The DNC | Boeing negotiations | NLRB vs. Amazon

Friday, August 23, 2024

STRIKES

► From KEPR News (August 20) – Kadlec healthcare workers strike for better wages amid stalled negotiations –  Blanca Hinojosa, a Pharmacy Technician with Kadlec for 12 years, tells us striking was the last thing she wanted to do. She, tells us. “I really thought that they would do the right thing and bargain with us, avoid this whole thing. But, apparently that wasn’t what happened, so here we are.” 

Editor’s note: you can donate to the strike fund — and get more info on Saturday’s rally — here.

LOCAL

► From the Washington State Standard (August 21) – Assaults on staff rise sharply at state-run behavioral health hospital for children – A growing population of patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities may also be contributing to increased assaults on staff, the report says, as well as “significant staffing challenges,” increased overtime and difficulties retaining workers.

Editor’s note: the union workers at CSTC have a simple – dare I say obvious – solution: fix the staffing crisis. 

► From the Washington State Standard (August 22) – WA state workers plan walkout to spotlight intensifying contract talks – “While Washington’s population has boomed and the legislature has piled on more and more work, our pay hasn’t kept pace and it’s become increasingly difficult to get people to stay on the job,” wrote union leaders, who urged members to “apply pressure” with calls to Gov. Jay Inslee.

► From Columbia Gorge News (August 21) – WSNA nurses, Skyline Hospital stalled over wages – According to a market analysis by WSNA, on average, Skyline pays its nurses about 16.5% less than those at comparable hospitals like Adventist Health and Klickitat Valley Health (KVH). At the same time, Skyline spent around $1 million on traveling, or agency, nurses in 2023 and paid them over $30 more per hour than the highest-earning staff nurse. 

► From Northwest Labor Press (August 16) – IBEW Local 48 volunteers conduct organizing blitz – For three nights in late July, 115 union volunteers knocked on the doors of over 650 non-union electricians to invite them to join IBEW Local 48. Reactions were positive. Local 48 organizer Matt Smyth said many non-union electricians understand that the union has helped set the industry standards they already enjoy. Over a dozen of those contacted have since reached out to the union about joining.

AEROSPACE

► From Valley Labor Report (August 21) – WATCH: Boeing Machinists are Ready to FIGHT for a Good Contract – Jon Holden, President of Machinists District 751, joins us to talk about Boeing Machinists and the battle they are facing to get a good contract.

► From Simple Flying (August 21) – Boeing At Odds With Machinist Union As Deadline For Contract Looms – The union emphasized that Boeing cannot threaten to move away aircraft programs from the Seattle area, with the next contract having to guarantee that the assembly of the manufacturer’s next aircraft must stay in Puget Sound.

► From Aviation Pros (August 22) – FAA Requires Inspections of Boeing 787 Engine Anti-Ice System – On Monday, Boeing grounded its 777X test fleet after discovering damage to a structural part that connects the engine to the rest of the plane. The FAA had recently cleared Boeing to begin test flights for the 777X fleet, after certification has repeatedly been delayed. Now, those test flights are back on hold.

► From Labor Notes (August 22) – Striking Is in the Air at Boeing – “Used to be nobody would talk bad about Boeing,” recalled Edwin Haala, a heavy structure mechanic who started in 1996. “Now, we don’t want our kids to work there.” The nickel-and-diming of the workers is particularly galling, Haala said, because for Boeing, labor accounts for only 3 to 5 percent of the cost of an airplane.

ORGANIZING

► From AP (August 22) – US labor regulator says Amazon is a joint employer of subcontracted delivery drivers in California – The [Teamsters Union] represents UPS drivers and has been seeking to unionize Amazon drivers. However, it has encountered challenges, most notably because the company doesn’t directly employ drivers but relies on thousands of third-party businesses that deliver millions of customer packages every day.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the LA Times (August 22) – NWSL agrees to sweeping new contract that is among the most pro-labor in women’s sports – The NWSL and its players association have agreed to a collective bargaining deal that will eliminate the draft, guarantee contracts and grant unrestricted free agency, giving players unprecedented control over where they play. The agreement, one of the most progressive, pro-player labor pacts in the history of U.S. women’s sports, will enhance player compensation and benefits significantly, increase investment in staffing, charter flights and facilities, and allow the league to create a year-round schedule. 

