NEWS ROUNDUP

Subminimum in Seattle?! | Healthcare organizing | IAM on Boeing CEO

Thursday, August 1, 2024

STRIKES

► From Slate (July 30) – The Video Game Industry Is More Successful Than Ever. Why Are the Workers Treated Like Garbage? – Video game workers—whatever their job, employer, or status—have clearly had enough. This month alone, the labor movement has made some of its biggest advancements ever in organizing the techies, artists, and creatives who keep the largest, most culturally significant sector of the global entertainment industry running and thriving.

► From Unite Here via Twitter/X:

 

LOCAL

► From KIRO News Radio (July 30) – Minimum wage debate pits small business survival against workers needed pay – “We’re talking about things that I thought we settled years ago,” KIRO Newsradio host Gee Scott said on “Seattle’s Morning News” (SMN). “I think being a small business owner is really difficult and tough, but stick to the plan.” Gee said that even with the new minimum wage, it’s difficult to survive in Seattle. “I think it should be on the business owner to make it work,” David Burbank, SMN producer, said.

► From The Stranger (July 31) – Minimum Wage Workers Can’t Afford Council Member Joy Hollingsworth’s Attack on Their Paycheck – Almost half of renters in the Seattle area transferred 30% of their paychecks from their bosses to their landlords in 2022. Of those renters, half spent more than 50% of their income on rent and utilities. According to Apartments.com, the average one-bedroom apartment in Seattle costs about $2,042 a month. If businesses pay a full-time minimum wage worker about $35,000 per year after taxes, then that worker would need to log 120 hours per week to afford that rent.

► From South Seattle Emerald (July 31) – Workers at Homegrown Sandwich Chain Condemn Store Closures, Imminent Layoffs – “We are calling on democratic officials to publicly condemn ‘union busting,’ because we know that the company is shutting down these stores to earn additional profits,” Homegrown worker Clio Jensen said. “It is not fair that they’re throwing 150 workers under the bus, and we’re fighting for severance and to ensure that communities in Seattle understand the unjust practices against unions.”

► From KUOW (July 30) – The Stranger newspaper sold to former state legislator Brady Walkinshaw –  “Our workers still have many questions, as the vast majority of Index Newspapers employees have not yet had a chance to hear Walkinshaw’s plans in his own words,” Index Union Media members said in a statement to KUOW. “Regardless of what we learn at (Tuesday’s) all-staff meeting, we remain committed to the editorial independence of our publications — both in day-to-day reporting and in the candidates we endorse.”

► From Real Change News (July 31) – In Washington state, incarcerated firefighters are on the frontline of climate justice – The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) employs about 700 seasonal and permanent firefighters. There are an additional 237 incarcerated firefighters who are involved in camp crews — a joint effort by the DNR and the Department of Corrections (DOC) to get incarcerated people working in firefighting and forestry. “It’s like we’re running to the things that everybody’s running from,” former camp crew member Joshua Tucker-Jonas said.

► From Medium (July 31) – Five years in, Paid Leave has changed 500,000 lives | by Governor Jay Inslee – As of June, the State of Washington has supported 200 million hours of paid leave to more than 500,000 Washingtonians who received $5 billion to avoid lost wages. Every hour and every dollar has been well-spent on Washington families, giving them priceless time off in a time of need.

 

AEROSPACE

► From ABC News (July 31) – Boeing names its next CEO while posting a quarterly loss of more than $1.4 billion – Robert “Kelly” Ortberg, a former CEO at aerospace manufacturer Rockwell Collins, will succeed David Calhoun as CEO and president effective Aug. 8, the company said…Boeing announced its new CEO as it reported a loss of more than $1.4 billion on falling revenue during the second quarter. The loss was wider and the company’s revenue lower than Wall Street’s dismal expectations, as both Boeing’s commercial-airplanes business and defense unit lost money.

Editor’s note: in a statement, IAM District 751 President Jon Holden said: “Boeing’s decision to appoint a new CEO who will be based in Seattle, close to the company’s economic hub, is a step in the right direction. We hope this change will bring positive outcomes for our members and the company.”

► From The Guardian (July 27) – Top pilots’ union sounds alarm as regulators consider smaller crew sizes – “This threat is not something that is 10, 15, 20 years away,” Capt Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents more than 78,000 pilots in the US and Canada, said…“The US has the safest aviation record in the world. We need to improve the standard for everybody, not just go to the lowest common denominator.”

 

ORGANIZING

► From LMT Online (July 31) – Austin workers at video game developer Blizzard Entertainment unionize – “The growing movement for worker rights and improved conditions in the video game industry comes at a time when sweeping layoffs and the endemic issue of “crunch” threaten workers’ livelihoods in spite of the industry’s enormous profits,” the [CWA] release reads.

► From the Washington Post (August 1) – Amazon cracks down on Teamsters union efforts, labor leaders detained – The Teamsters say the incident took place on public land outside the warehouse, where police have informed workers they can safely protest. An NYPD officer says in a video that the protesters were on Amazon’s property. But NYPD officials told The Post they could not provide details about the incident because there was no police report.

