“Emergency” powers | Vet job cuts | IAM Max

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

LOCAL

► From Labor Notes — ‘IAM Max’: Machinists Rally for Member Detained by ICE — April Sims, president of the Washington State Labor Council and a lifelong resident of Tacoma, spoke about how ICE is routinely called in by employers to intimidate workers during organizing drives and is a threat to all organized labor…A local grocery worker and member of UFCW 367 at Friday’s rally explained that she hadn’t been involved in immigrant justice before and didn’t usually attend protests either. But big changes in her local union, especially new leadership and recent rounds of open bargaining for their grocery store contracts, and her friendship with Londonio’s local union president, Richard Howard, got her more active in her own union, leading her to join the rally.

► From the Seattle Times — Hundreds in Seattle decry arrest of union leader in L.A. anti-ICE protest — Alex Pierott stood among protesters carrying signs reading, “Immigrants make America great,” “Los immigrantes son esensiales” and “End ICE raids.” He gripped an American flag. His grandfathers, both Black men, had fought under the American flag in Vietnam and World War II to serve their country. His partner’s family escaped civil war in El Salvador to come to the states, Pierpott said. “ There’s people who are patriotic and still believe in this country and want to strive for the better.”

► From KUOW — Washington scientists say ‘brain drain’ has begun as researchers consider moving abroad amid Trump cuts — “You’re supposed to work hard and have a good life here,” said Weinstein, who grew up an hour west of Chicago. “That’s part of being an American. If you can’t pursue your career here, then what are we doing?” Weinstein is among thousands of the world’s frontline scientists whose careers in the U.S. have been thrown into question by an administration that has gutted research funding, imperiled science-related jobs, and stalled the grant-approval process for clinical studies and research centers.

► From KOMO — Metro Transit to unveil future safety partitions for bus drivers — Metro will show four buses retrofitted with different partition features and one new battery-electric bus with a new safety partition already installed. The four buses with different partition options will tour bus bases this week so employees can give their opinions. Metro will be retrofitting as many as 1,300 buses with partitions.

► From the union-busting Columbian — Vancouver Education Association union members file grievance against Vancouver Public Schools on staffing cuts — Staffing was severely cut as a result of the district’s $35 million in budget reductions for the 2024-25 school year, and the union says the district recently cut a number of certificated employees again, but not in the public eye. The district’s contract with the union doesn’t allow a reduction-in-force “in secret,” the news release states. “We don’t need to repeat last year’s mistakes, where cuts were too deep and schools experienced total disruption as they tried to add positions back in the fall,” VEA President Jamie Anderson said in the news release.

► From the Lynnwood Times — Cascadia Art Museum commemorates Juneteenth with Free Admission and special exhibitions honoring Black Artists of the Northwest –In honor of Juneteenth, Cascadia Art Museum is proud to offer free admission to all visitors on Thursday, June 19, inviting the public to engage with the rich, diverse cultural heritage of the Pacific Northwest through the lens of historic and underrepresented Black artists. As part of this important day of reflection and celebration, visitors will have the opportunity to view two extraordinary exhibitions.

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Boeing ‘rolled out’ 38 MAX planes in May, reaching FAA production cap — Boeing delivered 45 airplanes in May and booked 303 gross orders, its largest monthly order count since December 2023. Boeing’s May deliveries match its output for the first five months of the year, including 45 deliveries in April and January, with the surrounding months all ringing in above 40 planes per month. In May, Boeing marked a separate milestone by increasing monthly production of the 737 MAX to 38 planes, reaching the Federal Aviation Administration’s production cap for the first time since it was put in place.

NATIONAL

► From People’s World — Uber and other ‘platform’ corporations hide their exploitation of workers behind an app — Companies like Uber insist they are “tech platforms,” not employers, and that their workers are “independent contractors,” not employees. This sleight of hand allows them to sidestep minimum wage laws, paid sick leave, and other workplace protections while shifting risks onto workers. It also lets them avoid employer taxes, draining funds from public coffers. A new Human Rights Watch report looks at seven major platform companies—Amazon Flex, DoorDash, Favor, Instacart, Lyft, Shipt, and Uber—and finds that their labor model violates international human rights standards.

► From Wired — The Dangerous Truth About the ‘Nonlethal’ Weapons Used Against LA Protesters — During the scenes, protesters came face-to-face with National Guard and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office police officers. Both bodies were equipped with “nonlethal” weapons to disperse the protests. Weapons such as those mentioned can launch tear gas grenades with a maximum range of nearly 500 feet. They can also fire kinetic impact grenades (rubber ammunition), “less lethal” fragmentation grenades (rubber balls that scatter when the munition explodes), stun grenades (explosions that cause loud noises and lights to disorient), and paint marker grenades (to mark demonstrators). Under the Geneva conventions, the “recommendations” for the application of kinetic projectiles (such as the Model 1325) discourage police from aiming at protesters’ faces, as they could result in “skull fractures and brain damage, eye damage (including permanent blindness) and even death.” The use of kinetic projectiles from an elevated area, such as at a protest, can increase the risk of protesters being shot in the head. Targeting the torso can cause damage to vital organs and result in body penetration, especially when fired at close range.

► From In These Times — Striking Tenants Withhold Rent for 247 Days and Win — Tenants in Kansas City are declaring victory after eight months on rent strike—the longest such action in the city’s history. Residents of Independence Towers, an 11-story building with a troubled history, won a contract with their landlord that stabilizes rents and imposes deadlines to complete plumbing and other major repairs. To reach the deal, tenants formed a union, waged a months-long pressure campaign and, ultimately, negotiated through an elected bargaining committee — an outcome that lends momentum to efforts to adapt labor union strategies for housing fights.

