Boeing bullies firefighters | Capital gains on the ballot | ‘We deserve more’

Monday, May 6, 2024

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Boeing locks out firefighters after failed contract negotiations — Boeing locked out its on-site firefighters at its Washington facilities early Saturday morning after contract negotiations with their union reached a standstill. The lockout came after members of the IAFF Local I-66 twice rejected Boeing contract offers in recent months and talks toward another offer broke down almost immediately April 29.

► From the (Everett) Herald — After bargaining deadline, Boeing locks out firefighters union in Everett — The union is picketing for better pay and staffing. About 40 firefighters work at Boeing’s aircraft assembly plant at Paine Field.

► From Huffington Post — Boeing locks out its firefighters in labor dispute — Boeing locked out 125 unionized firefighters and emergency responders from their jobs in Washington state this weekend as the two sides battle over a new four-year contract. IAFF Local I-66 accused the embattled plane-maker of choosing “corporate greed over safety.” The union said the lockout was “intended to punish, intimidate, and coerce its firefighters into accepting a contract that undervalues their work.”

From The STAND (May 5) — Join locked-out Boeing firefighters on picket lines

TAKE A STAND — All union members are encouraged to show their solidarity by joining locked-out IAFF Local I-66 Firefighters on picket lines at these sites (click here to register for specific pickets):

AUBURN — 700 15th St. SW, Auburn
EVERETT — Kasch Park Road & Airport Road, Everett
FREDERICKSON — 18001 Canyon Rd E., Puyallup
MOSES LAKE — 8998 Tyndall Road NE, Moses Lake
RENTON — Logan Ave E. & N. 8th St., Renton
SEATTLE — E. Marginal Way S. & 14th Ave S., Seattle

Donations can also be made to the Boeing Firefighters Lock-Out Fund:

▪ Venmo @BoeingIAFFI66
▪ PayPal @BoeingFFlocalI66
▪ By Check – C/O I-66 Strike Fund, PO BOX 1768, Renton, WA 98057

► From the AP — Airbus is staying humble even as Boeing flounders. There’s a reason for that. — The European company is unlikely to extend its advantage in the Airbus-Boeing duopoly much further despite having customers clamoring for more commercial aircraft, according to aviation analysts. The reason: Airbus already is making planes as fast as it can and has a backlog of more than 8,600 orders to fill.

► From the Washington Post — After years of delay, Boeing to try again with Starliner space capsule — A decade after NASA awarded Boeing a contract to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, Boeing will finally attempt to fly its Starliner spacecraft with people onboard. If all goes to plan, at 7:34 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, the company is set to fly a pair of veteran astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, on a mission that will be one of the most significant tests for Boeing’s space division — and for NASA — in years.

► From Reuters — Canada’s WestJet reaches tentative deal with union to avoid work stoppage

THIS WASHINGTON

► From the WA State Standard — WA decides: Initiative 2109 to repeal the state’s capital gains tax — Initiative 2109 would repeal Washington’s capital gains tax, which levies a 7% tax on the sale or exchange of long-term capital assets, such as stocks, bonds, and business interests. It doesn’t apply to real estate sales and only covers gains above $262,000 (up from $250,000 for the 2022 tax year, as the floor is tied to inflation). So if someone has $263,000 in taxable capital gains, they would only pay the 7% tax on the $1,000 above that $262,000 threshold. Each year, up to $500 million from the tax is deposited into a state account for schools, early learning, and child care programs. Any tax collections beyond that amount go to an account that helps pay for school construction and renovations.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Delegates representing unions from across Washington state will gather in Seattle on May 18 for the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO 2024 COPE Convention to vote on endorsements for ballot initiatives, plus congressional, statewide and legislative candidates. Get more information.

► From the WA State Standard — No matter the election results, 2024 will be a big year for turnover in Olympia — Washington’s state government is in for much change this election season due to officeholders leaving and pursuing new political posts.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From the Washington Post — Social Security and Medicare finances look grim as overall debt piles up — New estimates are expected Monday to paint a dire picture of the budget outlook for Social Security and Medicare, the massive federal programs for seniors, threatening future benefits and putting fresh pressure on Congress to address the nation’s deteriorating financial health.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Scrap the cap.

► From Restaurant Dive — Biden vetoes bill against joint employer rule — President Joe Biden vetoed a Congressional Review Act measure to overturn the NLRB rule broadening joint employer liability, fulfilling a promise made in January, the White House announced Friday. The veto saves the NLRB’s rule legislatively, but the regulation was vacated by a federal judge in Texas in March, though it may yet be appealed.

► From Reuters — VP Harris announces more than $100 million to support auto workers — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday announced more than $100 million in funding and resources to support American auto workers and small auto suppliers.

NATIONAL

► From the Guardian — ‘We deserve more’: U.S. workers’ share of the pie dwindles — This week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest estimate for the share labor receives of national income for the first quarter of 2024. The statistics shows the income workers receive compared to the productivity their labor generates. According to BLS, this income share has declined for non-farm workers from around two-thirds, 64.1% in the first quarter of 2001, to 55.8% in the first quarter of 2024.

WANT MORE PIE?  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 NPR — How one stretch of I-20 through Alabama tells the story of American workers — If you want to understand the state of labor in America today, take a drive through Alabama. Not a long drive. Just a 25-mile stretch of I-20, between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. Here, union hopes have been raised, dashed and dragged out over years.

► From the Washington Post — DEI is getting a new name. Can it dump the political baggage? — Amid growing legal, social and political backlash, American businesses, industry groups and employment professionals are quietly scrubbing DEI from public view — though not necessarily abandoning its practice. As they rebrand programs and hot-button acronyms, they’re reassessing decades-old anti-discrimination strategies and rewriting policies that once emphasized race and gender to prioritize inclusion for all.

Nurses make the difference. Happy #NursesWeek from WSNA. pic.twitter.com/DHka0JmRP9

— WSNA (@myWSNA) May 6, 2024

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