Whirlpool layoffs | Mental health bill passes | Federal workers

Friday, March 6, 2026

LOCAL

► From the NW Labor Press — Union smells something rotten at Sunstone — Fire the bosses. That’s what several dozen union members called for Feb. 24 after shocking allegations about their employer, a Portland nonprofit that serves the homeless…“Sunstone Way as an organization is not likely to last much longer under its current leaders, either due to continued mismanagement of funds or losing contracts because of its now very public track record,” said Sunstone case manager Joy Nicholson at the rally.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the Willamette Week — Portland-Area Lab Workers Win First Labor Deal — Laboratory workers who run blood, tissue, stool and toxicology tests for untold numbers of patients in Oregon and Southwest Washington have reached a first contract agreement with the company Labcorp, a significant victory in a yearslong labor organizing effort. The nearly 500 workers—ranging from lab technicians to phlebotomists—are represented by the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

► From the Guardian — USL emails players about union resignation procedures as strike looms — On Wednesday night, the United Soccer League (USL) emailed every player contracted in the second-division Championship with information about the procedures for crossing a potential picket line and resigning their membership in the USL Players’ Association, multiple sources have confirmed to the Guardian…The USL Players Association released a statement in response…“The Players Association has been transparent with membership every step of the way, and players are fully aware of their rights and the realities of these negotiations,” the statement reads in part. “The bigger question is why a professional soccer league is warning players about the consequences of a strike instead of addressing why so many players felt compelled to authorize their bargaining committee to call one if necessary.”

ORGANIZING

► From the NW Labor Press — KGW workers stand firm against anti-union campaign — In the face of a fierce anti-union campaign by KGW-TV, television news producers voted 17 to 3 to join an existing bargaining unit of newscast directors and broadcast engineers represented by IBEW Local 48…But Tegna, KGW’s parent company, hasn’t accepted the result, and is filing frivolous legal objections to delay union recognition, according to an attorney for the union…McElligott said it was the most aggressive and over-the-top anti-union campaign she’s seen in almost 20 years in the labor movement. Despite that, news producers stood firm in their choice of union representation. Now the challenge will be to get the company to negotiate in good faith. Stay tuned.

NATIONAL

► From CBS News — U.S. manufacturers are still shedding thousands of jobs, as workers ask White House for help — About 350 Whirlpool factory workers in rural Iowa will lose their jobs on March 9 — a blow to a community where the plant has anchored the local economy for eight decades…”This is a story that needs to be told to the American public,” Brian Bryant, international president of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), the union that represents about 1,300 Whirlpool workers, told CBS News. “Everything’s not rosy in this country, and every day, workers’ jobs are still in jeopardy by corporations that favor profits over the workforce.” He added, “As much as this administration preaches that they’re going to stop that, we’re not seeing that.”

Editor’s note: sign the workers’ petition today.

► From the Washington Post — The U.S. labor market lost 92,000 jobs in February — The U.S. labor market lost 92,000 jobs in February in a striking loss signaling the economy’s vulnerability after a tough month for health care industry jobs, which have been propping up the labor market…For the past year, the job market has been surprisingly sturdy, even in the face of high interest rates, changing economic policy and looming uncertainty. That’s largely thanks to the booming health care sector, fueled by demand for services from an aging population.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Kitsap Sun — WA proposal aimed at opening up mental health care in trades industry — “It’s that old mentality that if you’re in construction, logging or commercial fishing you’re tough,” said Moe, president of both the Laborer’s Local 252 union and Olympic Peninsula Building and Construction Trades Council. “It’s time someone stepped up and said this is an issue.”…House Bill 2492, passed with bipartisan support on Feb. 28, requires that all state-registered apprenticeship programs in the building and construction trades offer at least two hours of behavioral health and wellness training starting in July of 2027. It’s a mandate supporters argue is subtle but could make a profound difference…“Every person I know who works in construction has been touched by a suicide or other mental health issue,” Clint Bryson, president of the Washington State Association of Electrical Workers, said during testimony on HB 2492.

