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NEWS ROUNDUP

Hotel strike rally | Boeing’s balance | Sbux stress

Friday, October 18, 2024

 

MACHINISTS STRIKE at BOEING

► From the South Seattle Emerald — A Month Into Strike, Boeing Employees Continue to Press for Company Change — and Accountability — Both men believe Boeing’s pressure on employees to work overtime and its failure to address safety issues are interconnected problems. “If you work [employees] like dogs, if you pressure them to work overtime over and over again, they make mistakes,” Pierson said. “One person makes a serious mistake, and it’s not caught. That’s dangerous.” Sykes agreed, pointing to the importance of fair wages and better working conditions. “We want a livable wage so there’s not this over-dependency on getting overtime,” he said. “The company would rather throw a bunch of overtime at it than hire new people because it’s cheaper. But that is dangerous because now you have people that are exhausted.”

► From Fortune — Can Boeing Keep Its Balance Amidst The Shifting Winds? — The moves to shore up its cash position were expected and the stock reacted mildly favorably. Shares of Boeing are down 40% since the beginning of the year. The moves represent a choice to not come to an agreement with the IAM or consider divesting of any of the valuable units focused on airline services and aftermarket. Boeing stands to lose $1.5 Billion per month due to the work stoppage by the IAM which began September 13. The union has maintained its demand for a raise of 40% and Boeing has continued to stick to its offer of 30%, despite Federal mediation and a visit by the US Secretary of Labor.

► From IAM 751:

 

STRIKES

► From the Seattle Medium — Seattle, Hawaii Hilton Workers Walk Off Job — Currently, over 4,300 hotel workers are on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott locations in cities such as Honolulu, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. Additionally, around 2,000 workers walked off their jobs in September at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which is the largest Hilton hotel in the world.

► From UNITE HERE Local 8:

 

LOCAL

► From the Seattle Times — How UW is preparing to share money with student-athletes after House settlement — Among several stipulations, the settlement paves the way for universities to share around $22 million annually with student-athletes. It received preliminary approval on Oct. 7 and has a hearing for final approval set for April 7, 2025. Each school is allowed to decide how much money to share with its student-athletes, up to the approximately $22 million limit. Fisch said he’s been assured by athletic director Pat Chun and deputy athletic director Erin O’Connell, also the athletic department’s chief operating officer, that Washington will participate at the highest levels.

 

AEROSPACE

► From Aviation Direct — United Airlines comes under criticism after share buyback — The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), which represents the airline’s flight attendants, described the move as a “big mistake” and sharply criticized management. In particular, the fact that the flight attendants have not yet concluded a new collective agreement while the company is providing significant funds for share buybacks is the focus of the dispute.

 

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the National Association of Letter Carriers:

► From the NW Labor Press — At Reed College still no union contract after a year — Above all, the housing advisors want higher compensation. They are currently paid $17,260 per year, which after taxes is less than the cost of their room and board in the dorms where they work. Eli Rall, a junior and member of the bargaining committee, told supporters at an Oct. 4 union rally that Reed is not as progressive as it claims. “I have been amazed by all the ways that this college has found to undermine and ignore the fights that students are making for progress at Reed,” Rall said.

 

ORGANIZING

► From the Los Angeles Times — Union drive at Wells Fargo heats up as employees allege intimidation tactics — In interviews, current and laid-off members of the conduct management department said clashes with management arose after they announced in early September their intent to hold a vote on whether the 48 members of the department would join the union. In response, bank officials sent employees a barrage of emails disparaging the idea and continued to oppose it in meetings between higher-ups and staff.

 

NATIONAL

► From the Seattle Times — Stressed Starbucks baristas decry ‘skeleton’ crews in test for new CEO — Only 33% of workers who responded to a survey of the chain’s 10,000 U.S. company-operated locations say stores consistently have sufficient staffing, according to results seen by Bloomberg News. “We are constantly only given a skeleton staff,” one worker said in comments collected as part of the survey results reviewed by Bloomberg.

► From the AP — US to probe Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ system after pedestrian killed in low visibility conditions — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents that it opened the probe on Thursday after the company reported four crashes when Teslas encountered sun glare, fog and airborne dust. Last week Tesla held an event at a Hollywood studio to unveil a fully autonomous robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals. Musk, who has promised autonomous vehicles before, said the company plans to have autonomous Models Y and 3 running without human drivers next year.