POLITICS & POLICY

Federal updates here, local news and deeper dives below:

• DOGE Access to Government Personnel Data Blocked by Judge (Bloomberg Law)
• Judge blocks Trump administration from enforcing anti-DEI executive orders (AP)

► From the Washington Post — For Trump, seizing emergency powers has become central to governing — The specter of federally controlled troops in American streets has historically signaled a seismic social crisis, from forcing integration in Arkansas to protecting civil rights marchers in Alabama. [Sending the Guard to LA] reflects an increasingly evident pattern of his presidency: Trump declares an emergency or crisis where many others do not see one, enabling him to take sweeping actions, rally supporters and fight on political terrain he finds favorable. Trump’s declaration of an economic emergency in April enabled sweeping tariffs. His declaration of an invasion on the southern border paved the way for intensified deportations. An energy emergency made it easier for him to ease regulations. His pronouncement that fentanyl entering from Canada was an emergency justified sanctions, as did a similar finding on the International Criminal Court’s approach to Israel.

► From Common Dreams — ‘A Grave Escalation’: Leaked Letter Shows Noem Requested Military Arrests at LA Protests –In a letter obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle, Noem wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the Pentagon should direct military forces “to either detain, just as they would at any federal facility guarded by military, lawbreakers under Title 18 until they can be arrested and processed by federal law enforcement, or arrest them.” The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the military from taking part in domestic law enforcement without the authorization of Congress.

► From the Government Executive — Unions and advocacy groups protest veteran job cuts, warn of downstream impacts — Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse at a VA in Georgia and secretary-treasurer of the union National Nurses United, predicted staffing cuts would force nurses to perform non-medical tasks like managing supplies and said frontline employees aren’t being consulted on the changes. “These decisions are being made at the atmospheric level. The staff that do the work know best where things can be improved and streamlined, and I say ask them,” she said. “[Secretary Collins] says no mission-critical positions will be cut, but let me tell you: all positions in the VA are mission critical.”

► From the Washington Post — RFK Jr. purges every vaccine adviser on CDC panel, will pick replacements — The ouster of ACIP members marks the latest move by Kennedy that raised alarms among proponents of vaccines. He also forced out the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine scientist, hired a vaccine skeptic to scrutinize CDC vaccine safety data and has offered mixed messages about measles vaccines amid one of the worst outbreaks in decades. In May, Kennedy bypassed ACIP to say federal health officials would no longer recommend coronavirus vaccines for healthy children and healthy pregnant women.

► From the Guardian — Trump administration to cut all USAID overseas roles and axe thousands of staff — In a Tuesday state department cable obtained by the Guardian, secretary of state Marco Rubio ordered the abolishment of the agency’s entire international workforce, transferring control of foreign assistance programs directly to the state department. The directive affects thousands of USAID staff globally, including foreign service officers, contractors and locally employed personnel across more than 100 countries. Chiefs of mission at US embassies have been told to prepare for the sweeping changes to occur within four months.

► From the Washington State Standard — Washington’s Supreme Court slashes public defender caseload limits — Justices unanimously agreed to set the new statewide standards, which call for public defenders to handle a maximum of 47 felony cases or 120 misdemeanor cases in a year, depending on one’s primary area of practice. The current thresholds are 150 felonies and 400 misdemeanors…Supporters of reducing caseloads said in the hearings that the change is needed to stabilize the system. They contend that large caseloads and low pay are driving people out of public defense and deterring new lawyers from entering this line of legal work. And they, too, pointed to the problem in some counties where those accused of crimes, but unable to afford a lawyer, can wait long periods of time before they receive counsel.

► From KREM 2 — Washington governor announces $250M in additional funding to complete North Spokane Corridor by 2030 — The long-awaited landmark freeway is getting a push to the finish line in the state’s transportation budget. “We adopted a budget that invests another quarter billion dollars into this project and what that means is the final three phases are now funded,” said Governor Ferguson. The governor says the $250 million is an additional investment to cover inflationary costs for materials like steel and concrete. The funding will be spread out through the last five years of the NSC project, according to Ryan Overton with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

► From the Tacoma News Tribune — Washington GOP proposes initiative to require proof of citizenship to vote — Party Chairman Jim Walsh is the primary sponsor behind a new election-related initiative to the Legislature, titled IL26-126. The proposal would require verification of citizenship for voter registration. Residents would need to establish their status as a U.S. citizen with documentation such as a valid passport or an original, certified birth certificate. County auditors would consult the Department of Licensing to ensure that everyone on the voter list had proven their citizenship. Voters who hadn’t would receive notice to produce the proper documents, or they’d be removed from the voter rolls ahead of the 2027 general election.

Editor’s note: I’m just gonna leave this here — Could You Prove You’re a Citizen? 

INTERNATIONAL

► From People’s World — Facing layoffs, Chinese construction workers in Israel apply for union recognition — Israel’s National Labor Federation filed a request last week with the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court for a temporary and urgent injunction to prevent the immediate dismissal of 322 employees of Longxin Construction, a Chinese company operating in Israel and around the world in the residential construction industry…The workers at Longxin, who got no answers from the company’s management, applied to organize a union in order to stop the planned wave of layoffs. According to the National Federation of Labor, it managed to organize more than a third of the employees and announced demonstrations.

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