Boeing lockout solidarity | Stamp Out Hunger on Saturday | Scrap the cap

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

LOCAL

We are so honored to have the support of the @TeamsterSOB and all of our brothers and sisters in the @Teamsters The support we are receiving keeps us fighting for comparable wages to protect @Boeing employees and the complex facilities. @teamsters117 pic.twitter.com/uIS9QBK1xa

— Boeing Firefighters (@BoeingFFs) May 7, 2024

► From KIRO — Local Boeing firefighters hit the picket line for livable wages — Boeing firefighters are on the picket line after contract negotiations broke down and the company locked out the firefighters Saturday morning at 12:01. The issue is money. Firefighters said they are so underpaid that retaining qualified firefighters is nearly impossible. IAFF Local I-66 Vice President John Riggsby:

“Our guys are coming in at $25 per hour and are a couple thousand dollars away from being eligible for food stamps, right now. So, they’re having to work two jobs or seek employment elsewhere.”

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

► From the AP — FAA investigates after Boeing says workers in South Carolina falsified 787 inspection records — The FAA said Monday it has opened an investigation into Boeing after the beleaguered company reported that workers at a South Carolina plant falsified inspection records on certain 787 planes. No planes have been taken out of service, but having to perform the test out of order on planes will slow the delivery of jets still being built at the final assembly plant in North Charleston, S.C.

► From NPR — Launch for Boeing Starliner’s first crewed ride into space has been scrubbed — Monday’s launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., was called off ahead of its planned 10:34 p.m. EST launch because of a faulty oxygen relief valve.

LOCAL

► From KXLY — North County Food Pantry struggling to get enough food on shelves — Shelves at the North County Food Pantry are usually full with food. But, right now, volunteers are struggling to keep up with the demand.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Buy food now for this Saturday’s Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive. The National Association of Letter Carriers will conduct its annual food drive on Saturday, May 11. Postal customers simply leave their donation of non-perishable food items next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail on Saturday. Letter carriers will collect these food donations and distribute them to local food banks. Get details.

► From the Seattle Times — King County Council to vote on big boost to minimum wage — The Metropolitan King County Council has scheduled a vote Tuesday to raise the minimum wage to more than $20 an hour at big businesses. King County would become the first county and seventh jurisdiction in Washington — following SeaTac, Seattle, Tukwila, Bellingham, Renton and Burien — to set its own minimum wage, at a level higher than the state. Washington’s minimum wage is $16.28 per hour.

THIS WASHINGTON

► From the WA State Standard — Washington lawmaker accused of belittling staff faces new scrutiny — The latest allegations against Rep. Michelle Caldier (R-Gig Harbor) say she retaliated against witnesses in an investigation by sharing their names with the press

► From the WA State Standard — U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse gets another challenger from within his own party — Tiffany Smiley, a Republican who mounted an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate two years ago, on Monday jumped into the race to unseat GOP Congressman Dan Newhouse.

THAT WASHINGTON

► From the AP — Medicare and Social Security go-broke dates are pushed back in a ‘measure of good news’ — The go-broke dates for Medicare and Social Security have been pushed back as an improving economy has contributed to changed projected depletion dates, according to the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report Monday. Still, officials warn that policy changes are needed lest the programs become unable to pay full benefits to retiring Americans.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Scrap the cap.

► From The Hill — Biden looks to boost worker, consumer power as election looms — The FTC voted last Tuesday to ban noncompete agreements that block employees from working for competitors or starting a competing business after they leave a job. The same day, the Department of Labor finalized a rule requiring salaried workers making less than $59,000 be compensated for overtime work, as well as a separate rule cracking down on retirement savings advice.

► From Bloomberg — U.S. presses Germany on alleged union-busting by Mercedes-Benz — The U.S. government raised concerns with Germany about alleged union-busting in Alabama by Mercedes-Benz Group AG, an unusual move that escalates scrutiny on the automaker’s handling of a high-stakes unionization campaign that heads to a vote next week.

NATIONAL

► From the USA Today — National Nurses Week 2024: RN reflects on the state of the profession, calls for change — Monday kicked off National Nurses Week, and it gives folks an opportunity to show their love and appreciation for the people who take care of the sick, injured and dying. A poll of 29,472 registered nurses and 24,061 licensed practical nurses or licensed vocational nurses across 45 different states found that that 62% of nurses said they saw an increase in their work load during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to those polled they felt the following at least “a few times a week” or “every day:”

• 50.8% felt “emotionally drained”
• 56.4% felt “used up”
• 49.7% felt “fatigued”
• 45.1% felt “burned out “
• 29.4% felt “at the end of their rope”

► From the Washington Post — Condé Nast reaches agreement with workers ahead of Met Gala — Months of contentious negotiations were settled after the union threatened to strike ahead of the celebrity-studded event.

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