UAW member deported | PeaceHealth negotiations | Retiree power

Thursday, April 9, 2026

LOCAL

► From KING 5 — UW graduate student deported through SEA as protesters demand answers — A protest broke out at SEA International Airport on Wednesday after federal authorities deported a University of Washington graduate student and his 13-year-old son, according to the union representing UW graduate student workers. UAW 4121 said Kennedy Orwa, a PhD student in UW’s Information School, was detained at SEA with his son Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, union leaders said, they learned Orwa would be deported and quickly organized an emergency gathering at the airport to try to stop it. Union president Natalie Wellen said Orwa’s visa was rescinded late Wednesday morning, but she said the union was not given an explanation why.

► From the UW Daily — UW graduate student questioned and detained at Sea-Tac, removed from United States — “Basically, within the last 24 hours, this graduate student was on a visa,” UAW 4121 president Natalie Wellen said. “Everything seemed fine, but something happened at Sea-Tac when this graduate student was detained and the visa was revoked.” According to Wellen, the graduate student received a call instructing them to collect luggage from a location separate from baggage claim –– they were then detained…Wellen also said that UAW 4121 has called on the university and local elected officials to support the reinstatement of the graduate student. “By having a community network, then we can ensure that those who are currently making these calls to try and take away people’s rights, know that it can’t happen without a fight,” Wellen said.

► From the Washington State Standard — Despite court ruling, WA still blocked from inspecting immigrant detention center — Officials from the state Department of Health tried to inspect most recently on March 20, according to the agency. The GEO Group, which runs the detention center, turned them away. This was the ninth unsuccessful inspection attempt since 2023…“I am super frustrated that we know that there’s people who are hurting and we haven’t been able to help problem-solve what’s happening there,” Lauren Jenks, the Department of Health’s assistant secretary for environmental public health, said at the time. “People in a detention center like this are among the most vulnerable people in Washington, and who’s looking out for them?”…The court’s ruling formally took effect early last month. GEO has until mid-May to file with the nation’s high court. GEO is already asking the justices to take a look at another case from Washington state. The company is appealing a $23 million verdict it faces in a lawsuit over its minimal pay of detainees who did work like janitorial tasks and laundry at the Tacoma detention center.

► From the Seattle Times — Despite new contract, WA ICE detention center population shrinks — Last June, the federal government’s immigrant detention center in Tacoma — then supposed to hold a maximum of 1,575 people — was so full amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown that several dozen were transferred to an Alaska jail. As of Friday, the number of people detained at the Tacoma facility had dropped to 919, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Medina Democrat who visited the facility that day. The sharp decrease happened even as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agreed to a new contract with the GEO Group that ups the jail-like facility’s capacity to 1,635…The immigrant advocacy group La Resistencia, which also announced news of a contract for the facility Wednesday, provided The Seattle Times with a copy of a government document showing GEO will be paid $69 million.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From OFNHP:

@ofnhp Today, the Professionals at PeaceHealth were back at the negotiating table, this time for their fourteenth bargaining session. While making progress on key issues important to careproviders and the future of care, management is still refusing to address nearly two dozen proposals. When are PeaceHealth executives going to finally stop wasting money and do what’s best for all of us? #healthcareworker #unionstrong #fyp #peacehealthsouthwest #professionals ♬ original sound – OFNHP

► From Bloomberg — FedEx Reaches Tentative Deal with Pilots’ Union After Five Years — FedEx Corp. pilots reached a tentative labor agreement with the parcel company, marking a significant step toward resolving nearly five years of negotiations. The pact includes hourly pay increases of nearly 40% this year followed by 3% annual raises increases starting in 2028, according to the Air Line Pilots Association, the union representing FedEx pilots. Captains will also receive as much as $150,000 to cover raises missed during negotiations, while first officers will get up to $102,500.