► From Daily Union Elections via Twitter/X: 

 

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From Cascadia Daily News (July 30) – Compass Health union workers picket as negotiations stall –  Kendra Lafortune was one of the few people not wearing purple as they marched in the steady drizzle outside of a Compass Health location in Bellingham on Monday, July 29. Unlike the union workers she stood with, Lafortune was not an employee of the nonprofit mental health care organization — she was a patient. She was there to support those who have supported her. “Without my therapist and the other supporting staff here, I literally wouldn’t be alive today,” said Lafortune…The union demonstration in Bellingham was the first of several events in the region as more than 350 behavioral health workers at Compass Health voice frustration about stalled progress in negotiations after about 16 months at the bargaining table.

► From SEIU 1199 Healthcare NW via Instagram: 


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!

 

NATIONAL

► From NPR (July 31) – Bird flu cases among farm workers may be going undetected, a study suggests – Although small, the study gives fresh urgency to reports of undiagnosed ailments among farmworkers and veterinarians. The CDC has warned that if people are infected by the seasonal flu and the bird flu simultaneously, the two types of viruses could swap genes in a way that allows the bird flu to spread between people as easily as seasonal varieties.

Editor’s note: United Farm Workers has been pushing for more testing and safety precautions for farm workers for months. 

► From People’s World (July 31) – As Delta CEO flies to Paris, workers sweat through grounding – “We’ve suffered through days of system-wide chaos. Management has asked us to pick up shifts and avoid leisure travel. We have gone above & beyond to make sure that passengers get to their final destination safely and on time. Yet many of us can’t even get home.”

► From Yahoo News (July 31) – CrowdStrike is sued by shareholders over huge software outage –  In a proposed class action filed on Tuesday night in the Austin, Texas federal court, shareholders said they learned that CrowdStrike’s assurances about its technology were materially false and misleading when a flawed software update disrupted airlines, banks, hospitals and emergency lines around the world.

► From Variety (July 31) – Entertainment Industry Backs Bill to Outlaw AI Deepfakes – “Game over A.I. fraudsters!” said Fran Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, in a statement. “Enshrining protections against unauthorized digital replicas as a federal intellectual property right will keep us all protected in this brave new world. Especially for performers whose livelihoods depend on their likeness and brand, this step forward is a huge win!”

Forbes/Getty

► From Labor Notes (July 30) – Reform Caucus Wins Amazon Labor Union Officer Elections –  “The movement to organize Amazon is still growing rapidly, and for us, our Teamster allies, and rank-and-file members, much of this is uncharted territory. We’ll be communicating in the coming days our transition plan and how we expect to execute the tremendous task ahead of us. For now we’re grateful to our members, supporters, and movement allies for standing with us and making this win possible.”

► From Forbes (July 31) – Biden Admin Contacting Millions Of Student Loan Borrowers About New Forgiveness Plan: Here’s What To Know – The plan is set to forgive loans for four sets of borrowers: those who now owe more than they did when they started repaying, those who have been paying off undergraduate loans for more than 20 years, those who are already eligible for existing forgiveness plans but never applied for them and those who were in “low financial-value programs” in institutions that didn’t meet the agency’s accountability standards.

 

POLITICS & POLICY

Daniel Steinle/Bloomberg

► From the Washington State Standard (July 30) – What’s the cost if WA voters erase capital gains tax, end cap-and-trade? – Passing the initiatives will dry up significant streams of revenue the state government is counting on for programs ranging from child care and early learning to electric vehicles and clean energy research.

► From Bloomberg (July 31) – Kamala Harris Wipes Out Trump’s Swing-State Lead in Election Dead Heat – Kamala Harris has wiped out Donald Trump’s lead across seven battleground states, as the vice president rides a wave of enthusiasm among young, Black and Hispanic voters, according to the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll.

► From the Seattle Times (July 31) – Vance’s links to the Project 2025 leader complicate Trump’s attempts at distance – “Dawn’s Early Light,” a forthcoming book by the Heritage Foundation’s president, Kevin D. Roberts, calling for a “second American Revolution,” features a foreword by Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, whom Trump tapped as his running mate in July.

► From the Washington Post (August 1) – Senate Republicans are set to block a child tax credit expansion –  “Senate Republicans are looking at the calendar, and they have decided they care more about the results of the election than in passing a law,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “They hope that if things go their way, they can get a more conservative package sometime in the future.”

 

INTERNATIONAL

► From the UAW (August 1) – UAW Solidarity Statement with Striking GM Workers in Brazil – Workers at the facility, who are represented by the Metalworkers Union of São José dos Campos, have conducted two strikes since last Friday. They are demanding the reinstatement of 50 workers laid off by GM last week. They are also demanding job security and the opening of the Voluntary Dismissal Program if layoffs are inevitable.

► From CBC News (July 31) – Union representing foremen at B.C. ports plans strike vote –  A union representing foremen at British Columbia’s ports says it is being forced to take an industry-wide strike vote after one employer refused to bargain about automation issues directly, and it also wants the courts to weigh in.

 

JOLT OF JOY

Starbucks Workers United ‘Red for Bread’ campaign could warm even the chilliest of hearts: 

 

The STAND posts links to Washington state, national, and international news of interest every Friday morning. The next edition of The STAND will be published August 14. 

 

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