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Teachers take a stand | Joe Kent for sale | The other big lie

Thursday, September 8, 2022

 


EDUCATION

 

► From KING — No classes for Seattle Public Schools Thursday as teacher strike continues — Washington’s largest school district delayed classes for a second day due to a strike after SPS and SEA were unable to reach an agreement.

► From the Seattle Times — Striking Seattle teachers, aides explain why they are on the picket line — For nearly 27 years, Jacqueline Hardy has been a paraeducator in Seattle Public Schools. During that time she hasn’t been able to afford to live in Seattle — where she was born and raised — and has worked two jobs to pay her bills. Wednesday was to be the first day of the 2022 school year, but instead, Hardy was one of the thousands of Seattle Education Association members on strike. On Wednesday, striking educators spelled out their frustrations on the picket line, describing the challenges of teaching at a time when many children have fallen behind academically and are struggling with emotional and behavioral issues.

TODAY at The Stand 6,000 Seattle educators strike for fair contract

TAKE A STAND — Union and community members can show their support for Seattle educators by joining a picket line at public schools throughout the city, joining SEA’s community email list for updates on the strike status, and by sending this message to the Seattle School Board.

► From MLK Labor — Labor community calls for student meals to be offered at city properties — Unfortunately, Seattle Public Schools made the decision to distribute meals to students inside school buildings this morning. This means nutrition workers and families must cross picket lines in order to ensure children get fed. The district had ample time to prepare for the strike and work with the City of Seattle to set up meal centers at non-school facilities, as happened in 2015. Instead, they chose to force thousands of families to cross a picket line in order to feed their children.

► From the News Tribune — Teachers in Pierce County district go on strike, delaying return to school for hundreds — Teachers in Eatonville officially went on strike Wednesday after a last-minute round of bargaining with the school district failed to bring the two sides together on a new contract, delaying the first day of school for some 1,800 students. Michael Sniezak, president of the Eatonville Education Association, which represents roughly 110 teachers and support staff, said negotiations Tuesday did not move the needle on resolving the labor group’s concerns over classroom size, contract length or pay, among other issues that have been the subject of bargaining since June.

TAKE A STANDSign and share petition for Eatonville educators.

► From the Seattle Times — Kent teachers strike ends as union ratifies contract; students head to class — After a strike forced more than a week’s delay to the start of classes in the Kent School District, the Kent Education Association ratified a contract late Wednesday. Most students will begin heading to school Thursday.

TODAY at The StandKent educators vote to ratify agreement, ending strike

► From the union-busting Columbian — Still no tentative deal for Ridgefield teachers, bargaining to continue ThursdayThe Ridgefield School District and the Ridgefield Education Association were not able to reach a tentative deal following Wednesday night’s bargaining session, but the two sides have agreed to undergo one final bargaining session on Thursday to try and prevent a strike on Friday.

► From Teamsters 117 — Teamsters help over 100 kids with back-to-school drive — With its back-to-school drive this year, Local 117 members donated enough to supply dozens of families and more than 100 kids with paper, pencils, binders, crayons, glue stick, and more. Members and their kids could stock up at one of three locations: Tukwila, Tacoma, or Pasco.

 


LOCAL

 

► From the Yakima H-R — Yakima can’t afford to lose Memorial Hospital (editorial) — Last week, Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital officials confirmed they’re cutting back on traveling nurses and adjusting Memorial’s staffing in the face of “large financial losses” so far this year. A lot of the problem appears to center on the difficulty of hiring qualified employees. Currently, for example, the hospital has 35 unfilled registered nurse positions. Jane Hopkins, a registered nurse and leader of SEIU HealthCare 1199NW, a statewide union that represents 30,000 nurses and other health care workers across the state, said the nursing shortage started years ago:

“We’re seeing the consequences of profit-driven decisions. Financially, it would have made more sense to retain existing staff than to fill vacancies with outrageously expensive travel contracts.”

► From the Tri-City Herald — Franklin sheriff demotes 2 jail supervisors, then files injunction to stop Teamsters fight — The Franklin County sheriff is asking a Tri-Cities judge to stop an arbitrator from weighing in on the demotion of two corrections officers. Sheriff Jim Raymond is seeking an injunction in Superior Court to stop Teamsters Local 839 from taking a grievance to an independent arbitrator. This is the latest challenge in a series of battles between the sheriff and the union that have resulted in at least three unfair labor practice complaints against the county. Russell Shjerven, the local union’s secretary-treasurer, told the Herald they believe the two were demoted because of their union involvement. The deputies were the last two members of the contract bargaining team who still work in the jail, he said.

