Kadlec contract | $ for war, but not kids | TMZ & Congress

Thursday, April 2, 2026

LOCAL

► From OPB — Trump administration push to bring more guest farmworkers is slow to take hold in Pacific Northwest — The Trump administration has made it cheaper and easier for farmers to bring temporary foreign farmworkers to the U.S…So far in Oregon, there is no surge in visas…farmworkers with temporary work visas may feel they can’t advocate for their rights. “If you make complaints in the United States and ‘cause trouble,’ then you’re not going to be asked back next year,” he said. “There’s enormous pressure on people to keep their heads down, work hard, work reliably, and not cause any problems, no matter what the conditions are. And that’s a pretty good workforce from an employer’s standpoint.”

► From the Seattle Times — WA sees historic surge of immigrants challenging their detention — In 2025, the U.S. District Court in Western Washington saw more than six times as many habeas appeals related to immigration detainments than in Joe Biden’s last year in office, according to data pulled from the federal public access to court electronic records system, known as PACER. That pace has continued mostly unabated this year, with more than 400 cases filed by immigrants so far…Matt Adams, the legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, said at least a portion of the rise has been due to the federal government detaining immigrants who have followed the rules, in some cases for years…Habeas corpus — a Latin term meaning “you shall have the body” — is a legal principle dealing with detention and personal freedom. It requires the government to justify to a judge why someone is being detained.

► From the Tri-City Herald — OPINION: Paying fair wages helps nursing home staff and residents  — Caregivers aren’t in this line of work just for a paycheck. Our jobs are mentally, physically and emotionally stressful. Getting fair pay that helps us make our own ends meet is really important. That’s why it’s such a big deal that we certified nursing assistants (CNAs) at Richland Post Acute, and other nursing homes in Washington state owned by a company known as PACs, just won significant wage increases after nearly a year of bargaining our contract

► From Willamette Week — PPS Deems Midyear Budget Hole Closed as School Board Approves Furloughs for Four Unions — The Portland School Board on Tuesday night voted to approve furlough days for four of Portland Public Schools’ labor partners…But unions have continued to call on Armstrong, among other top district staff, to take more furlough days. (In March, Armstrong announced she would take six furlough days, and many top officials will take five.)

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From NBC Now Tri-Cities & Yakima — Kadlec nurses ratify new contract with pay raises and safety steps — WSNA reported the deal followed a lengthy bargaining process and said turnout for the ratification vote was historic for this bargaining unit. The association said the agreement included changes tied to breaks, staffing, workplace safety and pay. The association said safety changes included more focus on workplace violence and security presence, especially in high-risk areas. It also reported higher premiums for some roles and shifts.

► From the Sunnyside Sun — SEIU 775, PACs near agreement, halting planned nursing home picket — A planned picket by nursing home workers in Sunnyside was called off one day before it was set to begin after union representatives reached a tentative agreement with facility operator PACs on wages and staffing…“The cost of living keeps going up. But the wage scale hasn’t kept up,” said Angel Cabrera, a certified nursing assistant at Sunnyside Healthcare Center, in a union press release. “We know we make a positive difference in the health and the lives of nursing home residents.”

► From the Stranger — UW Librarians and University Press Staff Walk Out — The university’s cheapness at the bargaining table is unsurprising given the school’s recent take on labor relations. Last July, UW had to repay $1.1 million after violating state law by withholding scheduled raises to discourage a union organizing campaign among academic advisers. In January, Husky Health Center nurses reported that a strike was imminent after working without a contract since June 2025. And UW resident physicians recently ratified a contract with a 10.5 percent pay bump, but only after almost a year of bargaining. “The UW boasts big values in every brochure, every speech, every welcome address,” says Mercedes-Rinck. “It’s time those values are reflected in this contract.”

► From the Central Oregon Daily — COCC strike averted as union, college reach tentative deal — The college and union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract through June 2028, the Classified Association of Central Oregon Community College. It includes a 6% pay raise in the first year, followed by two consecutive wage increases of 4.5%. The agreement includes a change to tiered insurance rates for certain employees. If approved, the deal would be retroactive to July 1, 2025.

► From the Philly AFL-CIO:

 

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ORGANIZING

► From the Hollywood Reporter — SAG-AFTRA Communications Staff Union Voluntarily Recognized — After a third-party checker examined union support cards this week, the union, aligned with National Organization of Legal Services Workers, United Auto Workers Local 2320 (NOLSW), was certified. NOLSW already represents organizing staffers at SAG-AFTRA. Staffers joining the union after the vote include writers, magazine staffers, social media workers, audio and video producers, event planners and publicists. “We sincerely appreciate that SAG-AFTRA has been an efficient partner in this process,” the organizing committee said in a statement. “The certification of the SAG-AFTRA Communications Staff Union is a positive step toward a brighter future for the SAG-AFTRA Communications & Marketing Department, and we look forward to productive bargaining on our first contract.”

NATIONAL

► From the AFL-CIO — Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Tens of Thousands of Union Members Participate in Nationwide No Kings Rallies — “No Kings is about standing up to the guy in the White House,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, who attended the event in Minnesota with labor leaders and thousands of union members. “But No Kings also means tearing down an economy by and for the billionaires—and instead, building it for working people. More money in our pockets—because no one in the richest country on Earth should struggle to get by.”

