Strike date set | 50% more billionaires | 17,000 open cases

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

LOCAL

► From KIMA — Applications open for 2025 Working Family Tax Credit — Local families can now apply for the 2025 working family tax credit. This refund can provide families up to $1,330 to people who apply. It has given millions of dollars to eligible applicants, including to thousands in Yakima County. “A lot of people still aren’t aware about working families,” said Sawyer Barrington with the Washington Department of Revenue. “So far, in just a little over three years, over $17 million has been returned back to taxpayers in Yakima County alone.” Families can also apply for this credit for tax years going back to 2022.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the Willamette Week — Impending Strikes at PCC Might Be the Testing Ground for a Controversial Piece of Legislation — Two of PCC’s largest employee unions are barreling toward strikes set to begin March 11, with 94% of members in each union voting Feb. 23 to authorize the walkouts. The two unions represent about 2,300 members across their ranks: about 1,600 in the Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals, and about 700 in the Federation of Classified Employees…Both unions are largely holding out over the PCC administration’s proposed cost-of-living adjustments. PCCFFAP is asking for a 4.25% cost-of-living adjustment in year three of the contract, and 4.5% in the fourth and final year. PCCFCE wants 3% and 3.5%, respectively.

► From the Guardian — A potential strike and a season at risk: why the WNBA’s labor battle is nearing its 11th hour — The reality is, there is so much that needs to happen before the scheduled 8 May opening weekend. A two-team expansion draft must occur with the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. More than 80% of the players are free agents, and teams cannot meet or negotiate new contracts with players or their representatives until the CBA is official. Then there needs to be a college draft (currently slated for 13 April). All players are expected to report to their teams’ training camps, most of which are scheduled to open 19 April. A typical WNBA offseason runs from October to April. With the CBA still unsigned, there’s a rush to cram six months’ worth of events into about five weeks.

ORGANIZING

► From Bloomberg Law — Sex Workers’ Union Push Complicates Fights for IP Rights, Status — A legal brothel outside Las Vegas has emerged as the latest battleground for the fight over entertainment workers’ intellectual property rights and whether organized labor is the answer to advocating for image protections…At issue is their future earnings, as job prospects are limited after they leave the profession, said Jupiter Jetson, a former Sheri’s Ranch worker who says she was fired for her part in the initial organizing drive. “There is a stigma that carries with you,” said Jetson, who asked to be referred to by her stage name out of concern for her safety. “For a lot of us monetizing our name, image, likeness, our creativity is the best path forward for when it’s time to leave the ranch.”…If successful, the drive would mark the first time US brothel workers have unionized, according to the CWA.

NATIONAL

► From the New York Times — America’s Billionaires Continue to Flock to Wyoming — A New York Times analysis shows the stunning velocity at which the fortunes of the 1 percent have increased across the country since President Trump first took office in 2017. The richest Americans saw their net worth soar 120 percent between 2017 and 2025, a colossal leap from the 45 percent growth they had seen over the previous nine years. The number of U.S. billionaires jumped 50 percent by some estimates between 2017 and 2025, to more than 900 people…The minting of dozens of new billionaires occurred in the immediate wake of the 2017 tax cuts championed by Mr. Trump at the beginning of his first term, the nation’s biggest tax overhaul since 1986. The legislation, which slashed personal income taxes and doubled the estate tax exemption, was billed by Mr. Trump as “tax cuts for American families.” But the Times analysis, backed up by a range of new studies, shows that it disproportionately benefited wealthier taxpayers.

► From the Minnesota Star Tribune — Close to 650 federal agents remain in Minnesota weeks after border czar announced end of operation — The announcement promising a full drawdown was met with skepticism from many Minnesota residents and activist groups, who say that arrests have continued daily, particularly in the suburbs. The estimates in Noem’s testimony and the recent declarations show the state still has roughly four times the number Homan promised. Erika Zurawski, a co-founder of the group Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), said she was not surprised by the discrepancies in the numbers provided by Homan and Noem. “Were we not surprised to find that the Trump administration lied? Absolutely not,” Zurawski said. “It’s not just that we weren’t surprised. It’s exactly what we expected.”

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Washington State Standard — WA governor: Passage of income tax could slip to 2027 — Ferguson said he is “hopeful” an agreement can be reached by the end of the session March 12. “I am committed to making sure we get this right, even if that means coming back next year to finish the bill in a longer session,” he wrote in an email to political donors and supporters…Late Tuesday, the chair of the House Finance Committee said the bill has a “strong path forward.” “I am confident we will have a bill in front of the governor to sign by the end of session,” said Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek…Rep. Chipalo Street, D-Seattle, noted that there is “a lot of consensus” between the House, Senate, and governor on how to structure the tax and spend the revenue. And he suggested House lawmakers could be open to some of Ferguson’s proposals, such as expanding a tax exemption in the bill for small businesses or providing broader sales tax relief.

