Statewide walk out | Nippon tank ‘unfit’ | Port backs ILWU

Monday, August 31, 2026

LOCAL

► From KUOW — Washington chemical tank was called unfit for service before deadly failure, investigators find — The board found that the contractor provided Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company with recommendations for internal inspections and shell repairs, but the company did none between a July 2025 inspection and the May 2026 failure…In July 2025, the contractor found “significant thinning” below the minimum safe thickness in the lower regions of the tank after an external inspection, according to the board’s report…The same contractor inspected the exterior of the tank in October 2025 and February 2026 and both times identified that “large portions of the tank remained thinner than the calculated minimum safe wall thickness.” “The company also did not remove the tank from operation or derate the tank for reduced service,” the board said.

► From KOIN — US Sen. Murray calls for accountability after report finds Nippon tank was unfit for use — The Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers union also shared a statement following the release of the report….“Eleven of our brothers lost their lives, others were seriously injured, and their families,coworkers and the Longview community continue to carry an immeasurable loss. The updateraises urgent questions about how technical findings and recommendations concerning the tankwere communicated, evaluated and incorporated into decisions about its continued operation.The families and workforce deserve a complete accounting of that process. AWPPW will notminimize the seriousness of the information released, but we will also not draw conclusionsabout causation or responsibility beyond what the evidence currently establishes.

► From the Anacortes American — Port: American Cruise Lines can’t dock in Anacortes without using local union labor  — Cruise ships that have stopped in Anacortes for the past 13 years will no longer be allowed to tie up at Port of Anacortes piers starting Sept. 7, following the cruise ship company’s refusal to allow local union dockworkers to handle their lines. The port announced Tuesday, Aug. 25, that it will no longer accept vessel-berthing reservations from American Cruise Lines (ACL) after months of “extensive but ultimately unsuccessful” negotiations between the company and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 25 in Anacortes.

► From the Tri-City Herald — AI almost sent hazmat train barreling toward ‘catastrophe’ in Eastern WA — A 146-car train carrying “hazardous materials” was at risk of colliding with a roadway maintenance worker in Connell, Wash., had a BNSF dispatcher not caught an issue caused by an AI system. The June 16 incident would have been a “public catastrophe” for the worker, driving crew and north Franklin County community, read an Aug. 26 letter from the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalman to the Federal Railroad Administration. At issue was BNSF’s use of an AI-powered dispatching system called Movement Planner, said Brandon Pettit, vice general chairman of the signalman union’s BNSF general committee.

► From KUOW — New records detail ICE arrests in WA during summer surge. Yakima, Seattle top the list — Washington hasn’t seen a day without an ICE arrest since late March, according to ICE records. In Seattle, fewer and fewer days also go by without an arrest, often only pausing on the weekend, according to records released this week from the Deportation Data Project based at the University of California and analyzed by KUOW…Nearly all the arrests take place in the community through traffic stops, at check-ins or other enforcement. The ICE records refer to these as “at large” or street arrests.

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Boeing, SPEEA set to meet again as both prepare for possible strike — Leaders from the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA, told members they are meeting with Boeing on Monday to discuss the second round of contract negotiations, in an effort to reach a deal before the current contract expires Oct. 6 and avert a work stoppage.  Boeing, though, has started posting job openings for contract positions [editor’s note: scabs], preparing to temporarily fill union roles if SPEEA members walk out…In the town hall Thursday, SPEEA said members made it clear in a postvote survey that wages are the top priority for their next contract.  Asked to prioritize what the negotiating team should push for during the next round of discussions, members ranked a guaranteed wage increase No. 1, higher increases to wage pools No. 2 and raises to match cost-of-living increases No. 3.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From My Northwest — Thousands of Washington state employees to walk out Monday over stalled contract talks — Thousands of Washington state employees are expected to protest stalled contract negotiations with the state by walking out of work Monday. Statewide, employees at more than 100 worksites are expected to be involved…The largest demonstrations are expected to occur at UW’s Red Square, at the Department of Children, Youth and Families offices in Seattle and Bellevue, in Olympia, and at Western State Hospital in Lakewood.

