Shame on Rotschy | Amazon union in NC? | GOP vs. Medicaid

Friday, January 24, 2025

STRIKES

► From the Oregon Nurses Association:

Editor’s note: you can also support the workers by signing their petition today

LOCAL

Photo: IUOE Local 701 via Twitter

► From the union-busting Columbian — Teen working for Rotschy Inc. lost legs in 2023 work accident; now company will oversee $44M Longview rail work — Laborers from at least four unions gather in front of the Port of Longview headquarters beside IUOE Local 701 truck calling out nonunion contractor Rotschy LLC for recent Washington State Department of Labor and Industries violations. Rotschy paid a $159,259 fine to L&I last year for a 2023 incident where a 16-year-old worker lost his legs. A follow-up investigation in early 2024 resulted in another $51,800 in fines after finding that Rotschy let seven different minors operate earth-moving equipment or let them work dangerously close to the machines on 35 separate occasions, according to an L&I news release. It further notes 11 minors were denied meal breaks in 45 incidents, and the company worked eight young workers for more hours during a school day than state law allows more than 150 times.

► From NW Public Broadcasting — Workers at PeaceHealth feel their access to health care is limited with new insurer — Health care staff there say the benefits have been worsening. Now, many are upset over the new insurance plan that the company moved employees onto starting on Jan. 1. Kelly Skahan, an attorney for the Washington State Nurses Association, said in conversations between the company and the union, PeaceHealth’s representative expressly called the decision “good business.” “ They’ve said that it is a good business decision for them to drive their employees back to them, to use PeaceHealth, and recapture that revenue,” Cully said.

► From My Northwest — Marysville School District closes 2 schools to stave off financial crisis — The district’s board of directors voted unanimously to close Liberty Elementary and Marysville Middle School, saving the school system more than $2 million annually. Marysville Middle School’s buildings will be repurposed for Liberty Elementary students, staff and programs, The Everett Herald reported. No teacher within the district is expected to lose their job.

► From the Seattle Times — Demand for ACA health insurance plans soars to record high in WA — As of Jan. 15, the close of open enrollment, about 308,000 residents had chosen 2025 health and dental plans through Washington Healthplanfinder, the state’s online marketplace for ACA coverage. The surge was largely driven by federal and state subsidies that have made premiums more affordable, the Washington Health Benefit Exchange said last week. This year, more than 75% of customers benefited from federal premium tax credits, which were implemented by the Biden administration, Exchange CEO Ingrid Ulrey said in a statement.

AEROSPACE

► From The Telegraph — Exodus of ‘shop rats’ sends plane-makers into tailspin — Across much of the aviation industry, what should have been a boom is turning out to be little more than a whimper. Waiting times for the most popular jets are now into the next decade. Airbus last week highlighted a more basic factor at the heart of the crunch: the industry is suffering from what amounts to a severe case of long Covid, following the exodus of tens of thousands of experienced personnel during the pandemic.

► From Reuters — Trump transportation nominee will keep Boeing 737 MAX production cap in place — In January 2024, then Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker imposed the 38 planes per month production cap after a door panel missing four key bolts flew off a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9. Duffy, whose nomination was approved by the committee on Wednesday on a 28-0 vote, said last week that Boeing needed “tough love” to get back on track.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From OPB — Oregon legislative staffers reach tentative labor deal with lawmakers as session begins — The union and legislative leadership had been hashing out a new agreement since September, and their previous contract lapsed Jan. 1. The new agreement will need to be approved by a vote of aides, and signed off on by House Speaker Julie Fahey and Senate President Rob Wagner, before taking effect.

ORGANIZING

Photo: CAUSE via Twitter

► From the Guardian — ‘Fighting Goliath’: Amazon workers to hold union election at North Carolina warehouse — Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (Cause) filed to hold a union election at the warehouse, which, despite Amazon claiming they were “very skeptical” the group would have enough legitimate signatures for the petition, was approved by the National Labor Relations Board. The election to represent 4,300 workers at the 700,000 sq foot warehouse in the suburbs of Raleigh is scheduled to be held from 10 to 15 February. “Growing up in North Carolina, I knew very few people that belonged to a union. I know very few people that I will have a conversation with that could tell you anything about a union,” Brown explained.

