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NEWS ROUNDUP

Teacher appreciation | Musk’s profiteering | Medicaid

Thursday, May 8, 2025

 

STRIKES

► From the Register-Guild — Police called to student sit-in as tensions spike in University of Oregon labor strike — UOSW released a statement, saying the union was “alarmed” by UO’s escalation at the peaceful protest. It reported that more than a dozen UOPD and Eugene Police officers in full riot gear entered the hall at around 10:40 p.m. “It was so scary to be in bargaining and hear that there were cops in riot gear being sent to remove student workers from Johnson Hall,” UOSW co-lead negotiator Victoria Pineiro said in a press release. “We were at the table asking for basic rights and protections, such as not having to face constant sexual harassment at our workplaces, and hearing there was an immense police presence when workers outside were demanding the same was difficult to hear.”

► From the Lynden Tribune — PeaceHealth unions plan for five-day strike — A rally is planned for May 16, the same day the nurses union, represented by Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) will be at the negotiating table. “The last thing we want to do is go on strike, we’d rather be caring for patients. But we need a fair contract that prioritizes patient care by providing fair wages to our skilled and dedicated work force,” Trauma Registrar Courtney Sly said in the news release. “PeaceHealth is paying huge salaries to executives, while staff responsible for providing essential care and services are struggling to afford housing and other basic needs.”

 

LOCAL

► From KREM — Trump Medicaid cuts could close long-term care facilities in WA, Cantwell says — The Trump administration is considering billions in cuts to the program, known in Washington state as Apple Health, as a move to make the government more efficient. Williams said no one deserves to be treated as a number. “I am a person,” she said angrily. “My husband is a person. We are people, not some random factoid in your journal. Knock that crap off. Start paying attention to what people need, not just what you want.” A survey by Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office found Medicaid cuts of just 5% would would force substantial reductions in staff and services at Washington’s long-term-care facilities.

► From the Irish Times — Cliona Ward, Irish woman held in US detention centre after family visit, released — Family, friends and union colleagues of Ms Ward’s had gathered for an early morning rally an hour before the hearing, which was scheduled for 8.30am, local time, on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Services Employees International Union, which represents workers in healthcare, property services and airport sectors across the United States, and of which Ms Ward is a member, outlined their reasons as to why the charges against her should be dismissed. “We believe that Cliona’s detention is not only cruel and unjust but also represents a failure in our cruel, inhumane and broken immigration system,” said the spokesperson.

Editor’s note: Join SEIU 775 and La Resistencia for a Solidarity Day rally at the NW Detention Center this Saturday. 

► From Range Media — ICE reportedly surveilled local immigration activist — Jennyfer Mesa has suspected ICE agents have been watching her since February. Mesa and her family are regular people, but she is also one of the most prominent advocates for immigrant rights in the Inland Northwest. Under her leadership of Latinos en Spokane (LeS), a nonprofit that has fought for immigrants since 2017, the organization has ramped up its advocacy as President Donald Trump embarked on a massive campaign to deport “millions” of immigrants…after his violent arrest by three federal immigration officers who did not present a warrant, Martin Diaz confirmed Mesa’s fears: immigration officers boasted to him they’d been surveilling Mesa’s home, Diaz said. “My husband called me yesterday and asked me to give her a heads up that her name was mentioned several times while he was being detained by the ICE agents,” Kendall Diaz, Martin’s wife, told RANGE on April 30.

► From My Northwest — Washington transportation department implements speed cameras in work zones — The dangerous conditions of working on highway projects can impact the retention of road crew workers. Moreno said she talked to one road worker who said their former job working with explosives was less risky. Moreno said that the employee told her: “ In this job, even if I do everything right, bad things can still happen to me because you’re at the mercy of people.”

► From the Seattle Times — Trump’s attack on AmeriCorps rips through Seattle area — The grants targeted by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, represent 41% of AmeriCorps’ annual budget and affect about 32,000 corps members across the country, advocates estimate. According to Gov. Bob Ferguson, that includes about 1,300 members at approximately 800 sites in Washington, which joined other states last week in suing over the move.

