Tacoma FD | Union rights in WI | U.S. steel

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

STRIKES

► From the Pennsylvania Capital-Star — The strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is now the longest in the nation. And it’s not over. —  Since 2017, Post-Gazette journalists have worked without a union contract. The paper’s owners appeared to show little interest in negotiating a new one, but in 2020, they imposed new terms on employees. Workers learned during the pandemic that the cost of their healthcare plan would increase for many and some would lose banked sick days, among other unfavorable changes.

► From UNITE HERE 226 Culinary Union:

🗣️ Dispatch from the Strike Line: Day 1️⃣9️⃣
A message to anyone considering staying at @VirginHotelsLV: Check out! Every other hotel on the Las Vegas Strip has professional staff who have settled contracts & respect their workers! pic.twitter.com/sJpVPIGVFp

— Culinary Union (@Culinary226) December 3, 2024

► From the People’s World — Seniority, salaries key issues as Machinists IKEA strike enters third week — IKEA’s warehouse in the Baltimore suburb is one of only three in the U.S. It’s been unionized for 12 years. And its workers have had it up to here with IKEA’s exploitation, its continual jerking around of their assignments and schedules and general disrespect.

LOCAL

► From KOMO — Tacoma firefighters warn of dire impact from budget cuts and call for urgent action — Firefighter/Union President Allyson Hinzman said “Our firefighters are failing. We’re at that critical breaking point.” Hinzman added that “because of funding shortages, our best-performing equipment is failing us.” Hinzman said they cannot afford any budget cuts. They are already spread too thin. They believe issues with equipment and their facilities will worsen if they receive less money. Response times are affected by all of this. On Monday, Hinzman said the industry standard is to have an emergency response time within 4 minutes, 90% of the time. The Tacoma Fire Department’s response time is now within 10 minutes on average.

► From the Seattle Times — ICE can use Boeing Field for deportations, appeals court rules  — “The Ninth Circuit’s decision allows a raw assertion of federal power to overcome an expression of local values even absent any actual impact,” Amy Enbysk, a spokesperson for King County Executive Dow Constantine, wrote. “Although King County disagrees with the court’s decision, it will of course follow the court’s dictates.”

► From the Yakima Herald-Republic — State panel recommends governor approve Wautoma solar project  — EFSEC’s recommendation to Inslee follows a written decision from state administrative law Judge Dan Gerard, who ruled the state siting agency’s decisions can supersede county zoning laws, provided environmental considerations are addressed for large-scale energy facilities. To that end, the recommendation to Inslee includes conditions determined under the State Environmental Protection Act to address tribal, environmental and recreational concerns, along with decommissioning requirements.

► From the Tri-City Herald — Chemicals at $75M Superfund cleanup site leak into Tri-Cities area groundwater  — Hazardous chemicals have been detected in groundwater beyond the defunct Pasco Sanitary Landfill boundary after a process to extract chemicals from the soil failed to capture all the contamination. The Washington state Department of Ecology plans to investigate whether vapors from the groundwater could cause unsafe levels of contaminants to build up in buildings near the landfill. The groundwater now is not in an area used for drinking water, said the Department of Ecology.

NATIONAL

► From the AP — Unions score a major win in Wisconsin with a court ruling restoring collective bargaining rights — Under the ruling by Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored to what was in place prior to 2011. They would be treated the same as the police, firefighter and other public safety unions that were exempted under the law. Republicans vowed to immediately appeal the ruling, which ultimately is likely to go before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

► From the Washington Post — How women over 55 are changing the U.S. labor force — Earnings for college-educated women tend to peak later in life than men because women often spend years away from the labor force to care for children, Albanesi said. The earnings trajectory for women after college is also less steep compared with men, so it takes longer for them to earn the same amount in their careers, she added. The gender pay gap for college graduates peaks between the ages of 50 and 54, according to a 2018 report from Georgetown University researchers.

