124 grocery stores | Unions for Biden/Harris | AI? Ehh

Thursday, July 11, 2024

LOCAL

► From KOMO (July 10) – FULL LIST: 124 Washington stores to be sold in Kroger-Albertsons merger –  The Federal Trade Commission in February sued to block the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons, saying the $24.6 billion deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans.

► From The Seattle Times (July 10) – Wage standard for Seattle delivery drivers at an impasse –  Hannah Sabio-Howell, communications director for Working Washington, a labor-backed advocacy group, said the effort to change pay standards has been rushed by the council and the companies pushing for the overhaul and has lacked transparency throughout. “That type of opaque and rushed policymaking is not going to fly,” she said.

► From The Seattle Times (July 10) – 5 years into Amazon’s Climate Pledge, workers challenge its progress – In its annual sustainability report, released Wednesday, Amazon said carbon emissions dropped 3% last year, largely due to its sizable investment in renewable energy. That’s the most significant decrease the Seattle-based company has seen since it launched its Climate Pledge in 2019, setting a goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. But Amazon’s carbon emissions are still nearly 20 million metric tons greater than at the start of its five-year journey.

Editor’s note: read the workers’ critiques of Amazon’s climate pledge shell game – July 2024 Press Release: Amazon Employees are calling out Amazon’s misleading claims 

► From The Tri-City Herald (July 10) – WA abortion clinics scramble to care for out-of-state patients. How far are they traveling? – The largest number of out-of-state patients came to Washington from not only nearby Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, but also Texas following the Dobbs decision, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Until last year, Eastern Oregon had no facility offering in-clinic, procedural abortions, making the Tri-Cities at 25 miles across the Oregon and Washington state line the nearest clinic for many in Eastern Oregon.

AEROSPACE

► From Newsweek (July 9) – Boeing Victims’ Anger: Inside the Room As Sweetheart Deal Was Announced – [Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 victim’s mother Nadia] Milleron also called the $243.6 million financial penalty “a slap on the wrist” for the aerospace giant. “It allows them to continue on with their bad behavior, because fines are the cost of doing business for Boeing,” Milleron added.

► From CNN (July 10) – Boeing sold just three passenger jets in the past month – Boeing’s sales have fallen sharply in the wake of the Alaska Air incident, as even airlines eager to expand their fleets hold off on purchases while Boeing works through a myriad of problems. It had come into the year with a record sales month in December, but sales ground to a virtual halt following the Alaska Air incident.

ORGANIZING

► From OPB (July 8) – A measure to help Oregon cannabis workers unionize is headed to November ballot, labor group says –  United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 said Monday that it expects to qualify a measure on the November ballot that would require owners of cannabis dispensaries and processors to allow workers to unionize without interfering.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From NW Labor Press (July 3) – Ironworkers Local 29 voting on $15/hour increase over four years – NW Labor Press – If ratified by members, compensation would go up by $3 effective July 1, followed by $2 an hour increases July 7, 2025 and every six months after that until the contract expires June 30, 2028. 

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 Variety (July 10) – IATSE Releases the Full Details of Their Tentative Deal; Sets Dates For Ratification Vote

► From KEPR (July 9) – “Same employer, same job, same salary”: Kadlec workers demand union– About 1,100 of these Kadlec workers are represented by SEIU, the Service Employees International Union, which is one of the largest and most diverse unions in the country advocating for quality care and good jobs. The union is asking Providence to pay the same wages at Kadlec as it does at Providence Swedish, which has hospitals along the Interstate 5 corridor, including Seattle in western Washington.

► From the LA Times (July 9) – The mouse gloves are off: Disney workers to vote on strike amid contract talks –  “We haven’t been able to move the company on the issues most important to our members,” said Andrea Zinder, president of UFCW Local 324. “The unfair labor practices that Disney has committed are so egregious that they interfere with our ability to get a fair contract.” Last month, the union coalition filed charges with the board claiming that more than 500 workers have faced unlawful intimidation, surveillance and disciplinary threats for wearing a union button depicting a Mickey Mouse-styled glove raised in a fist.

NATIONAL

► From FireRescue1 (July 9) – President Biden signs fire grants reauthorization bill into law –  The bill will support fire and EMS first responders by reauthorizing the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs through fiscal year 2028; reauthorizing the U.S. Fire Administration through fiscal year 2028, and extending the sunset date for AFG and SAFER to September 30, 2030.

