Social Security Fairness | Early childhood ed | OR Nurses to strike Jan. 10

Monday, January 6, 2025

STRIKES

► From the New York Times — Park City Ski Patrol Strike Against Vail Resorts Continues — The ski patrollers are demanding a $2 increase in their hourly base wage, from $21 to $23. The union presented its proposal in September with the goal of coming to an agreement before the ski season, but Vail did not agree, leading the patrollers to strike during the busy holiday period. Vail Resorts, valued at nearly $10 billion, owns and operates 42 ski areas in North America, Australia and Europe.

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

► From Culinary Union 226:

📣 Dispatch from the Strike Line: Day 5️⃣3️⃣
We are making it clear to those big Canadian billionaire owners trying to walk all over workers in Nevada- take your 3 dimes & go back to Canada @VirginHotelsLV if you can’t meet the LV union standards #ContractNOW pic.twitter.com/46dwERPq6e

— Culinary Union (@Culinary226) January 6, 2025

LOCAL

► From the Seattle Times — WA needs more early childhood educators. But the pay is a problem  — While early childhood educators in the state have seen wage increases in recent years, data from 2022 showed that those with bachelor’s degrees earn substantially less than their colleagues in the K-8 system, according to the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. The median hourly wage for a Washington state preschool teacher was $16.15, which is less than the state’s new minimum wage. That’s compared with $39.23 for an elementary school teacher.

► From Cascade PBS — Officials inspect Tacoma ICE detention center after legal battle — The safety and health inspections found no violations, according to public records. The L&I inspector interviewed nine employees ranging from a detention officer to a cook, but no detainees. But even if detainees had been working, Korzenko said, L&I still would not be able to review conditions not tied to working, such as medical treatments or living conditions. Their scope is limited to safety and health concerns related to the work. The [Washington Department of Health] said they have received more than 700 complaints about the NWIPC, including “unsanitary bathrooms, dirty water, poor air quality, COVID outbreaks, animal-grade food quality, and a spate of suicides,” according to court documents.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the OPB — Providence says it is prepared for a major nurses strike, but asks doctors not to walk — The Oregon Nurses Association called the indefinite strike across all eight of Providence’s hospitals in Oregon beginning Jan. 10. Providence has repeatedly said its executives cannot spare the time to negotiate once a strike has been called due to the time it takes to recruit and onboard temporary workers. “Are they too busy to negotiate? Are they not?” the nurses union spokesperson wrote. “They aren’t too busy to negotiate with the workers they can’t replace, but they are too busy to negotiate with the workers they claim they can?”

► From the OPB — Strike looms for 1,200 Portland city staff as unions declare ‘impasse’ — Nearly one-fifth of the city of Portland’s unionized workforce could go on strike within the next month if city leaders do not reach a contract agreement with two bargaining units. The city remains “far apart” on the financial aspects of the contract agreement with the two unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, and the District Council of Trade Unions, or DCTU, according to a Dec. 31 press release from the city.

ORGANIZING

► From In These Times — Amazon Strike Takeaways: Walk-Outs Slowed Packages, Boosted Union Power — In 2022, the Teamsters launched a division to support organizing at Amazon. The union now represents 5,500 workers at the hulking JFK8 fulfillment center on Staten Island who formed the independent Amazon Labor Union over two years ago, voting in June to affiliate with the Teamsters, creating ALU-IBT Local 1. Amazon has refused to recognize the union and bargain a contract.

► From the NW Labor Press — Teamsters strike at Amazon — A half dozen members and officers of Teamsters Local 206 gathered outside the Troutdale Amazon Fulfillment Center from sunup to sundown Dec. 19 and 20, waving picket signs and asking drivers to honk their horns as they left the warehouse. It was one of hundreds of Teamster solidarity rallies around the country in support of striking Amazon delivery drivers.

NATIONAL

► From the AP — Nippon, US Steel file suit against Biden administration, union, and rival after $15B deal scuttled — “By blocking Nippon Steel’s attempt to acquire U.S. Steel, the Biden administration protected vital U.S. interests, safeguarded our national security and helped preserve a domestic steel industry that underpins our country’s critical supply chains,” [David] McCall, [Steelworkers President] said in a prepared statement.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From CNBC — Biden signs bill to increase Social Security benefits for millions of public workers — President Joe Biden on Sunday signed the Social Security Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation that clears the way for teachers, firefighters, policeman and other public sector workers who also receive pension income to receive increases in their Social Security benefits.

► From the Hill — Labor groups cheer Biden dismissal of US Steel sale as businesses bristle — The United Steelworkers (USW) labor union called the decision the “right move” for its members and national security. “With responsible management, U.S. Steel will continue to support good jobs, healthy communities and robust national and economic security well into the future,” the group said in a statement.

► From Common Dreams — As House GOP Reelects Johnson as Speaker, Coalition Says Hands Off Medicaid — In a letter to the congressional leaders of both parties, Families USA, the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, Doctors for America, the NAACP, and other national and state-level organizations wrote that “cutting Medicaid was not a budget solution that American families asked for” during the 2024 election cycle.

► From Cascade PBS — New minimum wage & more Washington laws going into effect in 2025 — The state is raising its minimum wage to $16.66 an hour in 2025, a 38-cent increase from 2024 ($16.28 per hour), due to increased housing and food costs as calculated by the state Department of Labor & Industries. Also in 2025, noncompete agreements in the state will be valid only when the employee or independent contractor earns a set amount: $123,394.17 for employees and $308,485.43 for independent contractors. Ride-share drivers for companies like Lyft and Uber will also earn more after the new state law takes effect.

► From the Washington State Standard — Meet the new faces of the 2025 legislative session — Following the retirements of longtime legislators, a few redistricting switch-ups, and some departures for higher office, there will be new faces in 29 seats. Some are familiar, as many new senators are former House members. Some are returning after a term or two off. Others are completely new to the process. Here’s a look at every new member in order by legislative district.

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