OSE union certified | IAM ranks grow | Haitian TPS

Friday, April 17, 2026

LOCAL

► From the Bellingham Herald — New apprenticeship program to expand behavioral health care — As Washington continues to confront a growing need for behavioral health and addiction services, a nonprofit university has launched a new apprenticeship degree program to try to close the gap in needed care. The Apprenticeship College of Health (ACH), operated by the nonprofit Reach University and funded by the Seattle-based labor management partnership Training Fund, is a first-of-its-kind program that will allow working adults to earn low- or no-cost work-based degrees.

► From the Yakima Herald-Republic — Immigration proposal could strip asylum seekers of legal employment — While the federal government’s goal with the proposed change is to reduce the processing times of asylum claims and curb fraud, experts believe these modifications will adversely affect not just people’s lives but also the communities in which they live…If and when the federal government pauses the processing of new asylum applications, people could still pay and submit their applications, but they would just sit in the federal system, she said. “You could probably file the work authorization after one year and it would just sit,” she said. “It could be that they will reject it, though.”..In February, Muro with the Immigrant Rights Coalition said there were at least 12 Walla Walla residents trying to file their work authorizations right away so they would not be subject to the new rule.

AEROSPACE

► From Reuters — Exclusive: Boeing hiring more than 100 factory workers a week to boost output, replace retirees — Boeing is hiring around 100 to 140 factory workers a week, the highest pace since 2024, as the U.S. jetmaker replaces retirees and increases staffing to support higher production rates and new models, a union leader said. Boeing’s unionized factory workers in the Pacific Northwest now number more than 34,000 and are “heading higher,” Jon Holden told Reuters in his first interview as a vice president specializing in training and apprenticeships at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the Charlotte Observer — Wells Fargo workers rally in uptown Charlotte for better pay and union rights — The demonstration called for a fair union contract for employees represented by Wells Fargo Workers United. It was led by the Communications Workers of America, North Carolina American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations and Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ…“We need a union contract to be able to raise ethical concerns about how our customers are treated — without fear of losing our jobs,” Signil added. “The job security of a union contract helps protect us when we raise flags as we encounter them.”

ORGANIZING

► From My Bellingham N0w — Operational student employees at WWU union-certified — Many of us have faced years of unsafe and inequitable working conditions with no route for input on solutions, and now, like our colleagues, we will have a voice and seat at the table to change that,” said Sophia Maynard, Student Ambassador at The Foundation for WWU and Alumni…Western’s OSEs are made up of roughly 1,100 laborers, lifeguards, resident advisors and other student workers in non-academic positions. They now become the first student workers in the state to be recognized as a union who perform work that isn’t directly research or instruction related.

NATIONAL

► From the Labor Tribune — OPINION: Why this union paramedic treats an epidemic of inequality — The richest 10 percent of Americans control nearly 70 percent of the nation’s wealth, and life in Jackson Hole revolves around — delights in — this rigged system. While Sapien’s patients ration the basics, the uber-rich in Jackson Hole amass ever more of everything thanks to the tax cuts Donald Trump enacted just for them…It’s impossible to wish away the crisis facing this country. If working people fail to act — fail to stand together and fight for better lives — inequality will continue to grow until America is divided entirely into haves and have-nots. This is exactly why Sapien led a union drive at the ambulance service a few years ago, a victory that helped his coworkers achieve not only fair wages and benefits but also a voice on the job and the equipment needed to do their jobs. It was the first new union in Wyoming in decades

► From NCW Life — National federal worker union pushes back against U.S. Forest Service reorganization — The Forest Service Council of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) says the plan to reorganize the U.S. Forest Service is an attempt to “indirectly and illegally carry out a reduction-in-force,” according to an email shared with NCWLIFE…In an email guidance sent to union members on Wednesday, NFFE said it views the plan as a “workforce disruption” that will “dismantle critical programs, and ultimately privatize the work of the USFS.”

► From the AP — ICE went on a hiring spree. Sterling credentials were not required, AP investigation finds — The agency has said the majority of new hires are police and military veterans. But evidence is mounting that applicants with questionable histories were either not fully vetted before they were brought on or were hired in spite of their past, an investigation by The Associated Press found…Unlike many local law enforcement agencies, ICE said it shields the identity of employees to protect them from harassment, making a full accounting of the new hires impossible.