► From Decrypt (July 9) – Generative AI? Never Mind, Says Goldman Sachs – The global investment banking firm’s June 2024 report, “Gen AI: Too Much Spend, Too Little Benefit?” provides a reality check for those bullish on AI. Despite the tech industry’s exuberance and a staggering $1 trillion that’s forecasted to be spent on AI infrastructure, the report…estimates that AI will automate less than 5% of tasks in the next decade, contributing a meager 0.9% to GDP growth, [and argues] that the current AI tech isn’t equipped to solve complex problems cost-effectively—at least not one that’s worth investing $1 trillion dollars on.

► From the Labor Radio Pod (July 10) – Pride and Power – Pushing back against bigoted legislation targeting LGBTQIA+ kids and teachers (feat. AFT President Randi Weingarten)

► From Appalachian Voices (July 10) – House committee advances reckless bill that blocks life-saving silica standard – the House Appropriations Committee approved a dangerous appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Among other disastrous provisions, the bill would block funding for the recently finalized rule to protect miners from silica dust — a significant driver of the resurgence of black lung disease in Central Appalachia. This is not the first time some in Congress have tried to block this life-saving standard from taking effect. In November, 2023, Republican Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania introduced an amendment to a similar appropriations bill.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Washington Post (July 9) – Why are Democrats sticking with Biden? Ask the unions – “Put us in the group of doubling down unequivocally,” said Brent Booker, president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which represents some 400,000 U.S. workers in construction and other sectors. “He’s done more for our members than any president in my lifetime.”

► From The Hill (July 10) – Experts see potential for higher inflation under Trump – As Trump opens a wider lead in polling over President Biden, economic experts say his proposed tax and tariff policies could lead to higher prices, after more than two years of the incumbent fighting inflation.

► From Crosscut (July 3) – WA ballot initiative would cut $848.6M of environmental programs | Cascade PBS News – Last spring, the Legislature allocated $1.08 billion in cap-and-invest revenue for fiscal 2024-2025, of which $848.6 million comes with the caveat that the appropriations become effective on Jan. 1, 2025. That means if the cap-and-invest program is repealed in November, that $848.6 million worth of projects disappears. Overall, the cap-and-invest program has raised roughly $2.15 billion since Jan. 1, 2023.

► From Forbes (July 9) – 3 Ways Project 2025 Will Impact American Workplaces –  Project 2025 wants to dismantle workers’ rights to organize via unions and proposes that employees instead be provided a less powerful alternative called “employee involvement organizations.” Unions play a vital role in empowering workers and ensuring that employees are treated and paid equitably— limiting their power or getting rid of unions altogether would ultimately harm workers.

INTERNATIONAL

► From CNBC (July 10) – ‘Don’t get tired’: Samsung Electronics workers extend strike indefinitely, say chip production disrupted – This is the first strike by the labor union in Samsung Electronics’ entire 55-year history, according to local media.

► From RTE (July 11) – IALPA to suspend action at Aer Lingus and recommend acceptance of pay deal – The Labour Court recommendation includes a 17.75% pay increase for pilots over a four-year period. IALPA President Captain Mark Tighe described the pay increase provided for in the recommendation as a significant win for pilots. “This achievement was secured by the determination and unity shown by our members,” Captain Tighe said.

IN-DEPTH READS

► From The Washington Nurse (WSNA) – The state of midwifery – Midwives are practicing across the state, and our numbers are continuing to increase.

► From IBEW – Next-Generation Power: A Union Blueprint for Clean Energy Jobs – Renewable energy construction isn’t new for members of Kennewick, Wash., Local 112.

JOLT OF JOY

In France, the fascist Rassemblement National (National Rally) political party looked poised to overrun parliamentary elections and impose a slate of anti-immigrant, anti-worker policies. But when votes were announced Sunday, the newly formed leftist coalition, Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front), had succeeded in blocking NR’s control. Watch Popular Front supporters in Paris learn their organizing paid off:

Place de Stalingrad, distrito XIX de París pic.twitter.com/sXJynnmL8n

— Ana Sánchez (@ana_sanchez_b) July 7, 2024