IAM to vote | WNBPA opts out | Tax the rich

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

MACHINISTS STRIKE at BOEING

► From ABC — Striking Boeing workers set to vote on new contract offer. Will they approve it? — Mid-ranking workers involved in the strike typically make $20 per hour, which totals $800 per 40-hour work week, while higher-paid members earn salaries upward of $100,000 per year, or nearly $2,000 per week. Meanwhile, the strike was set to cost Boeing $108 million per day in lost revenue, amounting to as much as $5.5 billion in losses should the work stoppage last 50 days, investment bank TD Cowen said in a report reviewed by ABC News at the outset of the dispute. So far, the strike has lasted 38 days.

► From Yahoo News — Boeing shares rise after labor offer but analysts wary of worker pushback — The union did not explicitly endorse the latest offer but told workers on Saturday “it is worthy of your consideration”. Even if members accept the offer, Boeing still faces the challenge of quickly restoring production to pre-strike levels once workers return. About 33,000 workers will vote on the offer on Wednesday after a more than month-long work stoppage that has halted production of models including Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX narrowbody jets. The vote coincides with Boeing’s third-quarter results, which are expected to include a hefty loss.

STRIKES

► From Yahoo News — Kaiser mental health professionals in Southern California go on strike — The National Union of Healthcare Workers said that nearly 2,400 mental health workers had launched their job action after Kaiser management had turned down proposals that the union said would stanch employee turnover and improve care. “Unless we strike, our co-workers are going to keep leaving,” San Diego psychologist Josh Garcia said in a union statement before the walkout, “and our patients are going to keep struggling in an underfunded, understaffed system that doesn’t meet their needs.”

► From KAKE/ABC — IAM Local 774 members vote to accept latest contract offer from Textron Aviation, strike ends — Union members will return to work beginning Wednesday, Oct. 23, ending the month-long strike. The new offer that Local 774 members voted on over the weekend includes a fifth year, as several members were adamant about not having a contract expire in an election year. There is also a 5% wage increase and an additional $3,000 directable bonus. Some of the other highlights include: 31% overall increase in wages throughout the five-year agreement.

LOCAL

► From Cascade PBS — ‘Beyond failure’: WA teen loses legs at school-based work program — In the hours after his emergency surgery, Derrik would awake briefly in his hospital room at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center unable to speak. He would flash a smile and offer a thumbs-up, his parents recalled. Often he’d then make a waving motion down toward his knees. At those times, his mother would have to tell him again they had not been able to save his legs. L&I later determined Rotschy not only allowed Derrik to use a machine prohibited for minors to use — even with a variance — but that the company also did not properly train him on it or closely supervise him. The agency issued the company a $156,259 fine and one willful serious violation.

► From the Yakima Herald — Overcrowded youth detention centers in Washington draw concern — Norrie Gregoire, a Walla Walla County Juvenile Court Administrator and member of the sentencing commission, echoed Wilson’s concern about staffing shortages. He called on state lawmakers to do whatever they can to ensure the facilities are fully staffed. “You can see we’re just kind of in a very tricky situation right now,” he said. “The double-whammy of being understaffed — I’m sure morale is probably not great. So I feel for those folks.”

► From the (Everett) Herald — North County EMS is underfunded and understaffed, workers say — Corsa has worked for North County Fire since March 2023. He said he’s noticed leadership problems since he began, including a lack of proper onboarding, training schedule and quality improvement programs. He said many employees go “above and beyond” to keep the division afloat. Chris Peterson, a firefighter and EMT, said morale at the agency is the lowest he’s seen.

► From the Kitsap Sun — Unemployment claims in Washington increased last week — Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Washington rose last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to 8,146 in the week ending October 5, up from 6,402 the week before, the Labor Department said.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the Washington Post — WNBA players union decides to opt out of current collective bargaining agreement — “This is a defining moment not just for the WNBA, but for all of us who believe in progress,” WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike said Monday. “The world has evolved since 2020 and we cannot afford to stand still. If we stay in the current agreement, we fall behind. This is a new era and we are ready to lead transformational change.” The current CBA will still cover the 2025 season so the two sides have a year to negotiate a new agreement.

► From MarketWatch — Norfolk Southern Reaches Tentative Labor Deal with Another Union — Norfolk Southern reached a tentative five-year bargaining agreement with workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The railroad operator said the agreement, which is subject to ratification, provides a 3.5% average wage increase per year over the next five years, among other benefits.