► From NPR — Intimacy coordinators embrace their next chapter in Hollywood — Almost a decade after the height of the #MeToo movement, intimacy coordinators are a fixture on film sets. As of this year, the job is now covered by SAG-AFTRA, the labor union that represents actors. Their growing presence on set has led to more demand for intimacy coordinator training programs.

► From SBWU:

Starbucks is the biggest violator of labor law in modern history.

That’s why organizing unions in our stores is so important!

SBWU members have won settlements, reinstatements, backpay, and better conditions after taking action together. That’s the union difference ✊ pic.twitter.com/zzKRlfDfr5

— Starbucks Workers United (@SBWorkersUnited) April 15, 2026

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the New York Times — House Votes to Preserve Deportation Protections for Haitians, Rebuking Trump — its passage by a vote of 224 to 204 was a striking election-year rebuke of Mr. Trump from members of his own party on immigration, one of his signature issues. The legislation came to the floor only after several Republicans from politically competitive districts broke with their party and joined Democrats to force a vote. Ultimately, 10 Republicans and one independent who caucuses with them joined Democrats to push it through…“I will not stand by idly while our Haitian neighbors are denigrated, dehumanized, criticized or forced to live in fear of deportation,” [Rep. Ayanna S. Pressley] said.

► From the Hill — Bernie Sanders, labor leaders warn of AI risks for workers — “We are here to sound the alarms on AI and advanced technology because this is a worker’s issue, and this race that everybody seems to think we’re in to advance AI at all costs, with no guardrails or protections for people, is reckless and dangerous,” [AFL-CIO Pres.] Shuler said…[UAW Pres.] Fain on Thursday compared the technology to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), pointing to what he described as the “false promises of shared prosperity” of the trade deal. NAFTA has been widely blamed for a decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs.

► From CNBC — Sens. Warren and Blumenthal investigate NLRB decision to drop charges against SpaceX for retaliatory firings — The NLRB dismissed those charges citing jurisdictional issues in February. Warren and Blumenthal have demanded information and records from the NLRB according to correspondence first obtained by CNBC, seeking to determine if the agency dropped the charges based on “political considerations rather than the facts at hand,” effectively bowing to the wishes of Musk, who spent around $300 million to propel President Trump back to the White House.

► From Wired — Congress Turns Up Pressure on DHS Over Palantir’s Role in Immigration Crackdown — On Thursday, the lawmakers sent the letter to DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE secretary Todd Lyons. It outlines significant concerns they have about how DHS uses software developed by Palantir, as well as facial recognition from Clearview AI, social media surveillance tools from PenLink, cell tower simulators from L3Harris, and and cellphone surveillance tech built by Paragon Solutions…The letter included several specific questions about Palantir, including which “government and/or commercial datasets and information, if any,” are integrated into systems developed by the company. They also asked about a Palantir-developed app called ELITE, short for Enhanced Leads Identification and Targeting for Enforcement. Lawmakers requested a “comprehensive report” about the tool, including information about its development, its purpose, the specific categories it applies to data, and the current number of DHS officials authorized to use it.

► From the Washington Post — In Las Vegas, Trump’s economic pitch meets a skeptical audience — A day before Trump’s visit, members of the Culinary Union, one of the most powerful turnout machines in Democratic politics, focused on affordability as they knocked on doors for a state Senate race in a working-class area of east Las Vegas. Culinary Union leadership has argued that Trump’s immigration and tariff policies have hamstrung Las Vegas’s economy. The majority of people who answered the door Wednesday proactively brought up their anger toward Trump for his aggressive approach to immigration enforcement and how expensive life felt under his leadership.

► From Reuters — Unions sue US labor board over bid to concentrate legal powers in DC  — A group of unions has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the U.S. agency that oversees union elections for federal employees from stripping career staffers of the power to order elections and giving it to a panel appointed by the president. The unions in a complaint, opens new tab filed ​in Boston federal court on Wednesday said the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s policy change, which was announced last month and is ‌set to take effect April 23, was not adequately explained and will upend a system developed over decades with just 30 days’ notice.

JOLT OF JOY

► From KUOW — These musicians are providing the soundtrack for anti-ICE protests in LA — Loyda Alvarado, a lead singer in the band, said that in the crackdown’s early weeks and months, it was hard to bring lively cumbias to the very place where an immigrant worker had just been taken away from their family and community. “It just felt so heavy,” she said. But over time, watching people dance and sing to their music, “I was reminded that this is a way in which we resist as well. The joy, despite all the suffering, despite all the pain, is such an important part of what we do because it helps us to keep our culture and to connect with each other.”

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