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NEWS ROUNDUP

Strikes | Unions & immigration | Price-fixing algorithms

Friday, December 5, 2025

 

STRIKES

► From the NW Labor Press — Nurse practitioners and associate physicians strike at Legacy — “Over the past decade, we’ve all watched Legacy let outstanding providers walk away,” Warsing said during a Dec. 2 press conference. “They’ve gone to OHSU, Kaiser, and out of state to find places where they are supported and valued, leaving patients with fewer, less experienced providers when they need us the most. That forced exodus of talent falls squarely on the shoulders of Legacy’s administration.”…Since the start of the year, more than 2,500 nurses, 100 doctors, and 500 other workers like audiologists and behavioral health clinicians have unionized at Legacy. ONA represents more than 3,500 Legacy workers, including three units of advanced practice providers: the unit now on strike, plus pediatric providers and nurse midwives.

► From the Moses Lake EA:

► From Labor on The Line:

► From CNBC — Starbucks Workers United holds rally in NYC as strikes continue for a third week –Members of other unions, like the AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union, which is affiliated with Workers United, protested alongside baristas, chanting “No coffee, no contract” and “What’s disgusting? Union busting” between speakers. “Their fight is a fight really for all of us, to workers across the country, to corporations like Starbucks, across the country that workers are fed up with the status quo, and they’re not going to take it anymore,” SEIU President April Verrett told CNBC. Twelve demonstrators were arrested for blocking the building’s entrance.

 

LOCAL

► From the Seattle Times — Former EPA lawyer based in Seattle fights Trump-related firing — Ted Yackulic worked for the EPA for nearly 36 years and focused on ensuring polluters paid for environmental cleanup. He would help write orders and negotiate agreements to clean up some of the Northwest’s most polluted places. This summer, he and more than 150 of his colleagues across the U.S. signed a letter advocating for the agency to continue its mission and condemning EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s efforts to dismantle human health and environmental protections and slash the agency’s scientific research and environmental justice programs. Yackulic and 145 other EPA employees who signed the letter were reportedly placed on administrative leave in July.

► From the Seattle Times — Trump immigration crackdown after D.C. shooting ripples through WA  — From her home in Tacoma, S has watched the flurry of immigration policy changes issued by the Trump administration in recent days with horror. The Afghan woman was granted asylum in 2022 and applied for a green card in 2023, but has not received an update on her application since last December, when she fulfilled a request for medical records. She fears that application, now paused, may ultimately be denied, and that her asylum status, under new scrutiny, may be terminated. If her case is litigated, “I would say to the judge, or whoever decides, that I would want to die here,” said S, who asked to go by her first initial because she fears speaking out could negatively impact her immigration case or result in attacks from the public. “I will definitely be killed (if deported), but if I had the choice of dying here —” she stopped, her voice catching in her throat.

► From OPB — Oregon’s largest teachers’ union hosts training to protect students from ICE — The Oregon Education Association announced Wednesday it will host three “anti-ICE” trainings in Bend, Eugene and Oregon City between Friday and Sunday with the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit League of United Latin American Citizens and the Woodburn-based Oregon for All Network. The trainings are a response to a growing number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that have occurred at or around schools during student pickup and drop-off times, as well as operations that have swept up students, including citizens. On Nov. 21, a 17-year-old McMinnville student and U.S. citizen was arrested during his lunch period off of school grounds by ICE officers who smashed his car window to grab and detain him, sending shockwaves through the city. The student has since been released.

► From KOIN — Job postings hint at possible ICE detention center in Portland — On Tuesday, job postings began circulating online hinting that the federal government may open a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Portland. First reported by KGW, jobs were posted by Acuity International seeking a warden, assistant warden, security manager and others. All of the requirements mentioned in the postings pertain to operations within an ICE detention facility with the location designated as Portland, Ore.

► From the Washington State Standard — Police are failing to solve most violent crimes in WA — Police in Washington solved just 44% of reported violent crimes last year, said Marshall Clement, director of the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center. That amounts to solving 62% of homicides, 51% of aggravated assaults, 31% of robberies and just 25% of rapes. “How low can this rate go before the entire criminal justice system is rendered useless?” Clement told a state House panel. “Nothing else in our criminal justice can even happen, rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation, unless we have a system that actually solves the majority of violent crime.”