NATIONAL

► From the AP — FTC’s rule banning fake online reviews goes into effect — “Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said about the rule in August. She added that the rule will “protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive.”

► From the Washington Post — Thom Yorke, Julianne Moore join letter protesting unauthorized AI training — Use of creative work without a license for AI development is “a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted,” the brief, 29-word letter says.

► From the Seattle Times — Social Security benefits in 2025: 5 big changes retirees should plan for  — The 2025 Social Security COLA provides retirees and others with an increase in their benefits. However, this isn’t the only change to the program. Other levels and thresholds have also been adjusted to reflect ongoing cost increases.

► From the AP — Women in states with bans are getting abortions at similar rates as under Roe, report says — Women did so by traveling out of state or by having prescription abortion pills mailed to them, according to the #WeCount report from the Society of Family Planning, which advocates for abortion access. “The abortion bans are not eliminating the need for abortion,” said Ushma Upadhyay, a University of California, San Francisco public health social scientist and a co-chair of the #WeCount survey. “People are jumping over these hurdles because they have to.”

► From the AP — Georgia county says it’s suing company over chemical fire — “We want them gone,” Rockdale County Commissioner Sherri Washington said at a press conference Monday.“For three weeks, I have listened to the numerous physical, mental, and emotional tolls that this company’s negligence has caused our residents,” she said. “And I will fight until my last breath to have them removed.”

► From the Washington Post — She was a restaurant worker. Helene made her into an emergency manager. — Alviter’s transformation from restaurant worker into emergency manager mirrors the abrupt transitions in the lives of many of the volunteers she oversees. Among the stacks of canned beans, bottled water, Ziploc bags of rice and jars of peanut butter, there worked a University of North Carolina at Asheville student whose final year of college was put on hold, a videographer with no weddings to film and one man whose plan to cast off his old life and move to Las Vegas was squashed by the storm.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Seattle Times — WA residents overwhelmingly support taxes on the wealthy, poll shows — The idea to boost state funding of K-12 education by adding this tax is popular among Washington voters. Of those who responded to the poll, 66% said they’d support the tax and less than 20% said they’d oppose it. Support for a wealth tax bridges party divides as well, the poll shows. “Very liberal” voters overwhelmingly approve of it and, while the margin of support shrinks among Republican voters, more respondents who said they were “very conservative” support the tax than don’t.

► From the New York Times — Why Elon Musk’s $1 Million Giveaways Could Be Troublesome — Federal law makes it a crime to pay, offer to pay or accept payment for registration to vote or for voting. There are some exceptions, such as driving people to the polls. The Tesla chief has not only set up and funded the America super PAC, but is also making public appearances to pitch Trump to voters. One of the potential reasons is Musk’s focus on paring back regulations on business — including his companies, The Times reports, which have been targeted in at least 20 recent investigations or reviews.

Editor’s note: I’m going to be bold here and say that the anti-worker billionaire funding another anti-worker “billionaire” in his campaign for office is quite obviously trying to make it easier to exploit workers (and destroy the NLRB). 

► From the Seattle Times — Group looks for ‘tons of white guys’ to support social justice — Crass said it’s important for progressive white men in liberal places like Seattle to resist the idea that they have everything figured out and their main job is to call out other white men who they feel are less woke than they are. “We have a responsibility as progressives to really talk with people, connect with people and talk about our values in a way that’s going to resonate,” he said. “Because systems of oppression would love it for people in Seattle to look down on others.”

► From the Seattle Times — How to track your WA ballot and get text updates — Go to the VoteWA portal at voter.votewa.gov and sign in with your first and last name and date of birth, and you can see the status of that electoral baby of yours. You can also text “VOTE” to 868392 to get text updates on your ballot’s status.

Editor’s note: remember…

A friendly reminder as to why you, as a union member, should get into politics. pic.twitter.com/bWUDzyBlfM

— John Ryan E (@RyanElward) October 20, 2024

INTERNATIONAL

► From the AP — Becky Sauerbrunn and over 100 women’s soccer players protest FIFA deal with Saudi oil giant Aramco — The letter calls on FIFA to replace Aramco “with alternative sponsors whose values align with gender equality, human rights and the safe future of our planet,” and to give players a voice on the ethical implications of future sponsorship deals.

The Stand posts links to local, national and international labor news every weekday morning. Subscribe to get daily news in your inbox.