Boeing strike likely | Layoffs impact Herald | Vance’s racism

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

LOCAL

► From the Spokesman Review — Person dies at Spokane Amazon facility, employees evacuated — Employees were working on the robotics floor when the person collapsed, according to an email from Amazon spokesman Sam Stephenson. Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Mark Gregory said preliminary information indicates the death is a medical issue. The Spokane County Medical Examiner will release the person’s identity and cause of death.

► From the Seattle Times — Cyberattack keeps Highline schools closed — Spokesperson Tove Tupper said “unauthorized activity” detected on the district’s system doesn’t appear to have accessed personal data. The district will not release more information about the breach while the investigation is ongoing, she said. According to a note on the district’s website, some Highline employees are still expected to report to buildings. They are there partly to redirect any families who did not know that the district canceled classes.

► From the Spokesman Review — Spokane International Airport gets $18 million from Biden administration –Funds were allotted by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which President Joe Biden signed into law in May. Other airports awarded funds include Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, Arlington Municipal Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Sanderson Field in Shelton, Bowerman Airport in Hoquiam and Olympia Regional Airport, the release said.

► From the Everett Herald — Readers have seen a difference after Herald layoffs | Opinion — If it helps, I want the Herald staff and other local journalists to know that if they decided to start and run their own paper, we would be interested in supporting such an endeavor. I encourage fellow readers to join me in standing up to money hoarders who think they know how to do things well just because they own money.

► From the Washington State Standard — As one lawsuit against Tacoma immigration detention center ends, another ramps up — The Northwest ICE Processing Center is the only facility of this kind in the state. Hunger strikes are common at the facility, which has a history of reported human rights violations, including inadequate food, regular use of solitary confinement and poor hygiene, according to research from the University of Washington.

► From Cascade PBS — Councilmember Zahilay proposes $1B for middle-income public housing — King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, whose district represents parts of Seattle and Skyway, has proposed an initiative to use $1 billion of the county’s bonding capacity to fund construction of mixed-income, publicly owned housing. Rents would be set at levels affordable to people earning between 50% and 120% of the area median income, or between $52,700 and $126,480.

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Boeing Machinists union chief expects members will reject deal, strike — “The response from people is it’s not good enough,” Machinist union district 751 president Holden said in an exclusive interview with The Seattle Times at the union’s South Park headquarters. “Right now, I think it will be voted down, and our members will vote to strike.” If the union’s 33,000 members reject the proposed contract, as Holden now expects, a strike will begin at 12 a.m. Friday. He said he believes the offer on the table is the best the union could get without a strike.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From Labor Notes — 10,000 Hotel Workers Struck on Labor Day Weekend, More Could Follow — Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the hospitality industry, with more than 3.5 million jobs lost between February 2020 and 2021. Across the U.S. and Canada, 98 percent of UNITE HERE members were laid off at the peak of the pandemic. Though most have gone back to work, the recovery has been bumpy and incomplete. Bookings now exceed pre-pandemic levels and operating profits now surpass pre-Covid figures, but staffing cuts made during the pandemic have yet to be restored. Hotel bosses, meanwhile, are doing just fine. Marriott International announced a net income of $722 million for the second quarter of 2024, with the Hyatt and Hilton not far behind.

ORGANIZING

► From Fast Company — Workers at Pennsylvania battery plant Eos just voted to unionize — The union election took place as Eos has become part of an industry that is eligible for billions of dollars in clean energy federal investments, particularly from the Inflation Reduction Act, as Capital & Main reported earlier. Eos received millions of dollars in federal investment that backers touted as a wellspring for “good, clean jobs,” and the company may be eligible for roughly $2 billion more.

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 — Just Miles from Kroger’s Court Battle, a Food Desert Shows What’s at Stake — Twenty-five years ago, three supermarkets served Rockwood. Just one, an Albertsons, still stands. With 40,000 people and one of the highest poverty rates in the region, Rockwood has become a food desert. Serge Mutalimba used to shop at a Safeway; now he takes a bus ride that is about twice as long to the remaining Albertsons. “Everybody else is gone,” said Mr. Mutalimba, who has lived in and around Rockwood for more than two decades. “They’re all completely gone.”

