A ‘first’ in OR | Screenwriter contract | Inflation gutting Ed wages

Monday, April 27, 2026

STRIKES

► From the Harvard Crimson — More Than 100 Faculty Commit to Not Replacing Striking Workers — The letter’s signatories — including both tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty — also committed to “not retaliate against” workers in HGSU-UAW, who are currently striking, and those in Harvard’s non-tenure-track faculty union, HAW-UAW, whose strike authorization vote is currently open…HGSU-UAW’s strike occurs at a moment of particular precarity for graduate laborers nationwide. Harvard workers are on an economic strike, according to HGSU-UAW President Sara V. Speller — not an unfair labor practice strike — likely hoping to minimize interactions with a Republican-skewed National Labor Relations Board. Last year, organizers withdrew a pending ULP charge against Harvard for the same reason.

LOCAL

► From the Chinook Observer — TRL trustee alleges threats from public — Public commenters, including a representative of library workers union AFSCME Local 3758, advocated for the eight frontline staffers still on the chopping block and urged TRL to rescind those involuntary layoffs, as well. Those eight involuntary layoffs are still planned to take effect May 15. An additional 17 voluntary layoffs will take effect April 30. Meeting attendees also pointed to the vast amount of work still ahead for TRL if it hopes to mend the broken trust between TRL’s leaders and the library district’s staff and patrons.

► From the Tacoma News Tribune — Is executive coaching for TPCHD health director working? Unions, others say no — When asked whether TPCHD staff represented by three employee unions had seen any improvements in Reed’s behavior since the coaching, the unions sent a joint statement to The News Tribune on April 17. It said, “We have not seen any improvement, and we will continue to monitor the issues for our members and take any further action as needed.” The unions also said that despite repeated requests for a copy of the investigator’s report about Reed, “the Department would not provide us with a copy of the report until the Tribune’s records request.”…Turnover in key roles continues, some staff members remain demoralized and many believe the Board of Health is not holding Reed accountable, a former agency leader told The News Tribune on April 13 on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation from Reed.

► From the Everett Herald — Elected officials, labor groups honor Workers Memorial Day — At the commemoration, labor representatives read the names of the 108 workers across the state of Washington who died in workplaces last year. Six were from Snohomish County…The 1-ton worker’s memorial structure, located at the Mission Building Courtyard near the Snohomish County Campus, was commissioned by local labor groups 25 years ago and dedicated on Worker’s Memorial Day in 2001, according to the Seattle Times. Workers Memorial Day is celebrated across the world on April 28.

► From OPB — After the dismissal of a Battle Ground high school teacher, other educators censor their curricula — Retired Washington state Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Martin determined that Gonzales did nothing wrong. After interviewing teachers, students, administrators and parents, Martin wrote in her findings that the allegation against Gonzales was “not credible,” and the opinion expressed by the teacher “was not egregious.” Martin said the district had not met its burden of proof when it said that Gonzales had violated school policies about civility at school, staff expression and disciplinary action that it used to justify firing her. “[Gonzales] is entitled to be reinstated to her teaching position,” Martin wrote, along with attorney fees and back pay. Arbitrators don’t have enforcement powers like an active judge, so a court would have to force such decisions to take effect. The district has still not allowed Gonzales to return to class, and the situation at Battle Ground High School has left some other teachers feeling unprotected.

► From the Seattle Times — WA patients agonize as Medicare AI program continues to delay care — An epidural steroid injection is a common first-line treatment for low back pain. But in early March, Edgerly discovered that he’d been denied the procedure, despite it being covered by his traditional Medicare insurance. Across Washington, Medicare patients are facing denials and delays getting treatment for back pain just like Edgerly. In January, Medicare launched a pilot program that requires doctors to get approval from a third-party contractor using artificial intelligence technology before they can provide certain types of medical care. Epidural steroid injections are one of the procedures included in the pilot, which is being tested in Washington and five other states.