 

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the NW Labor Press — Portland grain millers get raises of 17% in new BCGTM contract — Grain mill workers in North Portland won raises totaling at least 17% through May 2027 under their new contract with Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) Local 114. The union represents around 20 workers in mill, warehouse, and maintenance work at Grain Craft’s mill at Terminal 4 on the Willamette River. The new contract gave initial raises of 90 cents to $1, depending on the position, plus 5%. That amounts to a $2.15 per hour raise for the lowest paid workers, bringing them up to $26.26. For the highest paid workers, wages rose $2.47 to $30.77. Those raises are retroactive to May 26, 2025, the day after the last contract expired, meaning workers will get more than $1,700 in back pay.

► From the NW Labor Press — Salem paratransit drivers ratify deal — A unit of around 70 drivers and other workers who operate Salem Cherriots’ paratransit and rural regional transit service voted Nov. 15 to ratify a new contract — their first negotiated with a new employer…The new contract gives raises of 7.5% in the first year and 3% for each following year. For drivers and utility workers, the first-year raises are split between 3.75% effective Jan. 1, 2025, and an additional 3.75% effective July 1, 2025. Workers will get retroactive pay. The starting wage for drivers and utility workers was $20.30 but is now $21.85. It’ll go up to $22.50 in less than a month. Call center workers will start at $18.54 next year.

► From the AP — MLB players union gathers to prepare for potentially contentious labor negotiations in 2026 — But the big-spending nature of the $500 million Dodgers — who were led by high-priced stars like Ohtani, Yamamoto, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman — highlighted baseball’s payroll disparity as the MLBPA prepares for a potentially contentious round of labor negotiations leading to the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement next Dec. 1. Union head Tony Clark said formal bargaining will likely begin in the spring, consistent with previous negotiations.

 

NATIONAL

► From Time — Protesters Condemn Trump’s Targeting of Minnesota’s Somali Community: ‘This Is Our Country, Not His’ — Supported by the union groups Minnesota 50501, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and UNITE HERE, protesters held signs that read “Stop deporting our neighbors” and “No ICE, No troops, No Kings.” Others directly called out the President, brandishing placards with statements such as “Dump Trump” and “This is our country, not his.”…Amid calls to “de-ICE our planes,” one of the organizers from UNITE HERE Local 17, Minnesota’s hospitality union, told dozens of protesters the “labor movement is proud to be here today with members of our communities to fight for immigrant workers rights.”

► From the Nation — As Universities Fold to Trump, This Union Is Still Fighting for International Students — For the union, protecting student activism and free speech has been essential. As UC Berkeley and UC San Diego fold under pressure from the federal government to target—and in some cases, prosecute—students involved in pro-Palestinian action, unions have shouldered the task of including free speech protections for international student workers’ into contract language. But while the union has reached tentative agreements with the UC on other issues, progress on international student protections have stalled.

► From Bloomberg Law — Starbucks Workers in California Sue Over Dress Code Expenses — Starbucks Corp. workers in California are accusing the coffee giant of unlawfully failing to pay employees back for their expenses associated with its new dress code. The workers, supported by the Starbucks Workers United union, filed lawsuits Thursday in state and federal court alleging violations of the California Labor Code. They brought claims under the Private Attorneys General Act, which permits workers to sue on behalf of other workers and the state for Labor Code infractions.

► From Yahoo Finance — I Name CEO Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol “Worst CEO of 2025” — Store-level execution continues to deteriorate, product availability is inconsistent, and the company faces expanding employee strikes. These disruptions are now visible enough to undermine the brand’s long-standing premium positioning…Lee and I walked through the operational breakdowns happening across the system. Customers routinely report key menu items being unavailable. In the restaurant industry, that is a cardinal sin. High employee turnover, low hourly wages, and localized labor disputes add fuel to the fire.

► From the Labor Tribune — Labor Movement steps up to help AFGE, IAM District 837 members in need after strike, government shutdown, giving away 1,400 bags of food — The American Federation of Government Employees, International Association of Machinists Dist. 837 (Boeing) and the Missouri AFL-CIO united to support union members impacted by the government shutdown and recent strike at Boeing. After collecting for two weeks, with donations coming in from union members and Missouri Jobs with Justice, on Sunday, Nov. 23, they gave away over 1,400 bags of food to union members impacted by the recently ended government shutdown and the Boeing strike to help them through the next few weeks.

