Walrus & Carpenter TA | UW Advisors | MLB negotiations

Friday, June 26, 2026

STRIKES

► From MLK Labor:

The strike at Embassy Suites Seattle has entered its second week! 🪧

Rooms at the Embassy Suites can go for more than $500 a night but the company refuses to pay workers what they’re worth.

Stop by to show your support from 6 am-6 pm, 7 days a week!@UniteHereLocal8 pic.twitter.com/1QAzLgBSCD

— MLK Labor (@MLKLabor) June 25, 2026

LOCAL

► From the Spokesman Review — More than a quarter of Spokane Haitians at risk of deportation after Supreme Court allows repeal of Temporary Protection Status — “The thing is, you know, TPS was not a pathway right to citizenship,” Jasmin said. “I think this just shows a glaring need for us to actually look at our immigration policies in the United States, because these are hardworking people.” In the United States, Jasmin said about 111,000 Haitian immigrants work in the healthcare system. Haitians are one of the largest foreign-born groups in the field, according to the Migration Policy Institute. “We all benefit from them as community members,” Jasmin said. “This should matter to all of us.” Smith said while TPS does have the word “temporary” in it, it’s important to note that there’s supposed to be a review that determines whether the conditions of TPS countries have improved. It’s clear the dangers in Haiti have not, he said.

► From the Daily — Public Employment Relation Commission overturns ruling, determines advisors are not owed merit pay — UW Service Employees International Union 925 (SEIU 925), the union that also represents librarians and service workers across UW, submitted two petitions June 28, 2024, to represent advisors across all three UW campuses. UW announced it would withhold annual merit pay increases to advisors who had petitioned under SEIU…Advisors wanting to unionize disagree with the ruling, arguing that UW still owes them the pay increases. “I truly don’t believe that the ruling was sound,” Beth Jeffrey, an advisor at UW Tacoma, said. “It makes no sense that you would give the exact same job title, the exact same position in the medical school, you would give them the money, and you wouldn’t get to us simply because their bosses told them and our bosses didn’t, which isn’t even true.”

► From MyNorthwest — ‘One of the most egregious cases’: L&I suspends Sumner contractor over $1M fraud, 40 complaints  — Construction Kings and its owner, Zakary Michael Nash, are facing citations for repeated electrical code violations during installations. The agency is also seeking unpaid workers’ compensation insurance. Construction Kings also faces at least 11 lawsuits, the cancellation of its bond and insurance…The contractor also owes roughly $30,000 for workers’ compensation coverage for its employees. The amount covers the last three quarters of 2025. McBride stated that the vast majority of the roughly 67,000 contractors in Washington try to do the right thing for their customers, but Construction Kings is in “another category.”

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the Stranger — Sea Change — This means that workers at acclaimed oyster bar the Walrus and the Carpenter and both locations of doughnut shop General Porpoise will work under a collective bargaining agreement, pending ratification by the union membership. The weeklong strike at the Walrus that has attracted social media attention and led to some tense moments between union supporters and management has come to an end…Assuming union membership ratifies the contract, the Walrus and the Carpenter will fully reopen in short order as one of the rarest things in Seattle: a restaurant with a union contract.

► From KUOW — Bargaining begins for Seattle Public Schools, teachers union amid continued budget shortfall — After signing a one-year contract extension last year, union leaders with the Seattle Education Association say they’re seeking a multi-year agreement to bring “stability” to members. Davina Diaz, vice president of the Seattle Education Association and the union’s lead bargainer, says their top asks include addressing educators’ workloads and large class sizes, expanding trainings, and raising wages. “We’re hearing from members that affordability is really hard right now,” Diaz said. “With the increases in groceries, the increases in rent and gas, members are having to balance and give up some things in order to pay for necessities.”

► From the Athletic — MLB looks to limit free-agent contract length, dollars in latest labor proposal — Major League Baseball’s owners on Thursday proposed a $202 million limit on contracts for free agents who leave their current team — $50 million less than the amount A-Rod took to leave Seattle and sign with the Texas Rangers a quarter-century ago…“I will tell you with all honesty, I have never seen this degree of unity at this point among agents and players,” Bruce Meyer, interim head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, said on a conference call with reporters. “I think, honestly, the league has done us a favor. Because their proposals are, in fact, so obviously and extremely bad for players at all levels, that it’s actually been a benefit for our unity.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the New York Times — Justices Clash on Whether Race Played a Role in Trump’s Bid to Deport Haitians — Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. concluded that Mr. Trump’s many statements about Haitians were not “overtly racial,” and that it was unlikely that race had been a motivating factor in the administration’s decision to end the protections…The most telling aspect of Justice Alito’s majority opinion, Justice Kagan said, was that he could not bring himself to quote a single example of Mr. Trump’s statements about Haiti and Haitians. Mr. Trump’s remarks were “so repellent and racially inflected that the majority declines to put them in print,” she wrote.

► From the Government Executive — As opposition mounts, House cancels vote on VA overhaul bill — House Republicans on Thursday gaveled floor activity for the week, effectively cancelling a planned vote on a controversial Veterans Affairs Department overhaul bill that packages bipartisan benefits increases with cuts to others and increased privatization of health services.

JOLT OF JOY

Happy Pride weekend to all 🩷🤍🩵💜❤️🧡💛💚💙

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