NEWS ROUNDUP

Pay us, or CHAOS | $19/hour in Renton | Union ranks swell

♥ Wednesday, February 14, 2024 ♥

LOCAL

► From Reuters — Alaska Air flight attendants authorize strike for first time in three decades — Alaska Air flight attendants authorized a strike mandate for the first time in three decades, as thousands of cabin crew across three unions picketed for higher pay outside airports in the United States, the UK and Guam on Tuesday. Picketing members included cabin crew from 24 airlines including Alaska, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines. Out of 93.47% participating Alaska Air flight attendants — represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA — 99.48% voted in favor of a strike.

EDITOR’S NOTE — In a press release, AFA Alaska President Jeffrey Peterson said:

“We have a simple message for management: Pay us, or CHAOS!”

► From KOMO — Flight attendants protest outside Sea-Tac airport for fair pay, better working conditions — Flight attendants from major airlines protested outside of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Tuesday. This action coincides with a national/worldwide day of action, which included 30 airports across the United States.

► From Reuters — Musk’s SpaceX fined after ‘near amputation’ suffered by worker, records show — U.S. worker safety officials fined Elon Musk’s SpaceX $3,600 this month after an accident at its site in Redmond led to a “near amputation,” according to inspection records reviewed by Reuters. A Reuters investigation late last year found that Musk’s rocket company disregarded worker-safety regulations and standard practices at its facilities nationwide. Through interviews and government records, the news organization documented at least 600 previously unreported injuries of SpaceX workers since 2014.

ELECTION

► From the Seattle Times — Renton $19 minimum wage hike ballot measure leading in early results — Initiative Measure 23-02 had secured 57.5% of the vote, with about 10,300 ballots counted. Organizers behind the campaign said they were celebrating the early results, and believe that later ballots will swing in their direction. Renton would be the fourth city in Washington to boost its minimum wage above the state’s rate if the measure passes.

Local school levy/bond results from the (Aberdeen) Daily World, Bellingham Herald, Cascadia Daily News, (Centralia) Chronicle, Ellensburg Daily Record, (Everett) Herald, Kitsap Sun, (Longview) Daily News, Olympian, Peninsula Daily News, (Tacoma) News Tribune, Skagit Valley Herald, (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Wenatchee World, Yakima Herald-Republic, and from the union-busting (Vancouver) Columbian.

THIS WASHINGTON

► From the WA State Standard — Buttigieg, Northwest governors visit Interstate 5 Bridge to support its replacement — As rush-hour traffic crawled across the I-5 bridge between Portland and Vancouver, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the governors of Washington and Oregon held a small birthday cake celebrating the bridge’s 107th year. The Democratic politicians had gathered to show support for plans to replace the bridge. That’s a decades-long effort that’s become a white whale for planners. Despite its historical and architectural value, the bridge is notorious for stop-and-go traffic that extends far into both cities at great economic and environmental cost. The steel structure is also at risk of bending or breaking in a powerful earthquake.

► From KNKX — Another WA agency sues private prison company running ICE facility — The Department of Labor and Industries has sued GEO Group because it has not allowed officials to inspect the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.

► From the Seattle Times — WA House votes to limit rent hikes; tough Senate road awaits — The Washington House voted Tuesday to limit rent increases for current tenants statewide at 7% annually, which means the proposal is still alive even though it faces hurdles in the state Senate, where a version of the bill died last month.

► From House Democrats — House passes Fosse bill on apprenticeship opportunities for incarcerated individuals — HB 2084, sponsored by Rep. Mary Fosse (D-Everett), passed the House to create a committee to provide oversight of construction-trade apprenticeship-related training programs in state correctional facilities and collectively develop recommendations.

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Boeing plans gradual 737 ramp-up while tackling factory flaws — Boeing plans to build its 737 MAX aircraft at a slower pace during the first half of this year as it tackles quality issues and supplier glitches under the close supervision of aviation regulators, Chief Financial Officer Brian West said.

► From Reuters — Boeing, pressured over 737 MAX 9 blowout, says January deliveries shrank 29% — Boeing said on Tuesday it delivered 27 airplanes in January, which was down 29% from the same month last year as regulators, lawmakers and customers pressured the planemaker following a MAX 9 mid-air cabin panel blowout last month.

► From Reuters — Thai Airways to acquire 45 wide-body Boeing jets

► From Roll Call — Cantwell to accelerate pace of aviation bills in wake of door blowout — Measures would focus on safety beyond the FAA reauthorization effort.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From The Hill — Immigration cuts could dent U.S. economy at crucial time, experts say — Lawmakers could put a dent in the U.S. economy if they move forward with proposals to cut immigration, experts warned. A bipartisan Senate deal to tighten border security and reduce immigration has stalled over objections from House Republicans, who are pushing for even tighter limits. But experts argue such policies could dampen economic growth and deepen demographic issues holding back the American workforce.

► From Politico — House GOP impeaches Mayorkas after previous vote failure — House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday. A week after a first attempt that fell short and caused heartburn for GOP leadership, Mayorkas was impeached in a second vote, 214-213.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Washington GOP Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse voted to impeach Mayorkas.

► From HuffPost — Biden calls impeachment of Mayorkas ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘petty’ — House Republicans managed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas without any evidence of his alleged crimes.

► IN a related story from The Hill — Democrats flip Santos’s New York House seat in high-stakes special election — Former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D) has won back his old seat in the House, giving Democrats a critical pickup that will further narrow the GOP House majority.

NATIONAL

► From Bloomberg — Analysis: Workers spent 2023 unionizing—and striking—in droves — Two new statistical analyses of Bloomberg Law data show that workers are engaging in organizing and picketing activity at a magnitude that hasn’t been seen in the US labor market in years. Unions organized almost 100,000 workers in NLBR representation elections in 2023, according to Bloomberg Law’s semiannual report on NLRB election statistics. The total of 99,116 newly organized workers is the largest single-year cohort since 2000, and the fourth largest since at least 1990. This is the first time since at least 1990 that unions have managed to increase their NLRB organizing headcount for three years in a row.

From The STAND (Jan. 23, 2024) — Latest data on the Union Difference: 15.9% higher wages — Washington remains the 3rd most unionized state in the nation.

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 Jacobin — Let’s show bosses they’re lucky to have our work (by AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson) — In 2023, more workers went on strike than at any time since 1985. From Detroit to LA, Las Vegas to Anchorage. Autoworkers, baristas, grad students, school bus drivers, writers, actors, nurses, X-ray technicians, teachers, and even Medieval Times performers. Every time you turned around, a new group of workers was finding their collective power and saying “That’s enough” to the bosses.

► From WKZO — Michigan’s (so-called) Right-To-Work law repealed today — Michigan has become the first state to repeal the right-to-work law as the repeal takes effect today. It was passed in 2013 under former Governor Rick Snyder when the state House and Senate were firmly under Republican control and was repealed last year after Democrats took the majority in both chambers. Michigan AFL-CIO president Ron Bieber says unions are pleased with the move and says everyone contributing to the strength of the union and their ability to negotiate and improve wages benefits all workers.

► From the AP — Thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers plan Valentine’s Day strikes — Thousands of ride-hailing workers plan to park their cars and picket at major U.S. airports Wednesday in what organizers say is their largest strike yet in a drive for better pay and benefits. Uber and Lyft drivers plan daylong strikes in Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Hartford, Newark, Austin and Providence.

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