and what we do.”

T.G.I.F.

► Happy birthday to Nick Heyward, the frontman for the shortlived 1980s British band Haircut One Hundred. After the sudden success of their platinum debut album, Pelican West, Heyward split with the band. He now admits he was struggling with stress and depression. Heyward went on to have a moderately successful solo career, particularly in the UK. Here’s Nick and his doomed band pretending to perform one of their biggest hits. Enjoy.

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