► From the AP — Biden administration races to shell out billions for clean energy as election nears — The Environmental Protection Agency made $20 billion from a federal “green bank” available this summer for clean energy projects such as residential heat pumps, electric vehicle charging stations and community cooling centers. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the nation’s 10th large offshore wind farm, the Maryland Offshore Wind Project, in September, reaching the halfway mark for Biden’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

► From WSMV — Texts from Impact Plastics worker to daughter show how long workers were in the factory: “Can’t get out… I love u alllll.” — Alexa wants to know why senior management allegedly did not let workers leave at the first signs of trouble. A new lawsuit filed this week alleges that it all came down to business. “We understand from witnesses that the company was behind on some of its orders,” attorney Alex Little, who is representing the family, said. “It had parts it had to get out the door that they were behind on.” Little claims Impact Plastics and its owner, Gerald O’Connor, put lives in danger to meet deadlines. Little also alleges despite Impact Plastics being in a flood plain, there was no evacuation plan in place.

 

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Washington State Standard — Washington US House candidate voices opposition to Muslims serving in Congress — “What if the majority of Congress was Muslim?” he said. “How safe and secure would our Constitution be? It wouldn’t be.” Imraan Siddiqi, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, said the statements highlight “just how pervasive Islamophobia is in our society, and that it is viewed as an acceptable form of bigotry.” For Sessler to tout his position shows he doesn’t “feel there is a political price to pay,” he said.

Editor’s note: “The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every man to exercise it as these may dictate. This right is in its nature an unalienable right.” — James Madison (often referred to as ‘the Father of the Constitution’), in the Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments (1785), arguing against religious tests for office. 

► From People’s World — Presidency, U.S. Senate, and House control could be determined in Nebraska — If Kamala Harris wins the state’s “blue dot” and prevails in the Midwest “blue wall,” she’ll reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win. If Independent pro-labor U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn wins in Nebraska, he could caucus with Democrats, giving them a workable majority on critical issues. And if Democrat State Sen. Tony Vargas wins the 2nd Congressional District race in the state, it could help Democrats win the House majority.

► From the Yakima Herald — Maria Beltran and Curtis King vie for state Senate seat after redistricting — Marai Beltran: “The struggles of this district are still my struggles. Not only do I have this lived experience, but I also have this professional experience of working in Olympia and working in Congress and working at the local level. That’s allowed me to hit the ground running. I think when you put together my professional and lived experience, I think it will make me an exceptional state senator for District 14.”

Editor’s note: the WSLC endorsed Beltran in May. 

► From Cascade PBS — Capital gains tax repeal could cost WA public schools billions — “Do we want to take away $2.2 billion?” said Treasure Mackley, executive director of Invest in Washington Now. Mackley and Stephan Blanford, executive director of the Children’s Alliance, said the initiative would severely cut access to state subsidized child care and preschools. This would especially impact women in the workforce, who could have to drop out or cut back their hours because less state-subsidized child care and preschools will be available, they said.

► From the New York Times — Judge Orders DeSantis Administration to Stop Threats Over Abortion-Rights Ad — “The government cannot excuse its indirect censorship of political speech simply by declaring the disfavored speech is ‘false,’” Judge Walker, who has frequently ruled against the administration, wrote in his 17-page order. “To keep it simple for the state of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

 

INTERNATIONAL

► From the AP — Italian autoworkers go on strike, as troubled Stellantis faces pressure over production plans — The sector’s three main unions in Italy are asking the government to defend employment in the sector and relaunch the future of the carmaking industry in Italy, beginning with global automaker Stellantis. Stellantis, the world’s fourth largest automaker, is under pressure globally to provide clarity about its future production plans as it faces growing competition and financial strains. Italy’s far-right government accuses the company of relocating assembly plants to low-cost countries.

► From Labor Notes — Walmart Warehouse Workers Win First Union in Canada — The Walmart distribution center is in Mississauga, Ontario, an hour from the western New York border. Workers there began organizing last December to join Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union. Forty percent signed union cards over the summer. Pilozo cited low wages and pressure to work dangerously fast as the main concerns that pushed him and his co-workers to organize.

 

JOLT OF JOY

The countdown clock on my computer screen shows 18 days til E-day, which gives the former President a little over 2 weeks to find his beauty blender — and gives us about 2 weeks to activate as many working people to vote as possible (sign up for Labor Neighbor today).

 

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