Cascade PBS union | Farmworkers | AI in Kenya

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

LOCAL

► From Cascade PBS — Amazon offers $334M for nuclear reactors to be built at Hanford — Now the site is targeted to house four small modular reactors — the newest hot ticket in the nuclear industry. The nation’s fast-growing power needs plus the hunt for new sources of carbon-free electricity have led the United States to seriously experiment with nuclear energy again, especially small modular reactors. Choosing to locate the reactors on this piece of federal land gives the project the advantage of existing infrastructure, including roads and utilities from the 1980s.

► From the Seattle Times — Working the deadliest job in America in the mountains of the Northwest — About 100 of every 100,000 logging workers die from work injuries, compared with 4 per 100,000 for all workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “There is a mix of physical factors — heavy equipment and, of course, the massive trees,” said Marissa Baker, a professor of occupational health at the University of Washington who has researched the logging industry. “Couple that with steep terrain and unforgiving weather and the rural aspect of the work, and it leads to great danger.”

► From the Seattle Times — Seattle superintendent scraps plan to close schools next year — The School Board is scheduled to vote on Tuesday to rescind its authorization for Jones to draw up closure plans for next school year, including an Oct. 9 resolution to consider closing up to five schools.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From Real Change News — Cascade PBS journalists fight for better wages amid news industry decline — The workers’ contract expired in September; they have been in a back-and-forth with management for four months, according to Josh Cohen, the city reporter for Cascade PBS and one of the union’s shop stewards. In a Nov. 6 news release, the Cascade PBS Union wrote that it was demanding higher wages in consideration of rising inflation, as well as more time off, larger employer retirement contributions and better workplace protections for its members in case of layoffs or structural adjustments.

► From the Washington State Standard — WA public employee union sues state following failed contract vote — The Washington Public Employees Association filed a lawsuit on Friday alleging the state Office of Financial Management engaged in unfair labor practices by refusing to resume bargaining on a full, two-year deal. Gov. Jay Inslee, in his official capacity, and 11 community colleges are also named as defendants. The contract now in place expires next June.

ORGANIZING

► From the National Catholic Reporter — Marquette University uses religious exemption to squash unionizing efforts — Religious colleges and universities don’t have to accept elections overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), thanks to a decision during President Donald Trump’s first administration that broadened the definition of religious freedom. Since that NLRB decision in 2020, Boston College, Seattle University, and St. Leo University in Florida have claimed the religious exemption. Catholic social teaching strongly supports the right of workers to unionize. Pope Francis has spoken out in support of unions, as have the U.S. bishops. “Catholic social teaching supports the right of workers to choose whether to organize, join a union, and bargain collectively, and to exercise these rights without reprisal,” says the bishops’ document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.”

► From Trib Live — Pitt graduate workers unionize in landslide vote — More than 97% of eligible voters went for a union just over a year after organizers kicked off their card campaign. There are roughly 2,100 graduate workers on campus who now have “a voice on the job,” the United Steelworkers said in a statement, through their ability to negotiate their pay, benefits and working conditions. About 40% of graduate student workers now belong to a collective bargaining unit.

► From Dance Magazine — When and How to Unionize — All of these dancers are members of the American Guild of Musical Artists,­ the major union for concert dancers as well as singers and staging staff. Teachers are getting in on the action too, with ballet faculty at the School of American Ballet recently joining AGMA.

READY FOR A VOICE AT WORK? Get more information about how you can join together with co-workers and negotiate for better wages and working conditions. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!

NATIONAL

► From Restaurant Dive — Waffle House claims NLRB process is unconstitutional — SpaceX, Amazon, the American Civil Liberties Union and many other employers have challenged the NLRB’s structure in court, after the Board became more aggressive in enforcing labor law during the Biden administration. Those court challenges to the structure of the board are largely ongoing, but challenges to individual NLRB rules have largely succeeded.

► From the AP — MLB players’ union affiliate reaches agreement with FanDuel after agreeing to dismiss lawsuit — MLB Players sued FanDuel and Underdog Sports in New York Supreme Court on Sept. 16, alleging improper use of names, images and likenesses. “This license builds on our existing agreements in this new category of revenue,” union head Tony Clark said in a statement.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From Reuters — US farm groups want Trump to spare their workers from deportation — Nearly half of the nation’s approximately 2 million farm workers lack legal status, according to the departments of Labor and Agriculture, as well as many dairy and meatpacking workers. Edgar Franks, a former farmworker and political director at Familias Unidas por la Justicia, a worker union in Washington state, said the group is seeing new energy from workers to organize. “The anxiety and fear is real. But if we’re together, there’s a better chance for us to fight back,” he said.

► From the New York Times — Trump Plans Tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico That Could Cripple Trade — President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Monday that he would impose tariffs on all products coming into the United States from Canada, Mexico and China on his first day in office, a move that would scramble global supply chains and impose heavy costs on companies that rely on doing business with some of the world’s largest economies.

► From the Labor Tribune — Union leaders call on Congress, union members to support Social Security Fairness Act — “Millions of proud teachers, fire fighters, postal workers, letter carriers and other public service workers dedicate years of service with the hope of retiring with dignity,” the AFL-CIO said. “But back during Ronald Reagan’s administration, the government cut the hard-earned retirement benefits that these workers earned. Their Social Security checks were slashed if they took a second job after they retired; benefits were even reduced for their surviving spouse.” 

► From Cascade PBS — The Washington state Legislature is more diverse than ever —  Washington’s Democratic legislators have caucuses for members of color, LGBTQ+, and Black and Latino lawmakers. The Members of Color Caucus has grown over the years, with 26 members for the 2023-24 year. In the Senate, there were 10 people in the Members of Color Caucus for the same year. Republicans do not have similar groups for their members, though there are several Republican legislators of color, including Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, and state Reps. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, and the newly elected Gloria Mendoza of Grandview.

INTERNATIONAL

► From CBS News — Labelers training AI say they’re overworked, underpaid and exploited by big American tech companies — There’s a growing global army of millions toiling to make AI run smoothly. They’re called “humans in the loop:” people sorting, labeling, and sifting reams of data to train and improve AI for companies like Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft and Google. It’s gruntwork that needs to be done accurately, fast, and – to do it cheaply – it’s often farmed out to places like [Kenya]. Worse yet, workers told us that some of the projects for Meta and OpenAI were grim and caused them harm. Naftali was assigned to train AI to recognize and weed out pornography, hate speech and excessive violence, which meant sifting through the worst of the worst content online for hours on end.

The Stand posts links to local, national and international labor news every weekday morning. The next edition will be published Monday, December 2. Subscribe to get daily news in your inbox.