Do better, Good Sam | Unions build workers’ wealth | Clean energy red tape

Friday, May 29, 2026

LOCAL

► From the Tacoma News Tribune — OPINION: ‘Colored nurses?’ Do better Good Samaritan Hospital — I’m an African American, Black RN who has worked in various nursing roles for over 30 years, the last 13 in the ICU at Good Sam. I have never seen the term “colored” used to describe African Americans. Not since I was a child in the early 1960s, a time when that word was still seen and Black people were still being called “colored” by white people. The use of the word “colored” — in this day and age — was a slap in the face, made worse by the fact that the committee members are almost entirely white…If a term like “colored nurses” can slip into an agenda, we must continue looking into racial issues and bias at Good Samaritan – not just for nurses and other staff, but also for our patients

► From the Seattle Times — Details emerge of complex cleanup effort after deadly Longview tank implosion — Complex cleanup and recovery efforts are underway in the aftermath of an implosion at a Longview pulp mill that has likely killed 11 people and led to the release of hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemicals into the environment. The city of Longview’s drinking water source has been protected from the contamination, and air quality monitoring has not identified hazards to human health, officials said at a Thursday afternoon news conference near Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co.’s mill…After the fatal implosion, those working to clean up and investigate the site likely face the biggest risks of exposure to the chemicals, said Marissa Baker, director of the Industrial Hygiene Program at the University of Washington.

► From the Stranger — ICE Retaliates Against Hunger Strikers at NWDC — The hunger strike was organized by 44-year-old Rogelio Enrique Bolufé Izquierdo, a Cuban-born NWDC detainee and leader of the grassroots group Unión de Secuestrados por ICE (USI), whose name translates to the Union of those Kidnapped by ICE. Bolufé formed the group in April while detained at a CoreCivic detention center in Torrance County, New Mexico. He organized a hunger strike, which is why he was transferred to the NWDC in May. Now it appears he has been transferred again, says Josefina Mora-Cheung, director of organizing at La Resistencia…These sudden transfers are new, at least at NWDC, says Mora-Cheung. “People are placed in isolation, or people are sent to a different unit, but we’ve never seen this,” Mora-Cheung said.

► From KUOW — Washington seniors face denied, delayed care under AI Medicare review program — Representatives from 16 Washington hospitals reported that patients are now waiting two to four times longer to have procedures authorized, according to the Washington State Hospital Association. University of Washington Medicine said authorizations at its four hospitals that used to take one to three days now take 15 to20 days. “If someone is needing to wait and living every day in pain, there’s real consequences to their daily life,” said Jacqueline Barton True, an advocate with the state hospital association.

► From the Spokesman Review — Updated: Former leader of federal prosecutors in Spokane criticizes outcome of ICE protest trial, the first of its kind locally — “I question whether justice truly was served by today’s verdict,” said the former acting U.S. Attorney Richard Barker, who resigned shortly before the indictment against the three protesters was signed…“This was the first conspiracy prosecution in Eastern Washington history under 18 U.S.C. Section 372 – a Civil War-era law dusted off to punish members of the Spokane community who stood up for two young men who were unlawfully detained by ICE,” Barker told The Spokesman-Review in a statement…“The prosecutors in this case knew that if they had integrity, they would have resigned, like Richard Barker did,” Mavalwalla Sr. said. “I have no complaints about the judge. I have no complaints about the jury. This is our system, but the jury was not given the information necessary to reach a fair (decision).”

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the Athletic — How collective bargaining agreements gave NWSL players autonomy: ‘It does take a village’ — Resources for players in the NWSL were cemented in the league’s first collective bargaining agreement in 2022, which guaranteed players parental leave. The protections and resources strengthened as years went on — and formally, again, when the league renegotiated its current contract with the player in 2024, which runs through 2030. NWSL players are offered pregnancy protection and parental leave. One key stipulation specifies that, if a player’s contract expires during their leave, clubs must provide a minimum 30-day training camp opportunity to help players return to competition. Players are also offered childcare stipends and travel support and resources to grow their families through fertility support.

► From Variety — Netflix Feature Animators Vote to Ratify First Union Contract with The Animation Guild — The first contract with the guild establishes wage minimums, dismissal pay, and workplace protections for production workers, representing a major moment in animation. The organizing campaign started back in August 2023 and the unit gained Union recognition during a National Labor Relations Board election on Dec. 30, 2025.

NATIONAL

► From Fortune — Labor union participation is on the rise even as U.S. companies spend $1.7 billion annually to halt union formation — Teke Wiggin, one of the study’s authors and the strategic coordinator at LaborLab, told Fortune. “Instead of doing what they’re doing, they could recognize the union and negotiate a decent first contract, and they would often be spending the same amount of money.”..In 2024, a total of 153 employers filed a financial disclosure related to hiring a union consultant—but more than 3,200 union election petitions were filed, showing significant underreporting as more than 70% of employees hire consultants when faced with union organizing, a separate LaborLab report shows.

► From the Center for American Progress — Unions Build Wealth for All Americans — New Center for American Progress analysis finds households with a union member have roughly two times the wealth of households without a union member—equivalent to an additional $241,100 in median household wealth. All Americans experience significant wealth gains from union membership, though the largest proportional benefits occur for families of color and working-class families, defined as those with less than a four-year college degree. For families of color, Hispanic and Black union households hold 4.6 and 3.2 times the wealth of their nonunion counterparts, respectively, while union households that are white, Asian, or other races hold between 1.8 and 2.0 times as much.

► From the Washington Post — Flight attendants are asking passengers to please stop touching them — Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said there may be several factors at play. Passengers and crew are in close quarters on a plane. Travelers may feel like flight attendants are “a part of the furniture.”…“All of those things sort of come together to also create this dynamic where you might do something that you would never think to do in another situation,” Nelson said. Flight attendants would prefer that passengers interact with them like they would with employees at any other place of business, said Sam Wilkins, a flight attendant for 28 years and first vice president of TWU Local 556, the union that represents Southwest flight attendants.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From KNKX — Clean energy advocates facing red tape in Washington look for answers in Texas — A recent report by an environmental nonprofit and a research firm showed that 250 clean energy developments worth almost $150 billion are stuck in limbo in Washington…Doglio said her main takeaway is that Washington needs to simplify its permitting processes. She said too many clean energy projects here are stopped by people who don’t want them in their own backyards. Right now, that is the case with several battery storage projects that could make solar and wind energy developments viable. As she looks forward to the next legislative session, Doglio said, “We have to stop dragging our heels” while still protecting the environment.

JOLT OF JOY

We’re headed across the pond for today’s bright spot, where trade unions stepped up to fund a local Pride celebration after the anti-worker, pro-bigotry Reform-led council pulled support. It’s an act of solidarity that echoes the queer community’s support for striking miners in the 1980s, which saw thousands raised to help support mining families in Wales (for more on that history, may I recommend the 2014 film Pride.)

 

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