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Boeing will boost MAX production this summer, marking 2nd bump since the blowout — CEO Kelly Ortberg said Wednesday that Boeing aims to increase MAX production from 42 planes per month to 47 this summer, in line with its plan to bump production up in increments of five to ensure it is prepared for each raise.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From Oregon Live — An Oregon school district and its teachers’ union agree to a first: Immigration protections in a contract — The new language codifies both existing policy on the requirement that immigration agents must have a warrant to come onto school property and a new understanding that the district will pay for “Know Your Rights” trainings by a local community organization that clearly lay out what to do if you are arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents or if you witness an arrest. It also includes language spelling out job protections for educators who are themselves navigating immigration-related issues. About 42% of the district’s staff are Latino…Woodburn Education Association President Tony Salm called it a “breakthrough” and a meaningful point of agreement amid contract negotiations that have otherwise deadlocked over wage and benefits issues. The school district and the union are currently working with a state mediator to try to resolve their remaining differences.

► From CBS Colorado — Union workers at Denver Processing beef and pork plant vote to authorize strike — The union said, “UFCW Local 7 has filed multiple Unfair Labor Practice charges against Denver Processing stemming from two categories of illegal conduct. First, the company engaged in interference and retaliation by issuing discipline to a bargaining committee member for attending bargaining sessions on behalf of their fellow workers — protected activity under federal law. Second, Denver Processing has engaged in bad-faith and surface bargaining by repeatedly stalling negotiations, failing to respond to the union’s proposals on key safety and work-life balance issues, and rushing to declare a final offer before meaningful bargaining could occur.”

Editor’s note: looks like a meat [strike] is back on the menu

► From the AP — Screenwriters overwhelmingly approve a 4-year contract with Hollywood studios — Union leaders said 90% voted to approve the deal struck between the Writers Guild of America West, Writers Guild of America East and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Studios will now shift to negotiations with actors and directors. Leaders of the unions emphasized gains in health coverage. “In the face of industry contraction and runaway health care cost inflation, writers were able to secure a contract that returns our Health Fund to a sustainable path and builds on gains from the 2023 strike,” WGA West President Michele Mulroney said in a statement.

► From Deadline — SAG-AFTRA Resumes Talks With AMPTP: AI & Pension Funding Details Need Work As Parties Seek To Close Deal Before DGA Negotiations — After pausing negotiations to make way for the WGA in March, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP will resume talks on Monday morning as planned. The two parties are aiming to get a tentative deal done before the DGA steps up to bat on May 11. Both guild and union sources tell Deadline that they’re not far off from a deal, but a few key issues still need to be ironed out. Among those are AI protections, which we hear executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is being particularly bullish on. More specifically, he is so far not willing to agree to the AMPTP’s requested lengthier contract unless the studios will concede a bit more on artificial intelligence. A labor insider tells us that there’s likely a path, “but it’s not going to be easy.”

NATIONAL

► From OPB — Inflation is sucking the life out of teacher pay raises, report says — The average salary for a public school teacher in the U.S. rose to $74,495 in the last school year, up 3.5% from the year before. But adjusted for inflation, today’s teachers are estimated to be earning less, not more, than they were in 2017. That’s according to a new review of school-related data from the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union with 3 million members. The annual release includes the latest data — collected directly from state departments of education – on teacher and support staff salaries, student enrollment and even how much money schools are getting from federal, state and local sources.

► From the AP — College students are changing course in search of ‘AI-proof’ majors. But no one knows what they are — Today’s college students say that picking a major that’s “AI-proof” feels like shooting at a moving target as they prepare for a job market that could be fundamentally different by the time they graduate…A recent Gallup poll of Generation Z youth and adults, between the ages of 14 and 29, found increasing skepticism and concerns about AI. Although half of Gen Z adults use AI at least “weekly,” and teenagers report higher use, many in this generation see drawbacks to the technology and worry about AI’s impact on their cognitive abilities and job prospects. About half — 48% — of Gen Z workers say the risks of AI in the workforce outweigh the possible benefits.

