NEWS ROUNDUP

Delivery drivers | Thurston paras | 2025 contracts

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

 

STRIKES

► From the Utah News Dispatch — After a nearly two week strike, Park City Mountain reaches tentative agreement with ski patrollers — The agreement is still pending and will be ratified after a vote scheduled for Wednesday. Details of the agreement were not immediately clear, and both groups said they would not take media requests until the contract is ratified. In a statement, the union’s bargaining committee says it is unanimously endorsing the agreement.

► From Culinary 226:

 

LOCAL

► From the Washington State Standard — State recovery funds available for WA bomb cyclone victims –Individual assistance funding is available to residents of King, Snohomish and Whatcom counties. To qualify, a resident must have a household income at or below 80% of the area median income. For a family of four, that’s $111,000 or less in King and Snohomish counties and $84,450 in Whatcom County. For more information on the state assistance, Inslee’s office encourages residents to reach out to their county emergency management department.

► From the Seattle Times — Struggling REI cuts hundreds of employees, axes tour and events business — REI is eliminating its outdoor classes, events and tours this month as it looks to prune unprofitable parts of its business while struggling to break even.The Issaquah-based co-op will lay off 180 full-time and 248 part-time employees with the move, according to an email from CEO Eric Artz sent to employees Wednesday. Sixty-seven Washington-based workers will be affected.

► From the Washington State Standard — Washington pharmacists prescribe abortion pills through new pilot program — To qualify, aside from the applicable medical protocol, the patient needed to be 18 or older and have a Washington address where the medication could be mailed. The recipient of the medication does not need to prove they are a Washington resident, but a valid Washington address must be provided. Washington has shield laws preventing states where abortion is illegal from investigating medical providers if a resident of that state obtains an abortion in Washington.

► From the union-busting Columbian — Prison-to-homelessness pipeline: Clark County’s housing costs push those leaving prison onto the streets, increasing recidivism — Those leaving incarceration often stay with family or in transitional housing initially but then struggle to find permanent housing they can afford. With limited options for housing, as well as employment, people leaving prison may end up on the streets — further away from a second chance and closer to a return to crime.

 

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From Bloomberg Law — Expiring Contracts Carry Strike Threats to Test Trump Dealmaking — The earliest chance for a strike—and potentially the first labor test for the incoming administration—could come from 45,000 longshoremen at docks along the US East and Gulf coasts. About 18,000 Costco workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters could also strike if they don’t reach a deal by the end of January. Other expiring labor agreements this year cover 133,000 commercial singers and voice actors with SAG-AFTRA, over 122,000 Kroger Co. employees, and at least 52,000 health-care professionals at Kaiser Permanente. Those figures are likely to rise as more contract expiration notices are filed with the federal mediation service.

► From the Olympian — Paraeducators have a new contract at North Thurston Public Schools. Here are the details — The district and the North Thurston Paraeducator Association, the union that represents them, negotiated for about a year before members ratified the proposed deal on Dec. 18. “There were some tears along the way,” said Renee Harrington, a paraeducator and vice president of the association. “But all in all, I think we came out with a very equitable contract to bring paraeducators closer to other bargaining units within the district.”

► From the Washington State Nurses Association — Support Oregon nurses’ strike — This is not the first strike they have called, but it is the first one that is open-ended. They could use our support and our solidarity. Calling an open-ended strike is a serious step against an employer that is placing profits over patient care. To support one of the picket lines you can simply drop in, or you can sign up for shifts at ONA’s Providence strike page. You can also support striking nurses by making a contribution to the Providence Strike Fund.

► From Computer World — Google faces new labor board complaint over contractor union bargaining — The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a fresh complaint against Google, alleging that the company acts as the employer of certain contract workers and must negotiate with their union, Reuters reports. This follows the NLRB’s January 2024 ruling requiring Google to negotiate with employees at YouTube Music — an Alphabet subsidiary — hired through a different staffing firm. Google has appealed the decision, and a US federal court is scheduled to review the case later this month.

 

ORGANIZING

► From Vox — College athletes were ready to unionize before Trump’s election. What now? — In March, Dartmouth basketball players made history with a 13-2 vote to unionize and be classified as college employees — the first successful union election by student-athletes in US history. After Dartmouth rejected the bid, the two sides began litigating the path forward. But last Tuesday, well before any contract was reached, the players ended their union efforts by withdrawing their federal labor petition. The immediate cause of the withdrawal was almost certainly political.