► From Investigate West — WA health department investigating Spokane hospital after girl’s suicide sparked public outcry — Elected officials are calling on the hospital to address community concerns about psychiatric care quality and safety protocols at Providence Sacred Heart, as it continues to receive young patients in mental health crises. Several said Sarah’s death has left them deeply worried about the fallout from the hospital closing its inpatient psychiatric center for youth, which provided such care for 40 years until last September. Hospital staff have shared worries about specific practices and protocols within the pediatrics unit, where two rooms were converted to psychiatric beds after the youth psychiatric center was closed. Unlike the center that had at least two sets of locked doors, the doors to the general pediatric unit are not locked from the inside, making it easier for a child to leave undetected. And pediatrics staff who now care for psychiatric patients in the new rooms had received no additional training on how to treat and protect these patients, according to three people familiar.

Editor’s note: WSNA nurses fought this closure, citing concerns that it would result in youth being placed in pediatrics without proper care or staffing. It is heartbreaking that they were right. 

► From Guy Oron (Real Change News):

 

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — The EU publishes a US product hit list and prepares for WTO action against Trump’s tariffs — The European Union published on Thursday a list of U.S. imports that it would target with retaliatory duties if no solution is found to end U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war, which could include aircraft maker Boeing…Interested companies and parties are being given until June 10 to provide feedback, before the commission decides on the next steps. “Boeing is very welcome to make comments on this list,” a commission official said, briefing reporters on the list and the rationale for the EU’s approach.

 

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From Cascade PBS:

► From Animation World Network — SAG-AFTRA and Nickelodeon Reach Tentative Agreement — The Nickelodeon Animation Agreement is the contract covering animated programs for Nickelodeon basic cable and Paramount+ (The Loud House, Patrick Star Show, Kamp Koral, Rock Paper Scissors, Rugrats, Dora the Explorer, etc.). SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said, “I’d like to thank our hardworking negotiating committee for their dedication to their colleagues who provide their voice artistry to Nickelodeon’s programming. I’m especially pleased that Nickelodeon agreed to commonsense A.I. protections for voice actors.”

 

NATIONAL

► From NPR — On Teacher Appreciation Week, union leaders say teachers are underpaid and under attack — “They’re taking money out of their own pockets when they don’t have enough already, and out of their family’s budgets, and that’s not OK,” [NEA President Pringle] said. “This country needs to live up to its promise for its kids and provide the resources our teachers need to do the jobs they love.” Pringle encourages students and their families to return the support to teachers by writing letters and emails to their representatives and senators, posting on social media and personalizing the gifts they give during Teacher Appreciation Week.

► From KREM — Smoke from climate-fueled wildfires contributed to thousands of US deaths over 15 years, study says — States with the highest yearly deaths included California, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Washington, researchers said. The paper’s researchers focused on deaths linked to exposure to fine particulate matter, or PM2.5 — the main concern from wildfire smoke. These particles can lodge deep into lungs and trigger coughing and itchy eyes with short-term exposure. But longer term, they can make existing health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly health issues. Children, pregnant people, the elderly and outdoor workers are among the most vulnerable.

► From the Guardian — Court orders detained Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk returned to Vermont | US immigration — A judicial panel of the New York-based US second circuit court of appeals ruled in the case of Rümeysa Öztürk after lawyers representing her and the US justice department presented arguments at a hearing on Tuesday. A district court judge in Vermont had earlier ordered that the 30-year-old doctoral student be brought to the state for hearings to determine whether she was illegally detained. Öztürk’s lawyers say her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process.

► From the Wrap — Entertainment Unions ‘Prepared to Fight Back’ Against Trump-Ordered Elimination of NEA, NEH and CPB — The AEMI coalition includes the DGA, IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, Writers Guild of America East and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). “Nonprofit arts, humanities, and public media enjoy broad, bipartisan public support because they power local economies in every state and expand access to quality artistic and educational content across communities. Shutting down the NEA, NEH, or CPB would be a radical action that would harm everyday people,” [DPE] continued. “The notion that federal funding for the arts, humanities, or public media is a financial burden for working Americans is plainly wrong.”

► From Fast Company — Trump’s federal layoffs are disproportionately impacting women and people of color — [Cuts] significantly impact women and people of color, effectively making them another attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts—something that has been a priority for the Trump administration. Among the agencies that have been ordered to further reduce headcount, women accounted for an even higher percentage of their employees relative to the overall federal workforce, according to the NWLC. The administration wants to cut 80,000 employees from the Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, where women comprise 64% of the workforce…Black workers, for example, account for 36% of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as compared to 18% of the overall federal workforce. Latinos and Indigenous workers, too, are employed at higher rates by certain federal agencies that have been marked for layoffs, relative to the overall workforce.

