NEWS ROUNDUP

ATU protests merger | 12s don’t cross picket lines | More powerful unions

Friday, September 4, 2026

 

STRIKES

► From UNITE HERE Local 8:

 

LOCAL

► From the Everett Herald — Everett Transit union protests possible transit merger — The union, the Amalgamated Transit Union 883, said they decided to gather outside of the council chambers to spread the word about their concerns over the possible consolidation, including worries over potential impacts to employees and the tax increase that would come along with a merger. “We’re trying to raise awareness because most of the citizens aren’t aware,” said Steve Oss, the union’s president, on Wednesday. “They don’t know what’s going on.”

► From My Northwest — Record summer for Washington ferries caps off with 400K expected over Labor Day weekend — It was a banner summer season for ferry passengers, recording 7 million riders between Memorial Day weekend and the end of August, according to Washington State Ferries (WSF). That’s roughly 100,000 more riders than last year during the same period, and marks the highest number since 2019…“We remain focused on recruiting, training, and retaining the employees we need to deliver reliable service,” [WSF Executive Director Steve Nevey] continued.

Editor’s note: ferry workers have made this record season possible even as the state refuses to agree to a contract that would retain and recruit necessary staff

► From Range Media — The Other Way People Are Losing Their Homes In The Fires — The loss of more than 800 homes in the blaze collided with Spokane’s already-stressed housing market. The city administration says that at least 11 rental properties have been confirmed as damaged or destroyed, and estimates the full total of rental units impacted could be nearly 90…Even more structures have been damaged or rendered toxic by lead, asbestos and soot. The number of pre-eviction notices served on tenants throughout Spokane County in August is triple the average.

 

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the NW Labor Press — AI, meet CBA  — At Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), AI caused a meltdown one morning in a South Waterfront surgical clinic. It’s a union member’s job to call patients, tell them when their surgery is scheduled, and make sure they prepare in the right way. But someone high up the executive chain of command decided some of that work could be handled by an AI “agent” robocaller supplied by an outside vendor, LeanTaas. One morning, all the patients at OHSU’s CHH2 building started showing up at the wrong time and place for their surgery.

► From the Chief Leader — Forbes Union wins raises, job protections in first contract — Unionized workers at Forbes magazine ratified their first contract this week, securing a $65,000 salary floor as well as stronger job protections and assurances over editorial independence after more than four years of organizing. The three-year agreement, which was ratified Sept. 1, covers 90 Forbes staff members, including reporters, photo editors and video editors represented by The NewsGuild of New York.

 

ORGANIZING

► From Wired — Wikipedia Workers Unionize for the First Time — More than 200 staffers at the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit behind the encyclopedia Wikipedia, have voted 158-14 to join the Communications Workers of America labor union. The US National Labor Relations Board counted ballots on Thursday…Lauren de Lench, who has been a lead technical program manager at the Wikimedia Foundation since 2021, says she voted to unionize because she had seen too many colleagues decline to speak up during internal meetings out of fear of retaliation for raising issues or proposing far-out ideas.

 

NATIONAL

► From Axios — Record 47% of Americans want more powerful unions — For only the second time in a quarter century, a majority of Republicans — 52% — approve of labor unions, according to a new Gallup poll…Despite Americans’ rising approval, union membership remains near a modern low. Congress has repeatedly blocked labor’s biggest priorities, and House Republicans are now investigating unions, even as their own voters approve of them…Overall, 71% of Americans approved of unions, tying the 2022 level. Gallup last recorded higher approval in 1959 at 73%.

► From Marketplace — Wages are 7% lower for workers in right-to-work states — People who live in “right-to-work” states make nearly 7% less, on average, than people who live in states without right to work laws, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute. That wage gap has more than doubled in the last decade…In states with right-to-work laws, just 6% of workers are in a union, versus 16% in states without these laws. In addition, salaries are lower on average, especially for women and Black and Hispanic workers, according to Kyle Moore, chief economist at The Century Foundation.