 

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the New York Times — Bipartisan House Group Proposes Long-Shot Health Care Plan — A group of 35 House Republicans and Democrats on Thursday released a plan to scale back and extend for two years the Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, a long-shot effort to address soaring health care premiums. The plan has the backing of roughly 15 Republicans — far short of the “majority of the majority” that has become the standard level of support needed to compel House leadership to allow a bill to receive a floor vote. Almost all of the Republicans who endorsed the measure represent swing districts and expect to face tough re-election races next year, underscoring how potent the issue of rising costs have become.

► From NBC News — Democrats will force a Senate vote on a 3-year extension of Affordable Care Act funds — Schumer’s legislation is all but guaranteed to fail, as many GOP senators want the ACA funds to expire, arguing that the Covid-era subsidies were meant to be temporary and are no longer needed…The vote is the product of a promise that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., made to Democrats in discussions to end the record-long government shutdown last month. Thune reiterated Tuesday that the Senate will vote next week on any bill Democrats propose — but it will require 60 votes to pass, meaning at least 13 Republicans would need to support it.

► From the Seattle Times — Speaker Johnson pleads with Republicans to keep concerns private after tumultuous week — For the first part of 2025, Johnson held together his slim Republican majority in the House to pass a number of President Donald Trump’s priorities, including his massive spending and tax cut plan. But after Johnson kept members out of session for nearly two months during the government shutdown, they returned anxious to work on priorities that had been backlogged for months — and with the reality that their time in the majority may be running out.

► From the Federal News Network — Federal judge blocks imminent State Dept layoffs, as unions seek to reverse RIFs at other agencies — A federal judge in San Francisco is temporarily blocking the State Department from finalizing hundreds of employee layoffs. Judge Susan Illston approved a temporary restraining order on Thursday, preventing the department from officially terminating more than 200 employees, most of them Foreign Service officers. Separately, federal employee unions are asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to reverse more layoffs than agencies have allowed under a spending deal that ended the recent government shutdown.

► From the Labor Tribune — Laborers’ general president warns Senate committee of threats to worker apprenticeship programs — Registered construction apprenticeship programs are a proven path to life-long, family-supporting careers. Those who complete registered apprenticeship programs see earnings that exceed associate degree holders by more than half, Booker told the committee. Those who compete the apprenticeship training, which is free for workers, earn on average $84,000 a year. “Completion of a union registered apprenticeship often provides a life-changing opportunity for those willing to undertake the challenge,” Booker said. He noted that shut down job sites and erratic government investment decisions lessen the likelihood workers will undertake that challenge.

► From Wired — The Trump Administration Wants Immigrants to Self-Deport. It’s a Shit Show — Guidance from the US government for those who have decided to self-deport has been confusing and sparse, leaving many immigration attorneys and advocates in the dark. Some immigrants trying to leave the country voluntarily through government-endorsed mechanisms say they have found themselves in limbo or, worse, detained…For those who do manage to successfully self-deport using the CBP Home app, the Trump administration says it will offer a financial reward of $1,000. But few of the attorneys and experts who spoke to WIRED knew of cases where people had received that money once they left.

► From the Spokesman Review — Spokane joins cities banning use of ‘price-fixing’ algorithms. Their use in the city appears to have been widespread. — Spokane has joined the growing list of cities across the country to ban the use of algorithmic software that landlords have allegedly used to coordinate rent increases, which some Spokane City Council members and prosecutors across the country have likened to cartel-like behavior. Seattle approved a similar ban in July, joining other major cities like San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minneapolis amid mounting concerns and lawsuits alleging that artificial intelligence algorithms are used by groups of landlords to raise rents without fear of being undercut by their competitors.

 

JOLT OF JOY

I’ve long admired the humor and joy Starbucks workers bring to their organizing. Keeping spirits up while fighting against a massive corporation and deeply anti-union CEO is a feat in and of itself. Here’s one of the videos that made me chuckle this week:

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