NATIONAL

► From the AP — US home sales in 2024 fell to the lowest level in nearly years as prices, and mortgages, soar — The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 4.06 million last year, a 0.7% decline from 2023. That is the weakest year for home sales since 1995, echoing the full-year results from 2023. The median national home price for all of last year rose 4.7% to an all-time high $407,500, the NAR said.

► From the New York Times — Instagram and Facebook Blocked and Hid Abortion Pill Providers’ Posts — Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, confirmed some account suspensions and the blurring of posts. The company restored some of the accounts and posts on Thursday, after The New York Times asked about the actions. Meta said the moderation of abortion-focused accounts was not related to the change in speech policies. But the timing of the incidents raised questions about whether the company was really loosening speech restrictions, and was another example of its challenges in content enforcement.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the New York Times — What Republicans Could Slash to Pay for Trump’s Tax Cuts: Medicaid and More — Many of the cuts Republicans are contemplating target programs aimed at helping low-income Americans, all in the service of paying for the extension of tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy. The overarching goal is to push through a behemoth bill that cuts taxes and clamps down on immigration using a process called reconciliation, which would allow Republican leaders to avoid a filibuster and move legislation through the Senate with a simple majority, even if all Democrats are opposed.

► From The Hill — White House budget office narrows scope of executive order restricting IRA funds — In one of a flurry of Inauguration Day executive orders, Trump directed federal agencies to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds” from both the IRA and the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In the Wednesday memo, the Trump OMB clarified that the pause “only applies to funds supporting programs, projects or activities that may be implicated by the policy established in Section 2 of the order,” which includes funding related to climate change mitigation and incentives for electric vehicle charging.

► From the Washington State Standard — U.S. House Republicans roll out bill to restrict birthright citizenship — The sponsor of the House bill, H.R. 569, GOP Texas Rep. Brian Babin, said he welcomed the legal challenges to Trump’s executive order and to his bill. “We appreciate and wanted the challenges to this,” he said. “So we can get it into the Supreme Court of the United States. This thing could take up to three years before it winds up on the high court and let’s see how they (rule).”

► From Common Dreams — ‘Corruption in Plain Sight’: AOC Warns Laken Riley Act a Boon to Private Prison Industry — “You may wonder why so many of our friends across the aisle who care so deeply about the rule of law happen to be so desperate to pass this bill,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “Look no further than the price tag of this bill, $83 billion. [Lawmakers] know that it can’t be paid for. They know that the capacity is not there, and you know what will be there? Private prison companies are going to get flooded with money.” Shares in private prison stocks, which had been languishing for much of 2024, have soared since Trump’s victory in November, with GeoGroup surging more than 127% since Election Day and competitor CoreCivic up over 63%.

Editor’s note: GeoGroup runs the NW Detention Center in Tacoma, which has been fined for unfair labor practices and accused of human rights abuses, including deaths of people detained in the for-profit prison. 

► From the Olympian — A guide to immigrant rights and resources in WA state, for migrants, employers and allies — Leaders in the Evergreen State are continuing to work to protect the rights and lives of all Washingtonians, including those of various immigration statuses. Washington has various legislation in place protecting its migrant population. For example, the Keep Washington Working Act of 2019 outlined the rights of working immigrants, and prohibits state and local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant. The Courts Open to All Act prohibited civil arrests in and around courthouses to ensure equal access to justice.

► From the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network:

► From the Washington State Standard — In tight budget year, pressure builds to boost WA school funding — A state Senate panel on Wednesday held a hearing on bills that would collectively boost funding for special education, transportation and operations by $2 billion in the next budget, and bring the state closer to covering its share of the tab in those three areas. In addition to special education, materials, supplies and operating costs — called MSOC in state budget lingo — are also weighing on districts’ finances. These costs, which cover non-employee-related expenses tied to a district’s daily operations, have been on the rise.

JOLT OF JOY

Doom scrolling through social media the other day, I came across a post from a Chattanooga artist, Tabitha Arnold. Arnold makes tapestries — huge, intricate, colorful works — documenting and honoring labor organizing.

“Mill Town,” my tapestry about the 1934 textile strike in Chattanooga. Photographed by Tori Vintzel at Peerless Woolen Mill in Rossville, GA. pic.twitter.com/qhqiGDCzxp

— tabitha arnold (@thetolerantweft) October 2, 2024

Her most recent exhibit, titled Gospel of the Working Class, spans more than a hundred years of labor organizing in Tennessee. If you lucked out and are near Chattanooga, check it out at the UT campus. (You can also subscribe to her newsletter).

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