NEWS ROUNDUP

21.5% pay raises | Supply chain strains | Why Don and Joe are legends

Friday, February 23, 2024

LOCAL

► From the (Everett) Herald — Months after strike, nurses reach contract with Providence Everett — After months of tense negotiations, nurses at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett have approved a contract with the hospital, the nurses’ union announced Wednesday. An “overwhelming majority” of about 1,300 nurses approved the contract in a vote held at the hospital’s Pacific Campus this week, according to a union statement. The contract comes after 10 months of negotiations, a five-day strike and a tentative deal that failed in December, with 51.8% of nurses voting against. The approved contract will provide nurses a 21.5% pay increase over three years, increased benefits and compensation for chronic understaffing.

READY FOR A RAISE? 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 KUOW — Is a new gig worker minimum wage delivering higher fees for customers? — DoorDash’s new $4.99 fee on all orders in Seattle represents the latest salvo in a struggle over how gig workers are paid in the city.

► From the union-busting Columbian — Vancouver trampoline park SkyZone fined 22K for overworking teen employees — The state Department of Labor & Industries cited Vancouver’s popular SkyZone trampoline park after finding about 45 of the company’s teenage employees didn’t receive meal breaks and worked more hours than legally allowed.

AEROSPACE

► From Reuters — Supply chain strains set to weigh on aviation industry bounce-back — Parts shortages and delivery delays plaguing the global aviation industry are easing, but could take up to two years to resolve, firms at the Singapore Airshow said, adding to the pressures clouding a post-pandemic recovery in travel demand. Lead times to procure items such as metals and windshields can be 2 to 5 times longer compared with pre-2020, firms told Reuters, because of reduced production of aerospace materials, loss of skilled manpower during the pandemic, and reduced supply sources caused by the war in Ukraine.

► From Reuters — Spirit says it is unable to estimate impact of 737 MAX 9 incident — Fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystems said in a regulatory filing Thursday that 45% of its revenue had come from the 737 program in 2023 and added changes in production schedules could impact its ability to comply with contractual obligations as well as its liquidity position and financial condition.

THIS WASHINGTON

► From the Seattle Times — How a bill could affect health care consolidations, patient care in WA — The boom of health care mergers and acquisitions in Washington state has offered a way for many smaller, financially struggling hospitals and clinics to stay afloat, industry leaders say. But when those larger health systems start to make cuts they think are necessary, is patient access to care really being protected? A bill gaining momentum in the state Legislature aims to explore that question — and argue that more oversight of these types of consolidations is needed to ensure they aren’t slashing services, driving up health costs and reducing market competition.

EDITOR’S NOTE — The WSLC supports the Keep Our Care Act, SB 5241.

► From the Seattle Times — WA pharmacies close in record numbers as Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid slide — A record number of Washington state pharmacies shut down last year, driven by the string of Bartell Drugs and Rite Aid closures in the Seattle area. About 60 pharmacies closed in 2023, which is twice as many closures as recorded the previous year.

► From the News Tribune — Tacoma’s private detention center is at it again. The pain won’t end until it closes. (by Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self) — The recent standoff between Washington state and GEO Group, the private company operating the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, is more than just a local dispute. It shines a spotlight on a deeply troubling national issue: the lack of transparency and accountability in immigration detention centers. This isn’t just about one facility; it’s about ensuring basic human rights are upheld, regardless of immigration status.

► From the Yakima H-R — Central Washington could have new voting boundaries in time for this election — New boundaries of the Legislative District 15 in Central Washington could be finalized in time for the 2024 election under recent federal court decisions.

► Meanwhile in Connecticut… from the Hartford Business Journal — Unemployment benefits for striking workers is ‘labor’s priority this session’ — “This bill is a labor peace bill because it will keep (workers) at the table, it will force the employer to negotiate in good faith and will prevent strikes,” said Connecticut AFL-CIO President Ed Hawthorne.

From The STAND (Feb. 22) — ACTION ALERT! Tell your senator: Pass HB 1893 — Washington state senators must ACT NOW to support HB 1893 allowing striking workers to access limited unemployment benefits. The state House of Representatives stood with working families by passing this important bill, but the Senate has yet to vote on it. And time is running out.

TAKE A STAND — Even if you’ve already contacted your legislators on this issue, PLEASE SEND ANOTHER MESSAGE TODAY to your State Senator: Bring HB 1893 to the Senate floor for a vote, and VOTE YES!

Also from The STAND — Labor Rally to Protect Strikers on Feb. 28 in Olympia

THAT WASHINGTON

► From The Hill — GOP shutdown fears grow: ‘We could be in a world of hurt’ — Congress returns to Washington next week facing a pair of looming funding deadlines — March 1 for a handful of agencies and March 8 for the rest — leaving lawmakers with little time to iron out their differences and get bills to the floor to keep the government open.

► From the WA State Standard — Patty Murray’s push to fund nutrition and child care — As Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray works on writing a budget for the entire country, she’s keeping two issues affecting kids here in Washington top-of-mind: nutrition and child care. Both issues have been priorities for her since she took office 31 years ago. During a visit to Olympia on Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee chair – and resident senator in tennis shoes – talked about her efforts to use her powerful position to make sure they’re funded.

NATIONAL

► From Inside NOVA — Fairfax Connector suspends bus service as workers go on strike — Fairfax Connector workers have launched a strike after months of negotiations for a new labor contract with Transdev, the company that operates Fairfax County’s bus service. ATU Local 689 announced the strike just after midnight Thursday.

► From LAist — Another major Hollywood union, The IATSE, is heading into studio negotiations — IATSE represents more than 150,000 below-the-line entertainment workers, from costume designers to motion picture editors. About 60,000 workers are affected by the two contracts coming up for negotiation.

► From HuffPost — Vice to stop publishing on site, lay off hundreds of staff — In a stunning reversal of fortune for a media empire once valued at $5.7 billion, Vice Media told its approximately 900-person staff Thursday that its laying off several hundred of its employees and will cease publishing any content to Vice.com.

T.G.I.F.

► On this day in 1978, “Hotel California” by Eagles (no “the”) won the Grammy for Record of the Year. This week, 46 years later, a trial opened in New York City over who owns the handwritten lyrics to the song and some other Eagles hits. Rather than delve into the details of that case, The Entire Staff of The Stand prefers to celebrate the classic song itself. Specifically, we love that they decided to make the final third of the song a guitar “solo” performed by Don Felder and Joe Walsh. It’s one of the greatest and most memorable solos of all time. If you don’t have 7 minutes to spare, feel free to skip ahead on this song to about 4:20.(!) Enjoy.

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