The Stand (March 2) — Sheriff blocks deputies’ access to union reps at county jail

 


AEROSPACE

 

► From Bloomberg — FAA tightens Boeing design oversight after 737 MAX crashes — Employees at Boeing and other manufacturers will be given new protections against company interference as federal regulators continue to tighten oversight of aircraft development following a pair of crashes of 737 MAX jets.

► From The Hill — Pentagon stops F-35 deliveries after discovery of engine part made in China — The Pentagon has stopped delivery of F-35 fighter jets after the aircraft’s maker, Lockheed Martin, found a part used in the jet’s engine was made in China, the Defense Department and company confirmed Wednesday.

 


ELECTION

 

► From Roll Call — GOP outsider offers Beltway donors 30-minute sitdowns After running as an outsider in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District who would oppose the Capitol’s establishment players, Republican Joe Kent is making overtures to Beltway insiders. Kent is a a far-right Republican who has the backing of former President Trump and regularly rails against the Beltway establishment. Now he is working to set up back-to-back meetings all day at the Capitol Hill Club on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Kent is offering would-be donors 30-minute slots.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Kent is an election denier who has reportedly courted prominent white nationalists and has “ties to a deep-seated extremist fringe.” And speaking of election deniers…

 


THE OTHER BIG LIE

 

► From Vox — Amazon’s CEO still isn’t accepting the historic Staten Island union victory — In an onstage interview in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Wednesday, Andy Jassy claimed “very disturbing irregularities” in the vote of workers at the JFK8 warehouse in New York City, and alluded to a prolonged battle with the National Labor Relations Board, which oversaw the election.

The Stand (Sept. 5, 2022) — Free, fair elections are under attack—at work (by WSLC President Larry Brown) — It’s shameful that some of Washington’s biggest homegrown corporations don’t share democratic values and are instead deploying Trumpian tactics to undermine fair elections when they don’t like the outcomes. Rather than respect their employees’ rights and bargain in good faith to address the issues that led them to unionize, Starbucks and Amazon are fighting to undermine workplace democracy.

 


THAT WASHINGTON

 

► From the Washington Post — When a man with a pistol shows up outside a congresswoman’s house — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) recounts the night an armed man shouted at her and her husband outside their Seattle home — and how threats of political violence haunt and alter the lives of elected officials.

► From the Washington Post — Congress’s first job right now: Safeguarding democracy (editorial) — The Electoral Count Reform Act is a bipartisan bill would mend and modernize the archaic 1887 law that governs the counting and certifying of votes in presidential elections — the same law that President Trump and his allies tried to exploit to overturn the legitimate 2020 presidential election results. Reform would protect the democratic process from future attacks from unprincipled politicians who would manipulate the system to install their favored candidates in the White House, regardless of the voters’ will.

► From HuffPost — Senate to vote on same-sex marriage bill soon — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday that a vote protecting marriage equality will happen “in the coming weeks.”

 


NATIONAL

 

► From the AFL-CIO — MLBPA joins AFL-CIO with goal of helping strengthen labor movement — The Major League Baseball Players Association announced Wednesday that it is formally affiliating with the AFL-CIO with a goal of supporting the efforts and strengthening the voice of the national labor movement. “The MLBPA has a proud, 56-year history of success rooted in unity and a highly engaged membership,” Executive Director Tony Clark said. “We look forward to bringing that history and experience to bear as a more formal part of the movement.” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said:

“The MLBPA and every single one of its 1,200 players have a home in our movement because this union understands and lives the meaning of the word solidarity by leveraging the power of sports and helping others. Together, with our 12.5 million members, we will bring our strength to their fights, including working to organize 5,400 minor league players.”

EDITOR’S NOTE –The NFL Players Association is affiliated with the AFL-CIO and the Seattle Seahawks’ chapter has long been affiliated with the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. The WSLC would be PROUD to welcome the Seattle Mariners’ union as an affiliate and part of Washington’s Union Movement.

► From HuffPost — Baseball players union joins AFL-CIO in show of solidarity with other workers

► From the AFL-CIO — AB 257 is a big step forward for California fast-food workers — The new law guarantees that fast-food workers get a seat at the table on the Fast Food Council, ensuring they have a voice in determining their working conditions and pay. More than half a million fast-food workers from across California will have the power to raise standards in terms of wages, freedom from discrimination and harassment, and other issues.

► From the AP — Restaurants move to stop new California fast food worker law — A coalition calling itself Protect Neighborhood Restaurants filed a referendum request with the state attorney general, the first step before the law’s opponents can begin gathering signatures. If they get enough, the law that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Monday, wouldn’t take effect unless it’s supported by a majority of voters.

 


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