► From the Washington Post — Cornyn, Paxton reach runoff; other takeaways from big election night — Cornyn far outraised Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, another primary challenger, but could not secure a majority against the scandal-plagued Paxton as they battle between their visions of traditional conservatism or a MAGA-backed bombast. More than 2.3 million Texans voted, similar to turnout in the 2024 Republican presidential primary and slightly up from the 2020 totals, when 2 million voted in the Republican primary contest. Whoever wins will face off against state Rep. James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian preaching a blend of Christianity and economic populism who is trying to appeal to moderate voters. Republicans are the favorites, but that edge could shrink if Paxton is the nominee…Tuesday’s results confirmed the November matchup for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina that many expected: Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman, will face off against the state’s former governor, Roy Cooper, after both were projected to defeat their primary opponents.

► From Bloomberg Law — NLRB Has 17,000 Open Unfair Labor Cases, Operations Chief Says — The National Labor Relations Board has approximately 17,000 open unfair labor practice investigations on hand, including almost 10,000 cases that have been pending review for more than six months, according to an agency official. The NLRB typically processes 20,000 ULP cases per year, meaning that clearing those lingering cases represents half of the year’s production, NLRB operations division chief William Cowen said Tuesday at an American Bar Association conference in Hawaii. “We have to slog through 10,000 new cases that are over six months old and a total of over 17,000 open investigations, and we need everyone’s help,” Cowen said to the labor lawyers attending the conference.

► From the 19th News — Idaho considers an ‘apocalyptic’ choice for disabled people and families — Stephanie Walters doesn’t know what she will do if Idaho stops funding home care for her daughter. Until recently, this option would have been unthinkable. But because of steep cuts to Medicaid from Donald Trump’s signature policy measure, state officials are considering the unthinkable…Home care is already underfunded, according to experts. Even a small reduction in services could drastically impact the lives of people with disabilities and the families who rely on them. National- and state-level disability and aging advocates warned throughout the negotiations around the president’s tax legislation, known as the “one big, beautiful bill,” that cuts to Medicaid would severely impact the most vulnerable.

► From Orlando Weekly — The battle over Florida’s unions is driven by political favors, out-of-state interest groups, and confusion — Both last year’s bill and this year’s glitch legislation have notably gained the backing of groups like the Koch-founded Americans for Prosperity and out-of-state think tanks like the Freedom Foundation, based in Washington, and the Mackinac Center, based in Michigan. The Freedom Foundation, a self-proclaimed co-author of last year’s legislation, has limited political capital in their home state, which has been amenable to pro-union policy changes in recent years. On the West Coast, the group has accomplished little in their mission of reducing public sector unions’ power. Their primary schtick these days is sending misleading mailers to union members across the country, urging them to “opt out” of their unions.

► From Orlando Weekly reporter McKenna Schueler:

Rusty Brown, a lobbyist for the Freedom Foundation — a primary backer of anti-union legislation (SB 1296) rapidly advancing thru the FL Legislature — openly admits his group’s goal is to reduce or eliminate public sector unions, not just boost “accountability” pic.twitter.com/ZCH5kR9OGH

— McKenna Schueler (@SheCarriesOn) March 3, 2026

INTERNATIONAL

► From the AP — Supply chain disruptions from the Iran war could raise prices for drugs, electronics and more — The Iran war has effectively halted oil tanker movement in the key Strait of Hormuz. But it’s also disrupting the wider global supply chain beyond oil, affecting everything from pharmaceuticals from India, semiconductors from Asia and oil-derived products like fertilizers that come from the Middle East. Cargo ships are stuck in the Gulf or making a much longer detour around the southern tip of Africa. Planes carrying air cargo out of the Middle East are grounded. And the longer the war drags on, the more likely that there will be shortages and price increases on a wide range of goods.

► From People’s World — When contracts protect profits but not workers — On October 14, 2025, in a garment factory in Dhaka’s Mirpur area, sixteen workers died owing to a fire that ripped through the factory. After the incident, survivors described the chaos and panic that ensued…The problem here doesn’t lie with mere accidents; rather, the issue here is structural. The law isn’t enough to safeguard the workers and prevent these accidents. The regulatory frameworks of the country are weak, the enforcement is not properly monitored, and it is quite easy to bend. The only possible solution to this can be a real legal overhaul.

The Stand posts links to local, national and international labor news every weekday morning. Subscribe to get daily news in your inbox.