Wednesday, September 27, 2023

THIS WASHINGTON

► From KUOW — 28% of families in Washington state can’t afford basic needs, UW study finds — About 10% of households in Washington state meet the federal poverty threshold, but when researchers drilled into the data on what it actually takes to survive in the state, they found the number of families struggling to make ends meet is much larger. More than 1 in 4 families in Washington can’t afford to cover their basic needs without government assistance, according to a study from the University of Washington published Monday.

EDITOR’S NOTE — About 80% of households below the Self-Sufficiency Standard have at least one working adult. That means their employers are paying poverty wages and taxpayers are picking up the slack by funding food, healthcare and housing assistance and other necessary human services for their employees.

► From Crosscut — National culture wars on race, LGBTQ+ rights come to WA schools — Right-wing pushback on school policies and curricula are leading to educator burnout — and fear of personal harm.

LOCAL

► From Q13 — Stoppage looms for Washington urgent care clinics ahead of MultiCare worker strike — Urgent care clinics in Washington could come to a sudden halt, as MultiCare workers have authorized a strike that could start as soon as early October. According to the Union of American Physicians & Dentists (UAPD), workers approved a strike authorization on Monday by a 96% margin, which they say clears the way for a strike “in as soon as 10 days.”

The Stand (Sept. 26) — UAPD MultiCare providers authorize strike

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

► From KGW — OHSU nurses reach tentative agreement on new contract, avoid strike — A vote to ratify the new contract will take place from Oct. 1-5, according to the Oregon Nurses Association, which represents nearly 3,200 nurses at OHSU.

UAW STRIKE

► From the Washington Post — Biden, in historic but sensitive move, joins UAW picket line — President Biden joined a picket line here Tuesday in an extraordinary attempt to place himself on the side of striking union members against the country’s biggest auto manufacturers and make good on a promise to be “the most pro-union president in history.” It marked the first time a sitting president has joined a picket line, and on a dreary afternoon Biden stood on a wooden platform and spoke through a bullhorn with an American flag on it to a group of United Auto Workers members clad in red shirts.

► From Reuters — Biden says UAW should fight for 40% pay raise in Michigan strike visit

► From the AP — Biden urges striking auto workers to ‘stick with it’ in picket line visit unparalleled in history

► From the Washington Post — UAW strike unites red and blue voters in CEO-worker pay gap protest — So far, residents of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, appear mostly sympathetic to the workers. A few expressed concern about what the strike will do to auto prices and availability, but most said they supported working people standing up for better pay in an era of widening income inequality.

► From Politico — UAW allies want a put-up-or-shut-up vote in the Senate — Democratic operatives want the party to use the current rush of goodwill being directed toward striking UAW to reinvigorate momentum behind pro-union legislation. They note that the current moment is unique in modern political history, with leading Republicans, including Donald Trump, offering support for the striking workers. And while they aren’t Pollyanna-ish that this will result in their most ambitious legislative hopes becoming reality, they see opportunity in putting lawmakers on the record. Said one adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders:

“Obviously I’d love the PRO Act, but even a vote on a resolution expressing support for UAW workers would be a valuable and elucidating endeavor.”

► From the Detroit Free Press — I lead the Michigan AFL-CIO. Trump has never shown up for union workers. (by Ron Bieber) — His record is nothing short of catastrophic for workers, highlighting an open hostility especially to union families. He never cared about our jobs. Or our wages. Or our pensions and health care. Or even our safety. Trump just cared about making his rich buddies even richer at our expense.

► And a related story from the AP — Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks and insurers while building real estate empire — A judge ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House, and he ordered some of the former president’s companies removed from his control and dissolved.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From The Hill — Senate grabs wheel from House in bid to avoid shutdown — Senate leaders are grabbing the steering wheel from embattled Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in hopes of avoiding a wreck in the form of a government shutdown at the end of the week. Senators in both parties have lost confidence in McCarthy’s ability to move a stopgap funding measure through the House and hope to avoid a disaster by moving first.

TODAY at The Stand — Action alert: Tell Congress to stop shutdown — AFGE explains what will happen if there’s a federal government shutdown.

TAKE A STAND — AFGE urges all union members and community supporters to send a message to Congress urging then to Stop the Shutdown! You can also visit afge.org/ShutdownCall to place a call to your members of Congress.

► From the Washington Post — FEMA delays $2.8 billion in disaster aid to keep from running out of money — The agency has paused aid for long-term disaster recovery in nearly every U.S. state and territory while scrambling to conserve cash in case a government shutdown collides with hurricane season.

► From Politico — Government shutdown would put pay for over 1M military members at risk, Pentagon says — A shutdown would send a dangerous message to Washington’s adversaries, spokesperson says.

► From NPR — U.S. sues Amazon in a monopoly case that could be existential for the retail giant — In the sweeping antitrust lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general paint Amazon as a monopolist that suffocates competitors and raises costs for both sellers and shoppers.

► From the AP — Biden administration announces $1.4 billion to improve rail safety and boost capacity in 35 states

► From The Hill — Democrats call on Thomas to recuse himself from Chevron case over Koch network ties

NATIONAL

► From the AP — The Hollywood writers strike is over after guild leaders approve contract with studios — Hollywood’s writers strike was declared over after nearly five months Tuesday night when board members from their union approved a contract agreement with studios, bringing the industry at least partly back from a historic halt in production.

► From the LA Times — More pay, streaming bonuses, AI limits: Four takeaways from the WGA deal to end the writers’ strike — The deal includes increases in wages and residuals, as well as language addressing the union’s demands for minimum staff in television writers rooms, payments based on the success of streaming shows and protections against the use of artificial intelligence.

► From Deadline — SAG-AFTRA, studios could meet within days — Riding the momentum that has hit Hollywood since the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers struck a deal , SAG-AFTRA leaders have penciled in meetings with the group by the end of next week.

BREAKING: Culinary Union announces 95% have voted yes to authorize a Citywide Strike.

Negotiations continue with @MGMResortsIntl), @CaesarsEnt, & @WynnLasVegas next week.

Culinary Union is now authorized to call for a strike any day.#OneJobShouldBeEnough pic.twitter.com/j0IzmCkyNN

— Culinary Union (@Culinary226) September 27, 2023

► From the Nevada Independent — Vegas casino worker unions authorize a strike, threatening first major walkout in 39 years — Members of the Culinary and Bartenders unions overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to authorize their negotiating committees to call for a strike by some 53,000 non-gaming Strip and downtown casino employees. With chants of “one job should be enough,” some 20,000 workers, voting in two separate sessions at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, were nearly unanimous in authorizing the first citywide strike against the resort industry in 39 years.

► From The Wrap — Academy Museum Union ratifies first labor contract –Approval of the deal between the museum dedicated to film and Oscars history and the AFSCME-affiliated Academy Museum Workers United comes nearly a year after the first bargaining session.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Meanwhile in Tacoma…

The Stand (May 16) — Tacoma Art Museum board opts for more union-busting

► From the USW — David McCall to succeed Tom Conway as USW International President — McCall, who served as USW international vice president of administration since July 2019, will fill the remainder of the late Tom Conway’s term.

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