NEWS ROUNDUP

WA Cares | Neighbors back strikers | Executives’ failures

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

 

STRIKES

► From UNITE HERE Local 8:

 

 

LOCAL

► From the Seattle Times — WA workers can start receiving long-term care funds this week — Eligible workers can use the payouts for services like in-home care aides, transportation to medical appointments and safety upgrades in their homes…Fellow caregiver Sonja Thomas said she feels relief knowing the fund will be there if or when she needs it. The long-term care system can be complicated for anyone to navigate, even for someone like Thomas, who has spent the last 10 years as a professional caregiver — including two years caring for her 87-year-old aunt.

► From KREM — Washington families at center of birthright citizenship challenge celebrate Supreme Court ruling — The case began more than a year ago when the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) filed a lawsuit on behalf of three pregnant women living in the greater King County area. The women, who had varying immigration statuses, feared their children could be denied citizenship if Trump’s executive order took effect…The decision also surprised some legal scholars because of how closely divided the justices were on the constitutional question. “I think that if you told anyone just a couple of years ago this issue before the Supreme Court, they would have thought that birthright citizenship would have been reaffirmed in a strong nine-nothing or eight-one opinion,” said Seattle U constitutional law professor Andrew Siegel. “And on the constitutional issues, it was five to four.”

 

 

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From KING 5 — Boeing, engineering union to begin 1st full contract negotiation in 14 years — This will be the first full contract negotiation between Boeing and SPEAA in 14 years. SPEAA members last approved a contract extension in 2020…In a June 30 letter to SPEAA-represented members, a Boeing executive said the company has made progress over the last two years and wants to maintain that momentum. “We’re approaching this negotiation as another opportunity to improve our culture by showing the respect we have for you and the important work you do,” wrote Ben Nimmergut Boeing vice president and functional chief engineer for production engineering.

► From the Art Newspaper — Workers at the Guggenheim in New York vote to authorise a strike — Of the affected workers represented by Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers (UAW), 93% voted to authorise a strike. Negotiations over a new contract have been ongoing since December 2025; the union’s previous collective bargaining agreement expired at the end of that month. The negotiations are unfolding in the aftermath of significant staff changes at the Guggenheim that include layoffs of 20 employees (or around 7% of the museum’s total workforce) in February 2025.

► From the Hollywood Reporter — Broadway Cleaners Vote to Authorize Strike: “What This Fight Boils Down to Is Respect” — The strike vote marks the first time the more than 250 cleaners, who are a part of the 32BJ of Service Employees International Union, have voted to authorize a strike in 18 years. Talks with the Broadway League, which represents their employers, the theater owners ATG, Nederlander, Shubert and Circle in the Square, are ongoing, but the Broadway cleaners say the two parties are still far apart on several issues, and the current contract has expired.

 

NATIONAL

► From IGN — ‘We’re Done Paying for Executives’ Failures’ — Unionized Xbox Developers Hold Press Conference to Make Their Point as Microsoft Reportedly Readies Massive Layoffs — Earlier today, the CWA (Communications Workers of America) held a press conference in which various unionized Xbox employees spoke out against Microsoft. The conference was held ahead of reported layoffs at Xbox, which insiders have stated will be a “bloodbath.” It’s also a painful reminder of last year’s layoffs at Microsoft, where 9,000 people lost their jobs across the entire company (not just Xbox) and resulted in multiple projects being cancelled, including the long-awaited reboot of Perfect Dark. The studio behind that game, The Initative, was also shuttered without having ever released a game.

► From Salon — “You belong here”: Unions rally for migrants hit by SCOTUS ruling — “The Supreme Court’s ruling to revoke Temporary Protected Status for 330,000 Haitians and Syrian refugees is an appalling decision and a moral failure,” [SEIU 1199 President] Armstrong told reporters. “It will have devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands of law-abiding families and the neighborhoods in which they live. As a union of healthcare workers, we know how vital immigrants are to our workforce and communities.” “Nursing home residents will lose their aides, homecare clients will lose their caregivers, hospital patients will lose trusted and experienced staff,” Armstrong continued.

► From the Federal News Network — Seven fired EPA employees sue agency over their terminations — The Environmental Protection Agency is facing further legal challenges from employees the agency fired last year for signing a letter critical of the Trump administration…“One year ago, over a hundred EPA employees did something extraordinarily brave: they spoke out to defend science, public health and the EPA’s mission. For that, they were punished. But they are not standing alone,” said Justin Chen, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, representing EPA workers.

 

POLITICS & POLICY

► From Politico — House GOP leaders cancel votes, start recess early after member rebellion — The hard-liner rebellion Tuesday indefinitely extends a freeze on most floor business that began last week amid conservative frustrations over the stalled SAVE America Act, the Republican-written elections bill which President Donald Trump has called his No. 1 legislative priority…Trump has amped up pressure on congressional Republicans, canceling the signing of a major housing bill last week to put pressure on the Senate to pass the bill.

► From the Utah News Dispatch — Western governors establish multi-state task force to update the region’s transmission lines — Much of the West’s power system was built more than 60 years ago, [New Mexico Governor] Cox said. And transmission lines are aging or expanding too slowly to meet new energy demands. “We often talk about energy and energy production, it’s of course paramount to everything that we need to do as a country moving forward,” Cox said. “But that energy production and generation really doesn’t matter if we can’t move those electrons across the grid.”

► From KUOW — How the SCOTUS trans athlete ruling affects WA — Washington’s proposed ban would require girls and young women to submit proof of their “biological sex.” It would likely require girls to obtain genital exams to satisfy this requirement. This effort is “the most extreme proposal of its kind in the country,” said Libby Watson, campaign manager for No Hate in Washington State, a group opposing the ballot initiative to ban trans girls from girls’ sports.

► From KOMO — Will Katie Wilson’s endorsements help or hurt Seattle’s position with Olympia lawmakers? — The Washington State Labor Council also issued a statement…”Our unions and community allies should be united in fighting back against a right-wing authoritarian government, not divided against legislators like Jamie Pedersen and Gerry Pollet, who have strong progressive voting records. We have a common foe: the conservative forces in Washington seeking to take over our State Supreme Court, attack our trans community, and repeal the Millionaire Tax and force deep cuts to education and healthcare.”

The Stand posts links to local, national and international labor news every weekday morning. Subscribe to get daily news in your inbox. 

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