Thursday, June 1, 2023

SUPREME COURT

► BREAKING from the Seattle Times — U.S. Supreme Court rules against Seattle union in fight with concrete firm — The U.S. Supreme Court has ended a six-year fight between unionized Seattle truck drivers and a major local concrete supplier, ruling against the union in a decision that may impact organized labor across the country. In an 8-1 decision, the court found that because the union representing the drivers did not take sufficient precautions to prevent serious damage to the company’s trucks when they initiated a strike, the concrete company could move ahead with a lawsuit against the union.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This is a breaking story. The Stand will post union statements/reactions today as we receive them. Stay tuned.

LOCAL

► From the Seattle Times — Postal workers, supporters rally in Seattle amid contract negotiations — U.S. Postal Service workers and supporters rallied at Westlake Park in downtown Seattle on Monday to show solidarity as the national letter carriers’ union negotiates a new contract for the workers who deliver the mail. Workers in the Seattle area have faced long hours due to required overtime, and are urging an end to non-career track positions, which come with lower pay and fewer benefits than career-track positions, said Kevin Gottlieb, president of Branch 79 of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

► From the Yakima H-R — Employees at New Columbia Fruit Packers in Yakima raise concerns about working conditions — More than a dozen workers packed Centro Chinampa on Thursday to share concerns about the working conditions at New Columbia Fruit Packers facility in Yakima. Workers at the fruit packing company, formerly known as Frosty Packing or Jack Frost, said they sent a letter signed by more than 40 workers asking for changes in working conditions at the facility near Fruitvale Boulevard.

► From the Seattle Times — Hundreds of Amazon workers walk out to protest return to office, climate — Hundreds of Amazon employees briefly walked off the job Wednesday, calling on the company to reconsider its return-to-office mandate and curb its greenhouse gas emissions. Outside Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, standing underneath a banner that urged the company to stop its “short-term thinking,” program manager Pamela Hayter told her colleagues she wasn’t nervous about speaking out anymore:

“We’re here today because it’s the right thing to do. I’ve not been nervous. I’ve been fired up.”

MORE coverage from the PSBJ, Washington Post and the AP.

► From the Seattle Times — Lewis County’s Centralia bets on clean energy as coal economy fades — The power plant’s closure, a step in Washington’s move to a fully green electricity grid, is likely to mark the end of the coal economy in Centralia and the beginning of a renewable energy hub. Companies are eyeing pilot plants for that property, aiming to replace the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state and promising to offer new job opportunities to the power plant employees.

THIS WASHINGTON

► From Crosscut — State Sen. Mark Mullet announces bid for governor — The moderate Democrat from Issaquah joins Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz in seeking the open seat.

AEROSPACE

► From Reuters — Boeing CEO ‘not overly anxious’ about Chinese narrowbody jet — Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun downplayed speculation that China’s maiden commercial flight of its domestically produced C919 narrowbody jet could foreshadow the end of the duopoly currently held by the U.S. planemaker and its European rival Airbus SE.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From the Washington Post — Senate racing to pass debt ceiling bill ahead of Monday default deadline — Senate leaders are imploring their colleagues to move quickly to approve a House-passed bill ahead of a Monday deadline that would suspend the debt ceiling, limit federal spending and avert a catastrophic U.S. government default.

TODAY at The Stand — AFL-CIO hails Biden deal to avert GOP’s manufactured crisis

► From the Washington Post — New SNAP work requirements, explained — The debt-ceiling agreement would institute new requirements for families who get benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

NATIONAL

► From KERO — One month: The Writers Guild of America strike enters its fourth week — If you were looking forward to catching new seasons of your favorite shows on streaming, you may have to wait a little longer. With the Writers Guild of America on strike for a fourth week, some shows and movies have already put production on hold.

► From the NY Times — I’m on strike with the WGA. I owe my father at least that much (by Ron Currie) — Unions, imperfect though they might be, are the only entities that have ever provided an effective counterbalance to the corporate rapaciousness that victimized my father.

► From the People’s World — Hundreds of movie, TV, and streaming actors preparing to strike — Does this sound familiar? One month after the movie studio, television, and streaming video bosses forced their 11,500 Writers Guild of America members to strike, that same association is forcing more than ten times as many SAG-AFTRA members to take a strike authorization vote—and over almost all of the same issues.

► From LA Times — Thousands of local hotel workers move closer to a strike: ‘Living in L.A. is no longer an option’ — A union is asking 15,000 workers at hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties to authorize a strike during the height of tourist season. Unite Here Local 11 said contracts are expiring June 30 at 62 Southern California hotels. Union officials say they are asking for the strike authorization vote on June 8 to jump-start sluggish negotiations and convince hotel operators to seriously consider pay increases for their workers.

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!

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