► From On The Line:

► From K-12 Dive — Principal, administrator unions rising steadily since COVID — The national union, which represents about 25,000 school leaders, has seen its membership increase by over 20% within the past four to five years, according to Treibitz. AFSA is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. After the pandemic hit, many urban school districts began negotiating with teacher unions over work rules, procedures and compensation, Treibitz said. But school administrators without union representation also faced change in their responsibilities — and yet had few opportunities for input with district leadership.

► From Auto News — Lucid to pay fired workers $258,000 settlement in a win for UAW organizers — Dismissed Lucid workers have won a settlement with the automaker for reinstatement to their jobs, nearly $258,000 in back pay and a “cease-and-desist order that stops the company from committing a long list of unfair labor practices,” the UAW said Jan. 6.

► From the New York Times — U.A.W. Seeks Union Election at Ford Battery Plant in Kentucky — The union petitioned the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday to let workers at the new factory in Glendale, about 55 miles south of Louisville, vote on whether they want to join the U.A.W. The plant, which is expected to begin production this year, is a joint venture between Ford and SK On, a South Korean battery company. In a statement, the U.A.W. said a “supermajority” of workers at the plant had signed cards expressing their desire to join the union.

 

NATIONAL

► From People’s World — Unions, allies form coalition to protect federal workers from Trump — The coalition includes good government groups and the Government Employees (AFGE), AFSCME, the Teachers (AFT) and the National Federation of Federal Employees, a Machinists sector. Civil Service Strong describes itself as “a new effort and public resource center that houses information to support the American people, including the 2.2 million federal government civil servants across the country who work tirelessly to make our country stronger.”

► From the Tacoma News Tribune — U.S. Postal Service to close Thursday, Jan. 9 for day of mourning. Here’s what to know — All U.S. Postal Service offices will be closed on Thursday, Jan. 9 for a national day of mourning in honor of former President Jimmy Carter. According to the USPS, regular mail delivery, retail services and office activity will be suspended on Jan. 9. However, there will be limited package deliveries.

► From the AP — US Justice Department accuses six major landlords of scheming to keep rents high — The lawsuit arrives as U.S. renters continue to struggle under a merciless housing market, with incomes failing to keep up with rent increases. The latest figures show that half of American renters spent more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities in 2022, an all-time high. While the housing crisis has been assigned several causes, including a slump in homes built over the last decade, the Justice Department’s lawsuit claims major landlords are playing a part.

 

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Seattle Times — Judge allows Seattle driver deactivation law to go into effect — The law restricts the companies’ ability to boot delivery drivers and couriers from their platforms without more extensive notice and justification, and requires them to provide more opportunities for drivers to understand and appeal the decision. Passed in 2023, but delayed in its implementation, the law’s purpose was one piece of a larger effort by a previous city council and labor-backed advocacy groups to regulate the so-called gig economy.

► From the People’s World — Democratic corporate donors a top target at labor-sponsored forum — It is clear that rank and file party members and workers want more from those seeking the position of Democratic party chair than statements that only in messaging did the party leave something to be desired in an election that saw the return of Donald Trump to power. In the AFL-CIO’s own analysis of the party chair’s race, issued in December, federation President Liz Shuler laid down a rule that “having leaders who prioritize big-money corporate donors is flatly unacceptable.”

► From Cascade PBS — New Latino majority voter district in Central Washington stays red — Voter turnout in 2024 was down statewide compared to four years ago, and turnout was down further in counties like Yakima, which already reports some of the lowest turnout rates statewide. Among voters with Latino surnames in the 14th Legislative District, turnout was just under 50%, much lower than the Yakima County turnout rate of 67% and well below the statewide turnout rate of nearly 79%. Lower turnout among Latino voters is not new, and it’s far worse during off-year elections.

► From the AP — ‘Obamacare’ hits record enrollment but an uncertain future awaits under Trump — A record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s landmark health legislation, as the program awaits an uncertain future under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress. Never have so many people enrolled in health care coverage through the government marketplace, a point of pride for many Democrats but a red flag to some Republicans.

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

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