► From the Seattle Times — Native American students miss school at higher rates. It got worse during the pandemic — Washington has the fifth-highest level of chronic absenteeism for Native students. The Associated Press didn’t analyze data for every state, but out of the 34 that they did analyze, Alaska, Nebraska, South Dakota and Oregon were the only states with higher levels than Washington. Washington has a significant Native student population. During the 2023-2024 school year, about 15,900 students identified as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and about 13,100 students identified as American Indian or Alaskan Native.

► From the AP — US expands list of Chinese technology companies under export controls — The U.S. Commerce Department has expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called “entity list” are nearly all based in China. But some are Chinese-owned businesses in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

► From Reuters — China bans export of critical minerals to US as trade tensions escalate — China on Tuesday banned exports to the United States of the critical minerals gallium, germanium and antimony that have widespread military applications, escalating trade tensions the day after Washington’s latest crackdown on China’s chip sector. The curbs strengthen enforcement of existing limits on critical minerals exports that Beijing began rolling out last year, but apply only to the U.S. market, in the latest escalation of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office next month.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Seattle Times — Gov. Inslee imposes WA spending freeze amid budget shortfall — The freeze affects nonessential hiring, service contracts, purchasing of goods and equipment and travel. Spending on critical services, as well as hiring to fill vacancies in critical areas, is exempt from the freeze.

► From the Spokesman Review — Washington judges uphold $35M judgment against Facebook — The ruling stemmed from an investigation by the Washington Public Disclosure Commission that found the social media company had violated campaign finance laws more than 800 times. The probe prompted the Washington state attorney general’s office to file a lawsuit in 2020 arguing that Facebook had violated a state law that requires businesses that sell political advertising to make information about those ads, and who paid for them, available for the public to inspect upon request.

► From the Washington State Standard — Blue states prepare for battle over Trump’s environmental rollbacks — Attorneys general in numerous blue states also are preparing to play defense on a host of other rules issued by the Biden administration. They could include power plant emissions, methane leaks from oil and gas operations, PFAS pollution in drinking water, water quality on tribal lands, endangered species and permitting for infrastructure projects.

► From the New York Times — Transition Updates: Trump Renews Pledge to Block Japanese Acquisition of U.S. Steel — President-elect Donald J. Trump said he would block the Japanese company Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel when he assumed office. The $15 billion deal has faced opposition from members of both political parties and the United Steelworkers union since it was announced in December 2023, amid concerns over job security and the foreign buyout of a storied, 123-year-old American manufacturer.

► From the Washington Post — Amid worry about Trump, calls for career Justice Dept. staff to stay — The people interviewed for this article said the private legal market couldn’t swallow up a huge number of departing Justice Department staffers, adding that most prosecutors, FBI agents and other career staffers would rather stay put and do work that they believe serves the public good. “The clear intent is to scare career staffers out, but, you know, career prosecutors are tough, and agents are tough,” said a senior Justice Department official. “So, good luck with that.”

► From the New York Times — Minimum Wage Waiver for Disabled Workers Would End Under Biden Plan — “This proposal would help ensure that workers with disabilities have access to equal employment opportunities, while reinforcing our fundamental belief that all workers deserve fair competition for their contribution,” Taryn Williams, assistant secretary of labor for disability employment policy, said on a call with reporters.

INTERNATIONAL

► From Labor Notes — How Can U.S. and Mexican Workers Build Cross-Border Solidarity? — “If you ask [UAW members] right now, most are going to talk about what they see on the news, about migration issues. But those that truly pay attention know that there is a big business connection between immigration and trade with Mexico. Because of the threat that the company will shift parts over there, they’re taking a greater interest in it.

► From CBC News — Canada Post presents union with ‘framework’ to reach deal, end strike — The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said on its website that its negotiators are reviewing the framework documents, and noted the union and Canada Post have both adjusted their demands in the hope of restarting talks. However, the statement said there has been no word from the mediator that talks will resume. And while it said the union is ready for a re-start, it said the framework did not appear to take into account the labour minister’s comments about the agreement needing to be “ratifiable.”

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