State worker TAs | Hotel workers win | SPEEA, Boeing update

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

STRIKES

► From the Seattle Times — Seattle Hilton workers end strike after ‘tremendous wins’ in contract — The contract with Hilton entails an agreement on year-round healthcare coverage, additional workload protections and improved rights for immigrant workers, per the union’s news release Friday. And as of Jan. 1, the hotel’s housekeepers will be the highest-paid union housekeepers in Washington, Unite Here! said. The starting pay will rise to $31.03 per hour…“During the 85 days of this historic strike, Embassy Suites workers stood up for each other and showed that change is possible,” Stefan Moritz, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said in a statement.

► From the Minnesota Reformer — Allina hospital doctors walk off the job in historic 4-day strike in Minnesota — Unionized doctors at two Twin Cities area hospitals began a four-day strike on Monday in what’s believed to be the first walkout by private-sector hospital doctors in U.S. history…“We need to be able to stand up for ourselves,” said Dr. Amber Galarowicz, an Allina hospitalist and bargaining team member for the union Doctors Council SEIU. “The voice that we’ll be able to have for our patients far outweighs the next four days.”

LOCAL

► From the Tri-City Herald — Firefighters speak out on Richland move to annex highly radioactive Hanford land — Local units of the International Association of Fire Fighters notified the city in writing last week that it wants to be part of any discussion and decision that makes its members responsible for emergencies in an area with well-documented radioactive contamination…James Stovall, president of IAFF Local 1052, representing Richland firefighters, said the union was not included in discussions before the city council voted to proceed with the plan.

► From KUOW — Heat deaths in Washington state last year may be 4 times as high as records show — While official records show fewer than 20 heat-related deaths last year, an investigation by NPR and Boston University reveals the true tally may be four times the count from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)…From 2021 to 2025, the CDC recorded 247 heat-related deaths in Washington state. NPR’s investigation shows the number could be closer to 480.

► From KIRO — Bikini baristas win $1.8 million wage theft lawsuit against espresso stand owner — A King County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the 70 workers, awarding more than $1.85 million in unpaid wages and damages. Baristas said they were expected to turn in their tips and wages to meet sales goals, or risk losing hours or being fired altogether. In her ruling, Judge Cindi Port found that Beehive Espresso owner Alan Tagle “accepted the benefit of baristas’ work without paying for it.” According to the lawsuit, baristas often worked alone, making it difficult to compare experiences or identify patterns of misconduct.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

Photo: WFSE

► From the Washington State Standard — Two WA public sector unions reach tentative deals on new contracts — Washington’s largest union for state government workers reached a tentative agreement on a new two-year contract early Friday, ending weeks of tense negotiations and a walkout by workers statewide…Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Washington Public Employees Association struck a tentative deal on a new two-year collective bargaining agreement for roughly 2,500 workers it represents in nine state agencies…A coalition representing all unions reached a deal ensuring the state will continue to pay 85% of monthly premiums with employees paying the remaining 15%. The state wanted employees to pay a larger share.

► From the Seattle Times — With its recovery at stake, Boeing sweetens offer to white-collar union — SPEEA’s negotiating team recommended members accept the proposed contract, which they said includes a 10% guaranteed wage increase effective Oct. 16 and other wage gains. The proposal addresses remote work and other workplace concerns raised during negotiations…“The results of these negotiations could not have been possible without the unity and solidarity that our members have shown over the last few weeks,” bargaining team members said in a joint statement.

► From Game Developer — Blizzard union workers ratify historic contract covering 1900 employees — Union members represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) claimed the new contract—which covers 1,900 employees across the Microsoft subsidiary—sets a new industry standard. The union contract delivers wage increases, a three-day hybrid work week, remote working and disability accommodations, and grievance procedures. It also requires Microsoft to discuss, evaluate, and bargain over the usage of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

ORGANIZING

► From USA Today — Oregon hearing could decide if women’s college basketball players can unionize — It’s the first time a group of women college athletes have formally sought recognition as a players’ union. And unlike previous efforts by football players at Northwestern, men’s basketball players at Dartmouth and the recent formation by football players at Stanford, they are doing this at a public university — meaning that whether members of the Beavers’ women’s basketball team can become union members will be determined by state law, not federal.

NATIONAL

Photo: Teamsters

► From Fortune — Amazon workers on food stamps have tripled despite its record revenue—and it’s just the latest evidence of the new economy of shrinking labor shares — But as the share of wealth workers take home through wages—called labor share—is shrinking, corporate profits have exploded, with the S&P 500 index gaining 600% since the beginning of the century, while wages have increased just 12.5% over the same period, adjusted for inflation. In other words: Corporations are raking in cash, but American workers are reaping less and less of the rewards…Kathryn Larin, director for education, workforce, and income security issues at GAO, told Fortune the data illustrates that the Americans taking advantage of social safety net programs today are overwhelmingly in the workforce, with most working full time

► From NPR — They cleaned up ground zero. Now many are hiding from ICE — Once a week, in a Queens office building, a group of immigrants in their 50s and 60s gathers. They’ve all known each other for some 25 years: they met when they were cleaning up ground zero together. They are among the thousands of cleanup crews who rushed to the destruction in lower Manhattan following the attacks of 9/11. Many of those workers were immigrants and as many as 6,000 of them were undocumented. They were all exposed to toxic debris, and psychological trauma. And as the Trump administration pursues its aggressive immigration agenda, many are living in enhanced fear of immigration enforcement.

► From the Guardian — Electronic shelf labels likely to cost jobs and drive up grocery prices, US report warns — The universal adoption of electronic shelf labels in grocery stores across the US could cost tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in lost wages while further driving up grocery costs, according to a report released on Tuesday…“Electronic shelf labels create the infrastructure that would make rapid algorithmic price changes easier to implement at scale, and this raises concerns for consumers that are already struggling with grocery costs.”

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the AP — Supreme Court rejects Trump mail ballot restrictions ahead of midterms — The decision allows states to continue sending out mail ballots under the same processes they’ve used for years and have accounted for nearly a third of votes cast…The Supreme Court majority wrote that the administration’s push to implement the restrictions this year is likely to lose in court, though the brief emergency order didn’t detail its reasoning. Two justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, publicly dissented…Justice Brett Kavanaugh, meanwhile, agreed that the restrictions should not go into effect for the midterms but indicated he might rule in favor of the Trump administration if the issue comes back before the court at a later time.

► From KUOW — A bitter battle is brewing in one of Washington state’s last swing districts — This fall, Republican incumbents Reps. John Ley, Stephanie McClintock, Kevin Waters, and David Stuebe will face Democratic challengers, Deken Letinich, Randi Knott, Ben Christly, and Diana Perez respectively. After the August primary, all four Democratic challengers were leading their races with over 50% of the vote.

► From the Federal News Network — Judge bars Trump administration’s ‘loyalty’ question on federal job applications — Agencies will be barred from including an essay question on federal job applications asking candidates which of the president’s executive orders are most “significant” to them. U.S. District Judge George O’Toole on Friday issued a stay order directing agencies to remove the question from all hiring announcements, after finding that the inclusion of the essay question likely violated job applicants’ First Amendment rights.

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