NEWS ROUNDUP
‘A lot of infection’ | Jan. 6 accountability | The answer: unions
Monday, July 25, 2022
COVID
► From the Tri-City Herald — ‘A lot of infection.’ COVID level high in Tri-Cities. Thousands must wear masks — Fewer Washington state counties are rated as having “high” community levels of COVID-19 than the previous week, but Benton and Franklin counties remain on the list. That means that masks are recommended in public places in the Tri-Cities, under CDC guidance.
► From Politico — Hospitals struggle with staff shortages as federal COVID funds run out — The current wave, in which the new number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has risen more than 40 percent in the last month, is putting fresh stress on facilities as federal funding for the pandemic response is running out, leaving some with less flexibility to hire more staff if they need to.
► From the AP — Biden improves ‘significantly,’ throat still sore from COVID — President Joe Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, says Biden continues to “improve significantly” despite a lingering sore throat.
LOCAL
► From the Seattle Times — How schools in Seattle are being affected by dwindling enrollment — Dropping enrollment can have devastating effects because schools must cut staff if they aren’t needed, leading to tough choices about which teachers stay and which are transferred.
AEROSPACE
ALSO TODAY at The Stand — 2,500 Machinists in St. Louis vote to strike at Boeing
► From the PS Business Journal — Boeing closes Farnborough Airshow with 777X, 737 MAX deals — As the Farnborough International Airshow drew to a close Friday, Boeing lined up new customers across its newly built and converted freighter lines and settled a major order for its top-selling 737 MAX program.
► From Reuters — Ryanair voices concern over Boeing delays and MAX 10 certification — Ryanair on Monday said that Boeing had warned it of possible delays to 21 737 MAX aircraft due for delivery before the end of the year and said it was also worried about the certification of the new MAX 10 aircraft.
ELECTION
EDITOR’S NOTE — Steve Hobbs also has earned the WSLC’s endorsement in this race. See all of the WSLC election endorsements.
► From Politico — Washington’s primary could dethrone Trump’s kingmaking power — There’s a much smaller chance that Trump will be able to deliver a knockout blow to his two avowed enemies: Washington GOP Reps. Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrera Beutler. That’s because of Washington state’s uncommon open primary system.
THAT WASHINGTON
► From the AFL-CIO — Working people demand accountability for Jan. 6 attack on our nation — AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler:
“The Jan. 6 hearings revealed bombshell testimony showing just how perilously close America’s democracy was to toppling in the early days of January 2021. It’s incumbent upon all of us to work together to hold those behind this attack accountable. Every union in America was built on the foundation of democracy and the ideals of freedom, and working people are committed to ensuring that ours continues to be a nation that upholds those ideals.”
► From the Seattle Times — One month after Supreme Court’s Roe ruling, over half of states have banned or moved to limit abortions — With bans already in place, upcoming, currently enjoined in courts or possible in the future, about 80% of the active abortion clinics identified in a 2021 database for the contiguous U.S. will be (or already have been) put out of commission.
► From NBC News — Thousands of workers have lost access to trade assistance weeks after Congress allowed it to expire — The Department of Labor estimated around 4,500 workers missed out on the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program, or TAA, and the programs’ benefits since it lapsed on July 1. About 100,000 people sign up for it annually.
► From Reuters — U.S. settles claims against poultry producers over worker treatment — Three of the largest U.S. poultry processors have agreed to settle claims by the U.S. Justice Department over their alleged longstanding effort to share information about workers in order to drive down compensation.Cargill, Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms have agreed to pay more than $84 million in restitution to workers harmed by the information sharing.
► From The Hill — Biden to huddle virtually with labor leaders, CEOs on semiconductor bill — The White House said the meeting would focus on “the importance of passing the Chips Act to bolster America’s competitive edge, manufacturing power, and national security.”
NATIONAL
► From CNN — America’s CEOs made 324 times more than you last year — A new report from the top American union group is shedding light on just how much better off the bosses in the C-Suite are versus their employees. S&P 500 CEOs on average got a roughly 18% bump in compensation, averaging $18.3 million in 2021, according to the new AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch Report. That’s 324 times the median worker’s pay at those companies.
EDITOR’S NOTE — See the latest AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch report.
► From Business Insider — Here are the 20 companies with the biggest pay gap between CEOs and workers in 2021, including Amazon, Apple, Starbucks, and McDonald’s
► From the American Prospect — “Welcome to Hell” — Mars, Inc., is best known for making chocolate bars. But it also owns the most pet hospitals in the U.S., and workers say the conditions are toxic.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
► From the Washington Post — Unions could succeed where Senate Democrats fail (by Jennifer Rubin) — Democrats in the Senate, hamstrung by the filibuster, have failed to pass protections for voting and abortion rights, universal prekindergarten, subsidies for child care and paid sick leave, to name a few widely popular policy items. While Democrats will continue to push for their legislative goals, many of these objectives can be obtained incrementally through a movement with considerable momentum: union organizing. Unions can negotiate with employers over all sorts of things, from higher wages to better workplace safety measures to improved worker benefits. That can include items such as paid sick leave, assistance for child care and pre-K reimbursement.
EDITOR’S NOTE — 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!
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.