No nerds, no birds | PDX demonstration | Working parents

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

LOCAL

► From the Seattle Times — Active wildfires, air quality tracker for Washington, Oregon and the PNW — Wildfire potential is tracking above normal through September in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center. Washington’s wildfire season typically runs from June through September and particularly affects the region east of the Cascades. This map tracks active fires and air quality for the Pacific Northwest and southern British Columbia and Alberta provinces in Canada.

► From the Seattle Times — As ICE protesters like ‘Spokane 3’ are targeted, many still stand up — Owens said these federal prosecutions are part of a pattern of political weaponization to repress protest and dissent. “It’s really clear that the federal government is targeting people for prosecution and treatment based upon their political beliefs, based upon people’s refusal to stand by idly and watch egregious behavior occur on our streets by federal agents,” he said. As an example, the same government that is prosecuting people for protesting ICE actions pardoned Jan. 6 rioters and President Donald Trump even tried — and so far failed — to set up a $1.8 billion fund to compensate them.

► From Oregon Live — Riders pay dramatically different prices for identical Uber and Lyft trips, report finds — A test in Oregon matched riders with a pre-selected driver pool associated with the Drivers Union, and compared rider and driver receipts to analyze fares and take rates. Both Lyft and Uber are “pioneers” of the dynamic pricing model, in which prices are flexible rather than fixed…“The companies are extremely guarded about data and how they use it,” wrote Anna Minard, a spokesperson for the Drivers Union. “Given this ongoing information asymmetry, Drivers Union OR was thrilled to partner with Consumer Reports to shed more light on the strange pay and price discrepancies that drivers and riders have certainly noticed, but can’t fully explain on their own.” The median differences between the lowest and highest prices was about 50%, the monthslong investigation found.

► From KREM — Court order requires Spokane-based restaurant to pay $750K in wages, damages after federal investigation — The U.S. Department of Labor said Monday that it has secured a federal consent judgment requiring four Washington-based restaurants to pay $750,000 in back wages and damages to 42 workers after an investigation uncovered minimum wage and overtime violations…Investigators also found that Rancho Chico also violated federal child labor laws prohibiting minors from operating hazardous equipment.

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Aviation has a climate problem. A Moses Lake refinery may help fix it  — California-based Twelve, named after the atomic mass of the molecule at the center of its innovative process, built its first production facility in Moses Lake to capitalize on state tax credits and other subsidies for so-called sustainable aviation fuel, the state’s deep aviation history, and the region’s abundant access to renewable electricity…On Wednesday, Twelve officially celebrated the start of commercial production, a milestone for the company and the industry. The 24/7 factory will produce about 50,000 gallons of sustainable aviation fuel annually when it is running at full tilt.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the Air Current — Next union showdown looms in Boeing’s new era of never-ending labor talks — Every Wednesday, thousands of Boeing engineers show up to work in red shirts emblazoned with a pointed message for the plane maker’s executives: “No Nerds, No Birds.” The displays of solidarity in Boeing’s office towers and labs are growing as engineers and technical workers prepare for labor negotiations later this summer, and a contract that expires Oct. 6. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001 has handed out more than 10,000 red t-shirts to members, along with miniature burn barrels — a nod to picket-line tradition — and desk tents proclaiming, “Giving a damn since 1946.”

► From KGW — Horizon Air flight attendants plan strike demonstration at Portland airport — Horizon Air flight attendants are planning a demonstration outside the Portland International Airport on Tuesday as they push for higher wages and a new labor contract. The event is happening the same day that Alaska Airlines announced that it was breaking ground on a $135 million hangar at the airport to help maintain and repair large aircraft…While the flight attendants work for Horizon Air, organizers said Alaska Air Group controls employee pay and working conditions. Those participating in the demonstration are calling on management to present a contract offer that reflects wage and workplace improvements seen across the airline industry.

