Wednesday, November 8, 2023

ELECTION

TODAY at The Stand — How labor’s endorsed candidates are faring — Here are the unofficial election results as of 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8 in races where regional AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils made endorsements/recommendations. Check the websites of your County Election Office for the latest results in your community. 

MORE local election results coverage from the Bellingham Herald, Cascadia Daily News, (Ellensburg) Daily Record, (Everett) Herald, Kitsap Sun, (Longview) Daily News, (Tacoma) News Tribune, Olympian, Peninsula Daily News, Seattle Times, Skagit Valley Herald, (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, Tri-City Herald, Walla Walla Union Bulletin, Wenatchee World, Yakima Herald, and from the union-busting (Vancouver) Columbian.

► From the Seattle Times — Seattle voters OK nearly $1B housing levy — Seattle voters approved a nearly $1 billion affordable housing measure Tuesday in a vote supporters say underscored the scale of the city’s housing crisis. About 66% of city voters supported the Seattle Housing Levy in early returns Tuesday. The result showed voters’ interest in “coming together” to address affordable housing and homelessness, said Mari Horita, co-chair of the levy campaign.

► From the Seattle Times — Jorge Barón, Teresa Mosqueda lead for King County Council seats — Jorge Barón was leading fairly handily while Teresa Mosqueda was squeaking by Tuesday night as both sought to become the two newest members of the Metropolitan King County Council.

► From Crosscut — Business-backed candidates lead early Seattle City Council results — Initial ballots have been counted in an election that will shape the city’s approach to policing, drugs and homelessness.

► From the Spokesman-Review — Lisa Brown takes lead over Nadine Woodward in race for Spokane mayor — Spokane voters appear ready to make a change. Lisa Brown is leading incumbent Mayor Nadine Woodward 51.5% to 48% in the election night count in the race to lead Spokane.

► From the Spokesman-Review — Wilkerson wins race for Spokane City Council president as liberals maintain control — Liberals maintained veto-proof control of the seven-person Spokane City Council, according to early results on election night.

► From My Northwest — Tacoma’s controversial ‘Tenant Bill of Rights’ measure at a near 50/50 split

► From the Cascadia Daily News — Minimum wage increase, rental relocation initiatives likely to pass

► From the Washington Post — Abortion rights advocates win major victories in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia — Abortion rights advocates won major victories Tuesday as voters in conservative-leaning Ohio decisively passed a constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to abortion, while those in ruby-red Kentucky reelected a Democratic governor who aggressively attacked his opponent for supporting the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. In Virginia, a battleground state where Republicans pushed a proposal to outlaw most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Democrats were projected to take control of the state legislature after campaigning heavily on preserving access.

The Stand (June 27, 2022) — Amid attacks on abortion rights, unions must fight back (by Shaunie Wheeler James and Cherika Carter) — Organized labor has the tools to transform protests into concrete actions defending bodily autonomy.

LOCAL

► From KIRO — Everett firefighter’s union speaks on ‘severe’ staffing crisis amid pending Providence nurses strike — Nurses at Everett’s Providence Regional Medical Center are just one week away from a five-day strike. The nurses union said that staffing issues have sent ER wait times soaring, and now firefighters are sounding the alarm, too. “The staffing emergency at Providence Hospital is an emergency to all of us,” said firefighter and paramedic Don Huffman. He’s also the president of Everett’s firefighter’s union and is vocal about the need for more Providence nurses.

The Stand (Nov. 6) — Nurses at Providence Everett announce plans for ULP strike

► From KOMO —  Bethel school bus drivers picket at district office, demand solution to staff shortage — After waiting months with no solution to the school bus driver shortage at the Bethel School District, about two dozen current and former drivers held an informational picket outside the district headquarters on Tuesday.

► From KING — Olympia School District weighs possible school closures amid budget concerns — In a committee’s preferred plan, Jefferson students would be pushed into Thurgood Marshall Middle School, and Reeves students would be pushed into Washington Middle.

► From the Oregonian — Portland teacher strike: Schools will be closed Wednesday, but mediator absence averted — After a day of back and forth Tuesday over whether the next in-person negotiating session would have to be postponed until Friday because the state mediator assigned to aid bargaining faced other work obligations, Gov. Tina Kotek’s office said late Tuesday that the mediator’s services would be available Wednesday after all.

THIS WASHINGTON

► From KIMA — Yakima families benefit from newly implemented Working Families Tax Credit: Thousands still eligible to apply — For the first time this year, families were able to apply to get over a thousand dollars back through the Working Families Tax Credit. The program is designed to give $300 to $1,200 per year back to nearly 400,000 taxpayers to help balance Washington’s “upside down tax code.”

The Stand (Nov. 7) — Over $108M refunded through Working Families Tax Credit

EDITOR’S NOTE — Individuals and families can check their eligibility here. Applications remain open and can be submitted online or by mail.

► From the WA State Standard — Washington makes its biggest forestland purchase in more than a decade — The land in southwest Washington will be used for logging. Elected leaders in the region applauded the deal.

NATIONAL

► From Politico — What the UAW and Big 3 really thought of Biden’s picket line visit — When Biden became the first president in history to walk a picket line, the CEOs weren’t happy. Union officials say it was the striking workers, not the president, who were ultimately responsible for those record contracts. But several also credit Biden’s embrace — capped by his decision to stand with the strikers — for providing political cover that helped secure a deal. That embrace was not without risk.

► From the AP — Las Vegas hotel workers union reaches tentative deal with Caesars, but threat of strike still looms — The labor union representing tens of thousands of Las Vegas hospitality workers announced Wednesday that it had reached a tentative deal with casino giant Caesars Entertainment, a major breakthrough that could help avert an unprecedented strike at more than a dozen hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

► From the LA Times — The end of the actors’ strike seemed within reach. Why is a SAG-AFTRA deal taking so long? — About this time last week, the major Hollywood studios were hopeful and the performers union SAG-AFTRA was cautiously optimistic that a tentative deal to end the actors’ strike was within reach. One hundred and seventeen days into the walkout that has ground the entertainment industry to a near-halt, such a settlement remains to be seen. On Monday afternoon, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said in a statement that there still were “several essential items” the sides had yet to agree on.

EDITOR’S NOTE — You can support striking SAG-AFTRA members by donating to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, an emergency assistance program available to SAG-AFTRA members in urgent financial need due to the strike. Also, consider making a contribution to the Entertainment Community Fund, which supports all workers in the entertainment industries and gives living expense grants to those in need.

► From CNBC — Group of Google contractors who work on Search and Bard win union vote — A group of Google contractors, some of whom have worked on Search and Google’s artificial intelligence chatbot Bard, have successfully voted to unionize with the Alphabet Workers Union/CWA.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Ready for a voice at work? Get more information about how you can join together with co-workers and negotiate for better wages and working conditions. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!

► From the Wall Street Journal — American Airlines dangles $250,000 bonuses to poach FedEx and UPS pilots — Major U.S. passenger airlines are on a hiring spree that has left regional carriers desperate for aviators with enough experience to fill the captain’s seat.

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