Friday, August 26, 2022

LOCAL

► From KING — Classes canceled for Kent School District for the second day as teacher strike continues — The first day of school was delayed for the second time in the Kent School District as teachers continue to strike on Friday. The delay comes as Kent teachers are striking during contract negotiations with the district. The Kent Education Association is arguing for higher pay and more manageable caseloads and class sizes.

The Stand (Aug. 25) — Kent teachers strike after failed contract talks

► From the Redmond Reporter — Homegrown Redmond employees strike over working conditions — Employees of Homegrown Redmond took to the streets of Northeast Leary Way to protest health and safety concerns. Homegrown is a chain restaurant that offers sandwiches, salads and bowls with a focus on sustainability. “We are not just sandwich makers! Homegrown profits off our labor!” was one of the chants that kicked off the strike on Aug. 25 as employees struck drums, cowbells and tambourines.

TODAY at The Stand — Homegrown workers strike at Seattle, Redmond locations

► From the Olympian — Hundreds of North Thurston teachers picket at district headquarters Thursday — About 300 sign-waving North Thurston teachers, most of whom were dressed in red, picketed Thursday morning at district headquarters, wanting to call attention to their concerns about workloads and compensation.

AEROSPACE

► From the Wichita Business Journal — Engineering union sets vote that could land it at more Wichita companies (paywall) — SPEEA will send out ballots in October for a vote that could change how it could organize at companies like Textron Aviation and Bombardier.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From the Seattle Times — Starbucks shortchanged union workers in Seattle, labor board says — The NLRB says Starbucks is violating U.S. labor law by withholding pay hikes and other benefits from stores that have voted to unionize. The labor board’s Seattle office filed the complaint late Wednesday against Starbucks. The complaint is based on charges filed by Workers United, the union trying to organize Starbucks’ 9,000 company-owned U.S. stores. The complaint adds to an already lengthy paper trail in the acrimonious relationship between Starbucks — which opposes unionization — and Workers United. More than 220 U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late last year.

► From Vox — DACA is in jeopardy. Can the Biden administration save it? — The Biden administration is again trying to shore up the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program against ongoing legal challenges that threaten to revoke protections for thousands of immigrants. The effort is an important signal of the Biden administration’s commitment to the program, but is far from a perfect fix.

INFLATION NEWS

► From Bloomberg — U.S. corporate profits soar with margins at widest since 1950 –A measure of U.S. profit margins has reached its widest since 1950, suggesting that the prices charged by businesses are outpacing their increased costs for production and labor. After-tax profits as a share of gross value added for non-financial corporations, a measure of aggregate profit margins, improved in the second quarter to 15.5% — the most since 1950 — from 14% in the first quarter, according to Commerce Department figures published Thursday.

► From The Guardian — Record profits for grain firms amid food crisis prompt calls for windfall tax — Companies at the center of the global grain trade have enjoyed a record bonanza amid soaring food prices around the world, raising concerns of profiteering and speculation in global food markets that could put staples beyond the reach of the poorest.

NATIONAL

► From HuffPost — REI workers at Berkeley store vote to unionize in another win for labor — Workers at the Berkeley store voted 56 to 38 in favor of joining the UFCW union in a mail-in election this month. Employees at REI’s store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City were the first to unionize earlier this year.

► From HuffPost — Workers at Michigan Chipotle vote to unionize in win for fast food employees — Workers at a Chipotle Mexican Grill in Lansing, Michigan, voted to unionize on Thursday, the first location in the country to do so. The workers voted 11-3 to unionize under the Teamsters, a major milestone for the fast food industry, which has struggled to secure workers’ rights for low-wage employees.

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!

Meanwhile, in the UK…

NEW ? | A striking docker at Felixstowe surfs around the deserted port – flying their @unitetheunion flag.

Awesome.pic.twitter.com/6MFqeHmxHL

— Trades Union Congress (@The_TUC) August 25, 2022

T.G.I.F.

► Who are these guys? Corporate executives who defrauded investors? Trump associates? Starbucks union-avoidance consultants?

They are Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski, three guys who were indicted last month for allegedly conspiring to sell handwritten notes and lyrics for the Eagles album Hotel California — papers that band member Don Henley says were stolen in the late 1970s. The 100 pages include the lyrics to the songs “Hotel California,” “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid in Town.” Collectively, they are valued at more than $1 million. Horowitz is a big shot in the rare books world and Inciardi is director of acquisitions at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where he’s worked for nearly three decades before being suspended over the charges. The L.A. Times has an intriguing story about the whole sordid affair. But if you’re wondering how three rock memorabilia dealers could end up handcuffed in a New York courtroom, as one observer puts it, “[Longtime Eagles manager] Irving Azoff and Don Henley are the last people on Earth you would want to get into a fight with.” Here’s drummer/singer Henley and the rest of those legendarily volatile Southern California soft-rockers performing their classic song at Inciardi’s former place of business. Enjoy.

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