► From CBS — UAW members at American Axle ratify pending contract — Members went on strike after their contracts ended on May 31, less than a month after voting to authorize a strike. Members voted by 80% to ratify the new contract, the union said. The new contract, according to a Local 2093 chairperson, included paying workers $30 by 2030, no increase in healthcare premiums, more time off around Christmas, a $2,000 ratification bonus and the commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Veterans Day. Additionally, workers with at least one year of employment will receive nine additional vacation days per year.

ORGANIZING

► From Jacobin — How Penn Graduate Workers Got Their Union Contract — Unlike the dozens of new higher ed unions that organized after 2020, we could no longer count on the NLRB to enforce labor law, since filing an Unfair Labor Practice charge could give the Republican-controlled board an opportunity to overturn student workers’ right to unionize…Activating thousands of our coworkers required us to have thousands of conversations. During each structure test, workers would physically walk through labs and offices to talk with colleagues about the status of the union campaign and ask them to participate in the current petition, sign-on letter, or in-person action…Running structure tests repeatedly, on top of work and school obligations, can get tiring. Sometimes structure tests would plateau and leaders would get disheartened…The secret to overcoming those plateaus was not some convenient shortcut. We simply “turned the crank” harder.

Editor’s note: kudos to the Penn grad workers for writing out this detailed rundown of strategy, an adaptable playbook for lots of workplaces. Worth reading every word.

NATIONAL

► From NPR — Survey confirms the struggle of working parents: ‘No way to be two things at once’  — While the findings may not be surprising, they come as the number of parents engaged in the juggling act has grown. The share of families with moms and dads who are both working full time was 31% in 1975. A half-century later, it’s 52%, according to Pew’s analysis of census data. Meanwhile, the share of families with dads working full time and moms not working has dropped from 42% in 1975 to 23% in 2025, Pew says. Peterson says staying home is not an option for her. Even with two incomes, the family is just getting by. “We don’t have an emergency fund because we just can’t afford to put anything away,” she says. “It’s a hard time that we’re living in right now.”

► From Wired — Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth Admits the Company’s AI Reorg Was ‘Atrocious’ — Meta formed the division of about 6,500 engineers and product managers in March to work on projects aimed at improving the company’s generative AI models. But what workers described as the menial nature of the work prompted one to describe it as “a gulag.”…The unrest inside the AI team is part of a broader downward swing in morale at Meta in the wake of mass layoffs, worker surveillance, and other concerns among employees.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From KUOW — Menopause expert hopeful about WA workplace developments — [Dr. Susan Reed]: “I call hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and mood changes the big three, and those run together, are interchangeable. But if the other half of the world’s population, men, couldn’t sleep for almost a decade and were having hot flashes in work meetings and then had challenges with mood, we’d be in a very different place, I think…We need to get over that hurdle of looking down on people who are experiencing a natural phase of life, and see this as the norm, that if people haven’t slept all night because they’re experiencing a normal stage of their life, that we’re going to make some accommodation. And usually, these folks are going to work better after that.”

► From the Washington State Standard — WA falls again in national education ranking — “Test scores in Washington have been trending upwards since they hit a low point during the pandemic,” Payne said. “A more sophisticated analysis of how our students are doing would measure our recovery since that drop, instead of comparing scores pre-pandemic to post-pandemic.”…Another notable issue the report shows, Boyd said, is a lack of access to early learning. The report found that 57% of children ages 3 and 4 are not in school, a one percentage point decline from the previous reporting period. Boyd flagged rollbacks the state Legislature made this year to pre-kindergarten programs and cuts to child care providers.  She said it’s “really encouraging” that a portion of the state revenue from the new income tax on millionaire earners is slated to help fund early learning programs.

► From the Progressive Grocer — Rhode Island Passes Landmark Statewide Self-Checkout Legislation — The state legislature of Rhode Island has passed S. 2342/H. 7290, a bill mandating a staffing ratio of one grocery worker for every three self-checkout stations. The bill, which was sponsored by Senate President Valarie Lawson and Rep. Megan Cotter, was sent to Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee for his signature. Once signed, it would become the first statewide self-checkout staffing ratio in the country.

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