► From the Seattle Times — Federal court upholds Seattle’s delivery driver rights law — The split ruling from the three-judge panel likely means the law is here to stay. The companies brought their case in late 2024, just before the law was scheduled to take effect in early 2025. They appealed after a lower court judge rejected their arguments. Passed in 2023 as part of a broader effort by the Seattle City Council to regulate the so-called gig economy, the law requires companies to write a “reasonable” policy for when and why drivers can be deactivated…The law also requires companies to provide drivers with advanced notice of being deactivated and more opportunities to appeal the decision.

► From the Olympian — Controversy over changes to investigative power is ‘kind of silly,’ WA AG says — SB 5925 would allow the state’s AG to issue civil investigative demands (CIDs) for oral testimony, documents and responses to written questions when probing potential violations of the U.S. or state constitutions, plus statutes like the Washington Law Against Discrimination, the City and County Jails Act and law enforcement requirements under the Keep Washington Working Act, according to the bill report…Attorney General Nick Brown dismissed Republican comments about the legislation amounting to a power grab as “kind of silly.” “But I do think people are confused by an expansion of our authority versus an expansion of our tools,” he said in a call.

► From the Daily News — Demonstrators rally for immigrant health care access — The rally, organized by SEIU 775, drew roughly 100 protestors from across the state carrying signs reading “Care cuts kills,” “Care has no borders” and “Billionaires are stealing from us” while echoing chants in English, Spanish and Ukrainian. Due to federal funding cuts, the ability of immigrants across the nation to access health care through programs like Medicaid has become severely limited…Shaine Truscott, a SEIU 775 vice president, said Washington legislators can do better. “As you talk about your numbers, you need to think about the lives, think about what these dollars mean to real people, live up to the values we know you hold dear and make sure that not a single life is left without care,” she said.

► From the New York Times — An Assertive Supreme Court Turns to Curbing State Courts — Since President Trump returned to the White House, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has shown a willingness to short-circuit lower-court proceedings with a slew of emergency rulings in federal cases. But this was a rare instance in which the justices leapfrogged the state courts, too — a sign, legal experts said, that despite intense scrutiny of how the Supreme Court has been using its emergency docket, the conservative justices appear to be expanding its use rather than constraining it.

► From the Government Executive — Continuing to shed federal workers remains ‘priority number one,’ White House official says — He and other administration officials at the event extolled the possibilities of using artificial intelligence to reduce headcount without impacting government services…Ueland acknowledged the disruption federal workers will continue to face going forward through ongoing agency reorganizations and initiatives such as Schedule Policy/Career, which will convert tens of thousands of civil servants into at-will employees who serve at an administration’s whims.

INTERNATIONAL

► From the Morning Star (UK) — Women workers won’t settle for less — It’s not enough for us just to oppose the “glass ceilings” that prevent the individual advancements of some women in the workplace, important though that is. No, we have to demand better for all women…When governments fail to invest in childcare, families and public services, women are first to feel the impact. We can’t wait for anyone else to fight these battles for us. Our basic rights as workers are fundamental to improving our rights as women. So we shouldn’t be thinking it’s job done with the limited improvements the government’s making to workers’ rights.

TODAY’S MUST-READ

► From the New York Times — Is the U.S. Tax Code Anti-Feminist? — For many Americans, taxes are a chore to complete once a year. But if you reflect on the tax code long enough, you may see it differently — as a reflection of values, or even a national anthem…What would the tax code look like if it were reimagined through a feminist framework?…The tax code often assumes that economic resources within a household are shared equally and that caregiving has no independent economic value. Both assumptions obscure the realities of inequality and disproportionately disadvantage women…The fact that child care is treated as a personal expense rather than a work-related necessity is a huge issue.

JOLT OF JOY

As the saying goes, good riddance to bad cabinet secretaries.

 

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