► From Reuters — Union says US bailout of Spirit Airlines must protect employees — A union representing workers at Spirit Airlines said on Friday any U.S. bailout of the bankrupt low-cost carrier must protect employees. The Trump administration has made ‌a financing offer to help the airline exit bankruptcy that was being reviewed by its major creditors, Marshall Huebner, an outside lawyer for Spirit, said on Thursday. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Spirit’s ramp service employees, said any bailout must require “no furloughs, no layoffs, and no shifting the burden ⁠onto the very people who keep this airline running.”

► From WESA — New Pittsburgh Post-Gazette owners plan to recognize newsroom labor union — The move represents the start of a new chapter in the ongoing, tangled labor history of the Post-Gazette. Andrew Goldstein, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, said he found the message encouraging. “This is a really good first step, and it’s the kind of, I think, good-faith showing that we have not seen from Post-Gazette ownership and management for really more than a decade now,” he said. Members of the Guild had been on strike for three years over an unfair labor practices dispute against the Block family, who previously owned the paper.

► From Reuters — US consumer sentiment slumps to record low in April; inflation expectations rise — U.S. consumer sentiment fell to a record low in April as households shrugged off a ceasefire in the war with Iran, remaining focused on the inflation ‌fallout from the conflict. The University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers said its Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to a final reading of 49.8 this month, an all-time low. The reading was a slight improvement, however, from the 47.6 reported earlier in the month.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the New York Times — The Trump Administration Has Changed Almost Every Aspect of Food Stamps — President Trump and his top officials have cast a sharp decrease in the number of food stamp recipients over the past year as evidence of economic progress and increasing self-sufficiency. But the decline of more than three million participants since Mr. Trump took office to December 2025 is the result of some of the most consequential changes and the largest funding cut to the program since its inception…In South Carolina, Mandee Wyrick, a single mother to two teenagers, said her household’s monthly benefits had decreased by a third, or around $250. She became ineligible for SNAP last month because she no longer meets those work requirements. Ms. Wyrick, who used to do contract work for homeless advocacy organizations in Oregon before she moved, has tried in vain to find a new job, applying to anything that would allow her to continue to home-school her 14-year-old son.

► From the New York Times — Appeals Court Says Trump’s Ban on Asylum Claims at Border Is Illegal  — In a 2-to-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld an earlier ruling by a district court judge that Mr. Trump had to adhere to requirements outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act and could not categorically deny asylum claims from people crossing from Mexico into the United States. Existing immigration law “does not allow the president to remove plaintiffs under summary removal procedures of his own making,” Judge J. Michelle Childs wrote for the majority.

► From the Seattle Times — Trump’s attacks on mail-in voting may hurt his own supporters in WA — Trump has promised the SAVE Act would “guarantee the midterms” for the GOP, but in Washington state, the legislation — and any effort to curb people’s ability to vote by mail or by drop box — would hurt many Republican voters. Residents in the central, rural swath of Washington would likely be forced to travel farther than most others in the state to cast their ballots if such restrictions come into effect, according to a Seattle Times analysis…According to voting-rights advocates, rural voters across the nation would be stymied by mail-in voting restrictions like the SAVE Act. Across the country, rural voters are more likely to be Republican, less likely to have citizenship documents and, as is the case in Washington state, often face longer round-trip driving times to their nearest election offices.

► From the Washington State Standard — Trump administration denies mitigation aid after WA floods — The Trump administration has denied Washington’s request for federal funding to prepare for future floods after a historic deluge hit the state late last year. The letter Thursday from Federal Emergency Management Agency Associate Administrator Gregg Phillips gives little explanation for the denial. Phillips only writes that the federal hazard mitigation grants are “not warranted.” The state has 30 days to appeal.

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