► From the AFL-CIO:

 

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Intercept — Elon Musk Set to Win Big With Trump’s Trillion-Dollar Pentagon Budget — Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a personal adviser to the president, claimed that he would cut costs at the Pentagon with his minions at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Instead, experts say that, if approved, Donald Trump’s bloated Pentagon budget will almost certainly benefit Musk and his company SpaceX with huge new projects.

► From Common Dreams — ‘The Corruption Is Staggering’: Trump Officials Push Tariffed Nations to Approve Musk’s Starlink — Trump administration officials have reportedly been pressuring countries facing U.S. tariffs to approve satellite internet services offered by Elon Musk’s Starlink to help grease trade negotiations, further underscoring the conflicts of interest stemming from the mega-billionaire’s proximity to the White House. The Washington Postreported Wednesday that it obtained “a series of internal government messages” that “reveal how U.S. embassies and the State Department have pushed nations to clear hurdles for U.S. satellite companies, often mentioning Starlink by name.”

Editor’s note: someone call DOGE, I think I’ve found some wasteful contracts for ’em.

► From Politico — Trump administration invokes state secrets privilege amid judge’s Abrego Garcia inquiry — The Trump administration has invoked the state secrets privilege in response to a federal judge’s demand for details about the improper deportation of Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis revealed the development in an order Wednesday, asking for a detailed legal briefing on the decision and how it might affect her intensive inquiry into the Trump administration’s handling of Abrego Garcia’s case.

► From the New York Times — Johnson Rules Out an Aggressive Plan to Cut Medicaid as G.O.P. Moderates Waver — Leaving his office on Tuesday night after meeting with a group of more moderate members, Mr. Johnson told reporters that House Republicans had ruled out lowering the amount the federal government pays states to care for working-age adults who became eligible for the program through the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. The retreat was an acknowledgment that many House Republicans viewed the ideas — both of which would create large state budget shortfalls — as politically toxic. It also underscored how difficult it will be for Mr. Johnson’s conference to find Medicaid cuts that hit the spending targets Republicans set for themselves and also win enough votes to pass.

► From the New York Times — Trump Announces Trade Deal With UK: Live Updates and News — Both sides agreed to drop tariffs on specific products and made general agreements in other areas, but officials from both governments will still need to meet in the coming months to hammer out specific language. That can be a tricky and difficult process, leaving open the possibility the agreement could still fall apart.

► From Safety & Health Magazine — Unions push Congress to help bring back NIOSH staff — In an open letter to the lawmakers, the unions, including the AFL-CIO, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, United Mineworkers of America and United Steelworkers, write…”in its attempt to restructure the Department of Health and Human Services using artificial intelligence, the so-called ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ dismantled NIOSH – one of the most critical and impactful agencies to every worker in America, their families and to industries alike. More than 85% of NIOSH staff were placed on administrative leave, to be terminated in June. This decision must be immediately reversed as it will take working conditions back centuries, when chronic occupational diseases and fatalities skyrocketed with no government agency to help identify causes and research interventions.”

► From the Washington Post — DOGE aims to pool federal data, putting personal information at risk — The team overseen by Elon Musk is collecting data from across the government, sometimes at the urging of low-level aides, according to multiple federal employees and a former DOGE staffer, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The intensifying effort to unify systems into one central hub aims to advance multiple Trump administration priorities, including finding and deporting undocumented immigrants and rooting out fraud in government payments.

► From the Seattle Times — Gov. Ferguson signs slate of 10 new WA housing bills into law — A package of 10 new, mostly bipartisan housing bills, including property tax relief for more disabled veterans, caps on yearly rent increases and limits on minimum parking requirements for new development, were signed into state law Wednesday.. House Bill 1217 limits the amount a landlord can raise rent on tenants in a yearly period to 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is less. Due to an emergency clause attached to the proposal, the cap went into immediate effect Wednesday with Ferguson’s signature…Lawmakers are also trying to speed up the rate of housing development with Senate Bill 5184, also known as the Parking Reform and Modernization Act. The law prohibits cities and counties from requiring more than half of a parking space per residential dwelling unit or one full parking space per single-family home.

► From the Spokesman Review — Washington AG sues after Trump administration freezes $71 million program for EV charging stations in Eastern Washington — The program, included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, would distribute $5 billion to states to install electric vehicle charging stations and “establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability,” according to the Federal Highway Administration. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program was set to award $71 million in grant funding to install electric vehicle charging stations along priority “alternative fuel corridors” throughout Eastern Washington.

 

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