► From Labor Notes — Twin Cities Electrical Workers Build Solidarity in the Fight Against ICE Occupation — Workers in the Twin Cities are showing what the long, slow work of relationship-building can accomplish—from the George Floyd uprising to today’s sustained effort to resist facism and build a future based on solidarity. As tradespeople, we know what it means to build things. We learned at the East Side Freedom Library that the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 was celebrated with a parade in Philadelphia led by the Bricklayers’ Union. Their banner read, “Both Buildings and Governments Are the Work of Our Hands.”

► From Bloomberg — US Job-Cut Announcements in Tech Keep Rising With AI Adoption — Layoff announcements at technology companies continued to mount in March, leading other industries in overall US job-cut plans as investment in artificial intelligence catalyzes leaner staffing levels. Employers in the technology sector announced 18,720 job cuts, up more than 24% from March 2025, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. That brought the industry total to more than 52,000 so far this year, the most first-quarter cuts since 2023. Overall, US-based employers announced 60,620 job cuts last month, up more than 25% from February. For all industries, AI accounted for a quarter of layoff announcements.

► From the AP — As the US population ages, more employees are seeking caregiver benefits at work — More than 63 million Americans provide care for an adult family member, and most of them have regular paid jobs as well, according to AARP, formerly known as American Association of Retired Persons. But caretaking responsibilities can make holding down a full-time job challenging, especially for people caring for older adults and raising children at the same time…To meet growing demand, some companies and organizations have started offering a variety of caregiving benefits, including flexible scheduling and help finding resources. Here are some ways to determine if a workplace is supportive of caregivers.

► From SMART:

ICE SURGE IMPACTS MEMBERS’ WORK IN MINNESOTA

“I just actually talked to a shop the other day that usually employs 40 people in downtown Minneapolis, all the time — they’re down to four.” pic.twitter.com/Bza8IehZPo

— SMART Union (@smartunionworks) April 2, 2026

POLITICS & POLICY

► From USA Today —  Despite deal, DHS shutdown to continue for a while longer. Here’s why. — Early in the morning on April 2, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, moved to unanimously resend a funding bill for the agency back to the House of Representatives. The legislation, which President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson have blessed, would provide money for all of DHS while shifting funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol to a separate party-line budget bill. The House of Representatives did not, however, approve the bipartisan legislation over on its side of the chamber – and isn’t scheduled to return for another brief “pro forma” session until Monday, April 6.

► From Politico — Hill staffers brace for their boss’s ‘TMZ moment’ — TMZ has launched an effort to shame members of Congress into ending their recess early and funding the Department of Homeland Security — and many congressional aides are quietly delighting in the celebrity gossip site’s interest in covering Congress…The publication has been soliciting photos of lawmakers anywhere but Washington as the DHS impasse hurtles toward day 50. Other shots the site has obtained include Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at a Florida airport, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) at his son’s basketball game and a slew of House Republicans — including Reps. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), John McGuire (R-Va.) and David Rouzer (R-N.C.) — roaming around Scotland.

► From Common Dreams — ‘Wow, He Actually Admitted It’: Trump Says US Can’t Pay for Childcare Because It’s ‘Fighting Wars’ Instead — At an Easter lunch at the White House Wednesday, the president said that “the United States can’t take care of daycare” and demanded that states fully fund childcare programs. “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare. You gotta let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for it too,” said Trump. “It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things.”

Editor’s note: recent polling shows 74% of those surveyed support using tax dollars to fund child care. Only 40% support the war in Iran. No wonder the President’s approval rating is plummeting to a new low of 35%. 

► From the Washington State Standard — With more state financial stress on horizon, Ferguson signs WA budget — The roughly $79.4 billion plan makes adjustments to the $77.8 billion two-year budget lawmakers passed last year, which covers state spending from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027. It also leaves a looming deficit in the next budget. Most of the new spending is to address increasing demand for public services, the state’s growing lawsuit payouts for government misconduct, and the cost of complying with major federal changes to safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps.

► From the Washington State Standard — Chair of WA House’s powerful budget-writing committee won’t seek reelection — Spokane state Rep. Timm Ormsby, the lead budget writer for Washington House Democrats who has served in the Legislature more than two decades, won’t seek reelection this year…His two lieutenants on the House Appropriations Committee, who could be next in line to chair the panel, are Reps. Mia Gregerson, D-SeaTac, and Nicole Macri, D-Seattle. The position is one of the most powerful in Olympia, with a leading role in crafting the state’s now nearly $80 billion two-year budget. Before joining the Legislature, Ormsby worked as a cement mason and was a labor leader.

► From News From the States — House Democrats spike bill to let legislative staffers unionize — Barring a sudden reversal by their ostensibly pro-labor bosses, the Massachusetts legislative staffers who have long fought to form a union will once again need to wait ‘til next year. House Democrats have quietly smothered legislation that would have given aides in both chambers a clear legal right to organize and collectively bargain. A similar bill is technically still alive in the Senate, but given that top lawmakers there have already voiced concerns about the legal framework for a staff union, the prospects appear dim.

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