► From the New York Times — Almost 50 Million Americans Have Had an Obamacare Plan Since 2014 — Federal officials said that the findings represent roughly one in seven U.S. residents, a broad swath of the population that underscores the vast, and seemingly irreversible, reach of the 2010 law. The timing of the announcement was significant, coming just hours before the presidential debate in Philadelphia, where Vice President Kamala Harris will likely use the Affordable Care Act in her pitch to voters.

► From the Washington Post — Inflation was higher in metros with greater 2020 Trump support — Areas with greater support for Trump in 2020 have faced higher inflation since then among the 21 metropolitan areas — major cities and their outlying suburbs — where BLS tracks price data. In the last four years, the Phoenix and Atlanta metro areas have also faced some of the highest inflation in the country.

► From the AP — Americans’ inflation-adjusted incomes rebounded to pre-pandemic levels last year  — The proportion of Americans living in poverty also fell slightly last year, to 11.1%, from 11.5% in 2022. But the ratio of women’s median earnings to men’s widened for the first time in more than two decades as men’s income rose more than women’s in 2023.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From The Hill — Harris and Trump’s first debate showdown: What to watch — While expectations were not particularly high for Biden heading into the June debate, he still fell flat as he struggled to push back against Trump and make coherent statements. Expectations are certainly much higher for Harris on Tuesday, and observers will be watching primarily to see how she meets the moment.

► From CBS — JD Vance repeats baseless claim Haitian immigrants are eating pets as Ohio officials say there is no evidence — Vance, the Republican senator for Ohio, said he had previously raised the issue of Haitian immigrants “causing chaos all over Springfield,” adding, “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”

Editor’s note: How low can this guy stoop. In the words of our UFW siblings…

We organize with Haitian-origin farm workers in NY. They’re as American as the apple pie their work makes possible, but right wing racists are spreading dehumanizing lies.

Haitians are not eating pets.
They’re feeding America.

The anti-Haitian bigotry we’re seeing is repulsive.

— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) September 10, 2024

► From the Labor Tribune — Tim Walz is a dream pick for the Labor Movement — In a July 29 letter urging Harris to choose Walz, 26 Minnesota Labor leaders noted that Walz enacted paid family and medical leave for all families, provided unemployment insurance to hourly school workers, expanded the collective bargaining rights of Minnesotans, provided free school meals to every Minnesota student, appointed a Labor lawyer to lead the state Department of Labor and Industry, signed a tough law against wage theft by corporations and developers, and made it illegal for employers to force working people to attend anti-union meetings.

► From Reuters — Workers at several large US tech companies overwhelmingly back Kamala Harris, data shows — Workers at many of the largest U.S. tech companies overwhelmingly back Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, according to donation data, even as some of the most powerful tech billionaires have thrown their support to Republican rival Donald Trump. Workers at Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft are donating millions of dollars to the Harris campaign, significantly more than employees who are opting to send money to former President Trump’s camp, according to the data compiled by political watchdog OpenSecrets.

INTERNATIONAL

► From the BBC — Apple told to pay Ireland €13bn in tax by EU — In the Apple case, the ECJ said: “The Court of Justice gives final judgment in the matter and confirms the European Commission’s 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover.” The EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager praised both judgements. “Today is a huge win for European citizens and tax justice,” she said.

► From Reuters — Indian strike hits Samsung production at key electronics plant — Samsung Electronics’ production at a key plant in southern India was disrupted for a second day by hundreds of employees striking for higher wages on Tuesday, as top executives sought to resolve a rare episode of labour unrest.

► From People’s World — New Popular Front rallies French to save democracy from Macron-Le Pen coup — Answering the call of the New Popular Front coalition and the country’s labor unions, hundreds of thousands of people hit the streets in France this weekend. The left and workers’ organizations are mobilizing resistance to President Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of conservative Michel Barnier as prime minister.

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