Tariffs | Fed worker heroes | The workers’ party

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

LOCAL

► From the Seattle Times — WA Tesla protesters call for end of Musk’s role in federal government — Bill Alexander, members of his church and other protesters lined the sidewalk outside of a Tesla car dealership in Lynnwood on Saturday, carrying signs that derided the involvement of the automaker’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk in the federal government…Some sign-wavers protested Musk’s power in the federal government, others voiced opposition to specific policies Musk and President Donald Trump have implemented, like freezing federal funds and laying off swathes of workers across agencies…[a protestor] said he found the news of federal worker layoffs “ghastly.” His brother, who died years ago, was a park ranger. “It was his identity,” he said. “I grieve for that and all of the unsung federal workers.”

► From KUOW — Homelessness is soaring among Seattle students. School support workers are on the front lines — These staffers are stationed at schools to help students experiencing homelessness. At Dunlap, that’s about 15% of the student body. And nearly 70% of students at the southeast Seattle elementary school come from low-income families. As of October, more than 2,200 Seattle Public Schools students were currently — or had been — homeless this school year. That’s a nearly 20% increase.

► From the Yakima Herald-Republic — Trump ‘plays with fire’ in cutting Bonneville Power Administration, insiders say — Energy demand is skyrocketing. Utilities are scrambling to transition away from fossil fuels and climate change is altering every aspect of the equation. And now the Trump administration has forced hundreds of people out at Bonneville, thrusting the hydropower giant into a rut of uncertainty. Blackouts and rate increases are now on the table, insiders say. Major transmission projects could take twice as long to finish, throwing a wrench into the region’s plans to transition toward renewable energy.

► From the Spokesman Review — Spokane consumers likely to see higher costs for cars, groceries, homes with new tariffs — “Where Washington has the highest exposure for imports from Canada is primarily oil and gas,” which will face a lower 10% tariff, Scranton said. “Clearly, the housing industry, wood products for construction, could be an area for exposure.” Lumber futures on Monday rose to $650.49, which corresponds to the price for 1,000 board feet of lumber. That’s the highest mark since May 2022.

► From the union-busting Columbian — Trump’s NOAA cuts jeopardize Columbia River navigation safety, billions in trade — The agency was a target of the Trump administration-affiliated Project 2025, partially because its research has helped show the extent of climate change, the Seattle Times reported. NOAA’s budget was $6.4 billion for the 2024 fiscal year — or about one-tenth of 1 percent of total U.S. spending that year. Economic analyses have found the agency has a positive return on investment — meaning it generates more money than it costs to fund.

► Also from the Columbian — Crowd gathers at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site to protest firings — More than 100 demonstrators gathered Saturday at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site to protest recent firings there by the second Trump administration as it cuts the federal workforce. Several employees at the fort have been terminated, according to a Fort Vancouver volunteer who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution against Park Service staff.

► From the Yakima Herald-Republic — FAQ: What to know about bird flu in WA — In Washington, about 2.2 million commercial, backyard and wild birds have tested positive for Type A H5N1 influenza, including 52 backyard flocks and three commercial ones. About 14 Washingtonians — all commercial farmworkers — have tested presumptively positive since 2022.

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Boeing finishes 787 repairs, closing Everett ‘shadow factory’ — In a significant milestone toward Boeing’s recovery, mechanics in Everett this week completed rework on the last of the 787 Dreamliner jets that had to be stored long-term until small gaps at the fuselage joins were repaired, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope announced. This marks the end of a long, expensive slog to fix 122 Dreamliners that has locked up the time of hundreds of mechanics, taking them away from regular jet-production work.

NATIONAL

► From WTOP — Unions, former federal workers show out to support in DC amid sweeping government cuts — Outside the McPherson Square Metro station, demonstrators wore matching blue shirts and waved signs reading, “Federal workers are Heroes.” The encouragement was met with nods, some raised fists and, in at least one instance, a hug. “We need them in these departments, and we’re not going to stand for what the government’s doing currently,” said Cori Horowitz, a member of the machinist union, which also represents workers at the VA and Department of Defense.

► From Cascade PBS — REI board blocks labor-backed candidates from ballot — In addition to his current role at Greenpeace, Gebre formerly worked as vice president of the AFL-CIO. He’s also a former board member of United Way U.S.A. “I feel like I was really well-qualified,” Gebre said in an interview Monday. “I’ve served in a lot of big organizations; I felt like from the way they were describing the way they wanted to form the board, I felt like I would fit in there.” REI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on why Gebre wasn’t included on the ballot. Gebre thinks it’s because he’s outspokenly pro-union…Workers at 11 REI stores across the country have voted to unionize since 2022, but the unions have yet to reach a contract with the company.

POLITICS & POLICY

Federal updates here, local news and deeper dives below:

• ‘Another Unqualified Billionaire’: Senate Confirms McMahon as Education Secretary (Common Dreams)
• Democrats ask White House to disclose how many veterans have been fired by Doge (AP)

► From the AP — Trump tariffs on Canada and Mexico take effect — The 10% tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February was doubled to 20%, and Beijing retaliated Tuesday with tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of U.S. farm exports. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would slap tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days.

► From the Washington Post — Government shutdown looms as Trump tries to assert new spending powers — Congress has less than two weeks to extend federal spending laws and keep the government open…Republican negotiators walked away from talks over the weekend to reach a deal on a top-line number on how much the federal government should spend for the rest of the 2025 fiscal year, which runs through Sept. 30. Democrats had said that number is irrelevant if Trump refuses to spend the money in accordance with the law — or if he empowers billionaire Elon Musk and his U.S. DOGE Service to terminate federal contracts and lay off tens of thousands of federal workers without regard to Congress’s wishes.

► From the Huffington Post — Trump Taps Head Of Anti-Union Group To Run Labor Office — Elisabeth Messenger, who served as the CEO of the Oklahoma-based Americans for Fair Treatment, or AFFT, is expected to be the new director of the federal government’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. Billed as a member organization, AFFT promotes right-to-work laws and advises public-sector workers like teachers on how to opt out of paying union dues.“It’s not just a bureaucrat – they’re putting a real ideologue in there,” said Bob Funk, director of the watchdog group LaborLab, which tracks anti-union spending by corporations.

► From the Fire & Safety Journal — IAFF back collective bargaining bill reintroduced in House, Senate — The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) push for national collective bargaining continued with the reintroduction of the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act. If passed, the bill would grant public fire fighters, emergency medical workers, and law enforcement officers the ability to form labor unions, collectively bargain for hours and wages and provide resolution mechanisms for impasses during negotiations.

TODAY’S MUST-READ

► From the New Republic — Democrats Must Become the Workers’ Party Again (by Sherrod Brown) — “The vice president wants to take my guns away.” The man next to him turned to him and said, “Well, Sherrod has basically the same position on guns, and you vote for him.” He responded, “Yeah, but Sherrod’s on my side. He fights for me and my family.” That conversation happened in October … in the year 2000…That exchange would never happen today, of this I’m certain…Fewer and fewer voters are willing to differentiate my work for Ohioans and fight for the dignity of work from the national party and its leader…To win the White House and governing majorities again, Democrats must reckon with how far our party has strayed from our New Deal roots, in terms of both our philosophy toward the economy, and the makeup of our coalition.

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