► From Facing South — Labor is at the heart of the Black Freedom Struggle: A conversation with Charles McKinney — One of the things we need to think about is, when we’re talking about rights — freedom rights, the Black Freedom Struggle, civil rights, and then going back to the years after emancipation — at the heart of that struggle is a struggle for labor, a struggle for economic autonomy, a struggle for Black folk to be able to work for a fair wage, to be able to work and be paid for their labor. Enslaved people aren’t getting paid for their labor…And so at the center of the Black Freedom Struggle is a struggle around labor. It’s a struggle around self-determination, and so much of that is a function of labor.

► From the AP — Feds open probe into Musk’s steering-wheel-free taxis a day after he began offering rides in them — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was looking into whether Tesla was in full compliance with federal rules in deploying so-called Cybercabs in Austin, Texas, given that the two-seater cars lack steering wheels, mirrors or brake pedals typically required of all vehicles…Before the launch, Tesla had said it had relied on a self-certification procedure to make sure the Cybercabs were in compliance, but the agency apparently is unsure if the taxis do indeed meet standards.

 

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the New York Times — Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow Mail Voting Limits — Administration lawyers asked the justices to clear the way for a new rule that prohibits the U.S. Postal Service from delivering ballots to voters in states that do not share voter data with the federal agency. The rule would also require the agency to review ballot envelopes for compliance with new standards before accepting it…The administration’s emergency appeal to the justices came hours after a federal judge in Massachusetts, during a hearing in the matter, expressed concerns that the plans could cause so much chaos in the coming elections that states would experience “major disenfranchisement.”

► From the Tri-City Herald — Here’s how many Tri-Cities primary ballots were rejected for late postmarks — In Benton County, 12,570 ballots were mailed and 785, or just over 6%, were rejected because they had not been postmarked by election day. In Franklin County, the rate was higher, at 7.8% of ballots rejected over late postmarks. It was the third highest reject rate in Washington state. The highest were in Yakima County at 9% and Garfield County at nearly 8%.

► From the Washington State Standard — Voters will see statement on WA income tax measure’s budget effects — The state Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on Arthur West’s motion for an emergency injunction to prevent the secretary of state’s office from including the “public investment impact disclosure” for Initiative 645. Voters will consider the tax repeal measure in the Nov. 3 election…Justices Charles Johnson, Sheryl Gordon McCloud, G. Helen Whitener, and Theo Angelis voted to grant his motion, with Chief Justice Debra Stephens and Justices Steven González, Sal Mungia, and Colleen Melody voting to deny it.

► From the Olympian — Gov. Ferguson signs order to protect Apple Health coverage — Thursday’s executive order establishes a formal committee to coordinate the state’s ongoing response to the seismic healthcare shifts enacted under H.R. 1. Senate Republicans passed H.R. 1, the sprawling tax and spending cut bill, in July 2025. The nearly 900-page document poured funding into Trump’s national security agenda and expanded immigration enforcement…Critics say the bill has eroded the social safety net through changing food stamp and Medicaid eligibility.

► From the AP — Missouri court blocks Trump-backed US House map and orders it to be put to a vote — The decision Thursday marks a rare setback for Republicans in a national redistricting battle that Trump urged GOP-run states to launch last year. Republicans had hoped Missouri’s new congressional boundaries could help them win an additional seat and hold onto their slim House majority in the midterms…Missouri’s new districts were used in the August primaries. But the state Supreme Court said they cannot be used in the November general election — or ever again, unless voters first uphold the new districts passed by the Republican-led Legislature.

► From the Washington Post — GOP-led House scraps two weeks of work ahead of midterms — The House, which returned briefly this week after a months-long recess, had already been facing attendance issues and a shortage of must-pass legislation…it means little, if any, legislation is likely to pass Congress before the midterms. A set of proposals to reform how the House handles sexual misconduct, which the Democratic and Republican women’s caucuses have been working on since spring, will probably be delayed because of the limited window to introduce legislation.

► From OPB — Watchdog report: Ex-Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer oversaw hostile work environment, misused funds — The report includes allegations that Chavez-DeRemer “engaged in an inappropriate relationship” with a member of her security detail and violated travel regulations by combining personal and official travel. It also accuses her of violating the department’s alcohol policies, directing staff to perform personal tasks on official time, and failing to report gifts through appropriate channels.

 

JOLT OF JOY

Soundtrack your Labor Day weekend with some working class anthems…

And come out to picnics and celebration of worker solidarity and power this weekend. Happy Labor Day!

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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