► From the Washington State Standard — WA governor met with state worker protest at hospital construction ceremony — “Just to be clear, our issue is not with hospital administration,” said Mike Yestramski, president of the Washington Federation of State Employees and social worker at the hospital. “The issue is above them.”…“If state workers (are) so important as you said when you came and talked to us the first time to become governor, then put more stake in the state workers,” said Mark Camacho, union member and behavioral health specialist at Western State Hospital. Yestramski said that to say contract negotiations have not been going well “would be an understatement.”  “We figured if we could come to this,” he said, “maybe (the governor) would talk to workers.”

► From the Seattle Times — WA teacher strikes outside Seattle? Here’s what we know — The Puyallup teachers union was still working toward a deal Friday, and the Tumwater paraeducators union had authorized a potential strike, spokespeople said, expressing concerns about issues ranging from compensation to class sizes while criticizing Washington lawmakers for failing to provide the state’s school districts with adequate funding. “Our districts have tough budgets,” Janie White, president of the Washington Education Association — the umbrella organization for local educators unions — said in an interview Friday. “We need to make sure the state fully funds education. That’s why the ‘millionaires tax’ is so important for us right now,” White added.

NATIONAL

► From the New York Times — Starbucks Drops Drink Powder That Enveloped Baristas in Clouds of Dust — “Any time I had to use it, I had to hold my breath,” she said. Her colleagues complained about coughs and tickling throats. Baristas around the country reported developing hives and having asthma attacks…Workers United, the union representing thousands of Starbucks employees at more than 700 of the nearly 17,000 Starbucks stores in the United States, called the move a victory, won through worker complaints and outraged social media posts. “We know our collective action prompted the company to direct stores to remove the powder by the end of August,” said Jasmine Leli, a union barista and bargaining delegate from Buffalo.

► From the Verge — Robotaxis are real now — so is the pushback — Peter Finn, Teamsters international vice president at large, called autonomous vehicles an “existential threat” to the work his members do. He pointed to the enormous number of jobs potentially affected by autonomous driving beyond rideshare drivers, including truckers, delivery drivers, and other commercial drivers…“If the technology is solely designed to automate and eliminate labor costs, the only entity benefiting from that is corporations,” Finn said.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From KUOW — Mail-in voting will continue for now. WA officials laud latest ruling — Washington Attorney General Nick Brown on Friday applauded a fresh ruling from a federal judge in Massachusetts who temporarily blocked the U.S. Postal Service from changing the rules for voting by mail. The injunction, issued Thursday, pauses the Postal Service’s new rules for two weeks, after half the states in the country sued in federal court over the changes…A coalition of 25 states, including Washington, sued the Postal Service on Wednesday and requested a block on its new rules until the Supreme Court has considered their constitutionality. The Supreme Court has yet to weigh in.

► From the Tri-City Herald — Governor hopes ‘Millionaires Tax’ can help WA meet school budget shortfalls — “We have across the board many, many needs for great schools like this one, and others all across the state,” the Democratic governor during a news conference at Pasco High School…At the local level, Tri-City education leaders feel the state’s public schools are getting the short-end of the stick. Richland Superintendent Shelley Redinger said the state continues to “fall short in meeting its constitutional responsibility to fully fund basic education.”

► From the Tacoma New Tribune — Pierce County moves to extend detention center moratorium — The Pierce County Council voted to start the process to extend an existing moratorium on private and public involuntary detention centers. The detention centers include facilities like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. The council’s vote sets the stage for a public hearing on the topic on Aug. 31, and council members will vote in September on whether to finalize the extension. The existing moratorium is still in effect, according to county spokesperson Bryan Dominique, and the new moratorium could go into effect on Oct. 4.

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