► From Deadline — WGA Reveals Details Of Its Studio Deal — The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has agreed to pay a record $321 million into the WGA health plan. In exchange, as we exclusively reported in December, the writers will tack another year onto the contract…The union also touted increases in domestic and foreign residuals for streaming. The success bonus established by the 2023 contract will increase to a 75% base residual for the most popular shows. The contract also includes annual minimum rate increases. The AMPTP agreed to continue holding meetings with the writers union on AI implementation and notify the guild if a studio licenses writers’ work for AI training. It does not establish any pay for writers for AI training. The deal also retains the status quo on minimum staffing.

► From AM NY — NYU professors ratify their first union contract after March walkout — NYU professors who went on strike last month formally announced on Wednesday that, after years of negotiating, they have finally reached their first union contract with the school’s administration. The contract for the nearly 1,000 professors, all of whom are members of Contract Faculty United – UAW (CFU-UAW), includes protections for academic freedom and job security, new benefits including a $200,000-per-year fund for immigration expenses and an optional retirement buyout, and “best-in-the-nation” pay, including an average raise of 20%.

NATIONAL

► From People’s World — When measuring our movement’s strength, don’t overlook retirees — There were a lot of seniors in the giant No Kings III events across the country on March 28. The contrast with the last great American protest upsurge during the Vietnam War was evident. Back in those days, nearly all the protesters were young students. It’s a lot different now. It will come as no surprise that those same young people from the 1960s, now with gray hair and grandchildren in tow, are marching today. They make up a substantial part of today’s protest movement.

► From the AP — Trump promised to cut electric costs in half. Bills in energy-rich West Virginia now top mortgages — Every month, Rebecca Michalski takes a deep breath before opening her electric bill. She lives on a fixed income, and heating her small house this winter has been staggering: Her February charge was $940.08 — more than her check…Coal remains king here, but it wears a pricey crown. The state is an outlier nationwide because of its stubborn resistance to adopting cleaner, cheaper sources of energy, such as nuclear power, natural gas — even though it’s one of the nation’s top producers — and renewables like wind and solar.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Washington Post — Trump’s labor plan is a massive 401(k) greed grab for Wall Street — With millions of workers lacking access to workplace retirement plans, the Labor Department has decided that a more pressing matter is giving Wall Street firms access to a lucrative market — your 401(k)…This push to add complex investments feels like a case of “misplaced priorities,” focusing on Wall Street’s needs while ignoring the struggles of average workers, according to Christine Benz, the director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar and author of “How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement.” The companies behind these alternative investments have lobbied hard to get onto plans, arguing investors could see higher returns than traditional stocks and bonds. But with higher returns come higher risks. Employees are better off in the simple, and yes, boring low-cost index funds.

► From CBS News — Trump administration personnel agency is asking for federal workers’ medical records — A brief notice from the Office of Personnel Management could dramatically change which personally identifiable medical information the agency obtains, giving it the power to see prescriptions employees had filled or what treatment they sought from doctors. The regulation would require 65 insurance companies that cover more than 8 million Americans — including federal workers, retired members of Congress, mail carriers, and their immediate family members — to provide monthly reports to OPM with identifiable health data on their members.

► From the Washington Post — Supreme Court remade by Trump ushers in historic defeats for civil rights — Overall, the Supreme Court has consistently leaned to the right for 50 years. That pattern has persisted despite the country being closely divided politically and the White House and Congress regularly changing hands between Democrats and Republicans. Republican presidents have had more opportunities to name justices than Democratic presidents have had…Nelson, the Penn State professor who was a co-author of the analysis and studies public support for the courts, said the partisan tilt of recent decisions and the divides among the justices probably have helped drive the court’s decline in public approval over the past five years.

INTERNATIONAL

► From Reuters — Lufthansa cabin crew union calls one-day strike in Germany — Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), opens new tab faces a one-day strike this week, the airline’s third labor disruption in two months. The cabin crew union UFO has ​called on staff at the core Lufthansa brand and its ‌feeder airline Cityline to hold a one-day strike on Friday…Cityline cabin crew at nine German airports are ​set to walk out during the same period. In votes held ​at the end of March, the vast majority of those surveyed voted in favour of strike action following the breakdown of talks.

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