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 the New York Times (August 23) – U.S. Accuses Software Maker RealPage of Enabling Collusion on Rents – The suit, joined by North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington, accuses RealPage of facilitating a price-fixing conspiracy that boosted rents beyond market forces for millions of people. It’s the first major civil antitrust lawsuit where the role of an algorithm in pricing manipulation is central to the case, Justice Department officials said.

► From Fortune (August 19) – REI has hemorrhaged money for two years in a row. Now employees fear its famed outdoor-nerd culture is at risk – Over the past two years, staff at 10 of REI’s 187 stores have unionized. Employees have chafed not only at cutbacks but at what they see as changes in REI’s culture. [CEO Eric] Artz has implemented more centralized decision-making, conducted a costly overhaul of its ecommerce, and hired a raft of executives from large national retailers—leaving many Green Vests, and industry observers, to wonder whether REI is losing its soul by aping big-box rivals like Cabela’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, or Walmart.

► From Jacobin (August 16) – CEOs Inflated Their Paychecks — and Our Prices –  The AFL-CIO, the country’s major labor union federation, has put forward a much clearer and more compelling message, placing the blame for crippling price increases squarely on rapacious CEOs and their outlandish compensation. In its annual Executive Paywatch report, it finds that CEO pay at S&P 500 companies has actually increased 6 percent over the last year to an average of $17.7 million.

► From Detroit News (August 21) – UAW could strike Stellantis plants by mid-October over Belvidere delays, plan says – The planning timeline provided to UAW locals representing Stellantis plants shows an aggressive five-step process that could see workers taking strike authorization votes by Oct. 4, and potentially heading to the picket line sometime after Oct. 18.

► From the Washington Post (August 22) – New coronavirus vaccines are now approved. Here’s what to know – Health officials encourage annual vaccination against the coronavirus, similar to yearly flu shots. Everyone 6 months and older should receive a new vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. The FDA has yet to approve an updated vaccine from Novavax, which uses a more conventional vaccine development method but has faced financial challenges.

► From CBS (August 23) – 2 freight trains collided in Colorado, damaging a bridge –  Two freight trains collided and derailed in Boulder, Colorado, on Thursday night, damaging a bridge, spilling fuel and injuring two conductors, according to police.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From CNN (August 23) – Takeaways from the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention –  Harris went directly at her Republican rival. She laid out the former president’s legal troubles. She blamed him for the horrors some women have faced amid the implementation of strict state-level abortion laws. She issued a reminder of what she called the “chaos and calamity when he was in office.” “In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,” she said. “But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”

► From Rolling Stone (August 23) – Trump Has Multi-Platform Meltdown for the Ages Over Harris’ DNC Speech – Donald Trump lasted about two minutes into Vice President Kamala Harris’ nomination acceptance speech before launching into a full-blown public unraveling. Trump only stopped posting in order to call into Fox News, where he raged at anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. When MacCallum pointed out that Harris was gaining in several polls and key demographics, Trump countered that “she’s not having success. I’m having success.”

Editor’s note: in other words…

► From NPR (August 22) – Former Republican lawmaker offers a blistering assessment of Trump in DNC speech – “Vote for our bedrock values and vote for Kamala Harris,” Kinzinger said. He added that he was making this endorsement despite having policy disagreements with Harris. “Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamentals matters of principle, of decency, and of fidelity to this nation,” he said.

INTERNATIONAL

► From The New York Times (August 22) – Canada Orders Arbitration and End to Rail Freight Shutdown – “The railroads don’t care about farmers, small businesses, supply chains or their own employees,” Paul Boucher, the rail conference’s president, said in a statement on Thursday. “Their sole focus is boosting their bottom line, even if it means jeopardizing the entire economy.” 

► From The Real News (August 16) – How French unions leveraged the Olympics to score wins for labor

JOLT OF JOY

Are we in a moment of incredible political cynicism? Yes. Are many of us burnt out on one too many “most important election of our lives”? Also, yes. Did the West Virginian delegates’ DNC Roll Call still manage to fan the embers of optimism in my cold heart? You betcha.

Still thinking about West Virginia’s moment during the DNC Roll Call. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/oxSfiKb7jv

— Arlen Parsa (@arlenparsa) August 21, 2024