Union sister Dolly | Skagit contract win | Construction workers’ mental health

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

LOCAL

► From the Snohomish County Tribune — Snohomish foundation’s Trades Initiative erases training barriers to enter workforce — “As Boomers are dropping off the workforce, we need people to replace them,” Charlotte Murry, the head of the Snohomish & Island County Labor Council federation of local unions, said. “We’re starting to see the pinch.” Within Snohomish County, the state Employment Security Department lists welders, aircraft technicians, auto service mechanics, auto body repairers, diesel specialists and electromechanical assemblers each as in-demand occupations locally right now.

► From KUOW — WA Rep. Randall calls treatment of Tacoma ICE detainees ‘absolutely a human rights violation’ — “Having medical providers available and having folks be able to access health care seem to be two different things, and denying people access to health care when they are in the custody of the U.S. government is absolutely a human rights violation…I have heard about the potential sale of the GEO facility to ICE, to the U.S. government. While I also have concerns about private for-profit detention facilities, my concern with this sale is that it would be a no-bid contract that would be meant to enrich the owner, the CEO of GEO, who is an active Trump supporter.”

► From the Seattle Times — ICE targets certain immigrants at Sea-Tac Airport amid national push — Under the new crackdown, people who flew domestically for years without issues using their foreign passport or work authorization permit are being detained. Many of the people now targeted have active immigration cases, such as a pending asylum application or pending green card application through a marriage with a U.S. citizen…Many non-citizens file for asylum or a green card while their visa is still valid, like Khalifa, but end up waiting years for any update in their immigration case, ultimately slipping out of status while awaiting resolution.  The U.S. immigration courts and administrative system have become overwhelmed with applications over the years, leading to a massive backlog.

► From the Bellingham Herald — Appeals court rules construction company violated state law in Birch Bay cave-in — A Washington Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a Burlington-based construction company failed to protect employees in a trench that caved in during work on a project in Birch Bay, leaving one hospitalized…At one point, dirt from a trench wall fell in and buried the employee up to his neck. He testified in the court of appeals that the trench was above his head, and he got in because the supervisor told him to…According to court records, the employee had raised a complaint about the width of the trench about a week prior to the cave-in.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the Seattle Times — Seattle teachers ‘likely’ to vote on a strike. Here’s what that means — After months of negotiating with the district, the Seattle Education Association’s entire membership will gather Wednesday evening at the Seattle Convention Center to vote: either to approve a tentative contract, or to authorize a strike. If members do authorize a strike, it would likely begin Sept. 2 — the scheduled first day of the 2026-27 school year for the nearly 50,000 SPS students…As of Monday afternoon, the union and the district still had 50 items they had not reached tentative agreements on, according to the union…Among those outstanding agreements are three key priorities for the union: Teacher pay, special education staffing and class sizes.

► From the Skagit Valley Herald — Skagit County, Public Works employees agree on contract — After about a year and half without a contract, Skagit County and the union representing about 70 county Public Works employees have come to an agreement. The employees, who are members of American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Council 2, have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2024. The Skagit County Board of Commissioners approved the contract Monday.

NATIONAL

► From the Nation — Dolly Parton Was a Proud Union Sister — And, of course, Service Employees International Union Local 925, which can trace its roots to the 1970s organizing of women office workers that helped to inspire Parton’s iconic film, added its voice of solidarity. “We’re not in the habit of recognizing celebrity deaths here at 925. That said, Dolly Parton is a national treasure and some folks here joke that Dolly is our Local’s patron saint,” declared the union activists. “After all, her song ‘9 to 5’ is our anthem.”

► From the American Federation of Musicians — AFM Statement on the Passing of Dolly Parton — “Before she was an icon, Dolly was a working musician,” says Tino Gagliardi, AFM International President…“Throughout her 58 years as a proud member in good standing of Local 257, she set the gold standard for supporting her band and fellow musicians. Dolly and her team consistently filed AFM union contracts for gigs, sessions, and tours, ensuring that the bands, singers, and studio musicians working alongside her received the benefits of union membership,” says Dave Pomeroy, President Local 257.

► From In These Times — Former Strikers Start Cooperative News Organization — This week, workers and community supporters launched the cooperative news organization, the Pittsburgh Progress, which aims to uplift the voices of working-class communities. Working People’s Maximillian Alvarez sat down with several former strikers at the Post-Gazette—now worker-owners of the Progress—to discuss what the birth of the Progress means for working people in and beyond Pittsburgh.

► From the New York Times — Major Study Finds at Least 1 in 4 NFL Players Gets CTE — Experts say that the rate of brain disease represents an occupational safety hazard with little comparison in the American workplace…The N.F.L. Players Association, the union representing players, said that the new study “is a sobering reminder that football carries real risks, and those risks can have lasting consequences for players and their families.” It added: “The findings should serve as a call to action across the entire football ecosystem.”

► From Becker’s Hospital Review — Nation’s largest nurses union to protest Palantir in 8 cities — The protests, described by the union as its largest coordinated action against Palantir to date, are set for Palo Alto, Calif.; Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Portland, Maine; Asheville, N.C.; Austin, Texas; and New Orleans. National Nurses United, which represents more than 225,000 registered nurses, said Palantir now manages data systems tied to more than one-fifth of U.S. hospital beds.

► From Stars & Stripes — Lawsuit over sexual assault aboard Navy transport ship dismissed as worker’s comp issue — A judge dismissed a lawsuit from a civilian engineer in the Military Sealift Command after it was determined that her report of being raped in her own bed aboard a Navy transport ship was within her duties and must be treated as a worker’s comp claim. The order handed down this month closed a multiyear attempt by Elsie Dominguez to get justice for an assault she said threw her personal and professional lives into shambles.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From Global Construction Review — “Unacceptably high”: Senator tables bill to reduce suicide among construction workers — The study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would assess employment and financial stability, substance and alcohol use, access to healthcare, employment benefits and employee assistance programs. The bill, tabled by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and called the Constructing the Path to Suicide Prevention Act, would also require the Department of Health and Human Services to recommend prevention strategies to Congress.

► From the Seattle Times — WA sues Trump administration again over mail ballot restrictions  — Washington sued the Trump administration Wednesday, trying to block the president’s proposed rules that could throw the state’s vote-by-mail system into chaos just two months before this year’s midterm elections…“The Constitution is clear: states control elections — not the president,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said Wednesday. “The U.S. Postal Service doesn’t have the authority to deny Washingtonians the ability to vote. We will protect the rule of law.”

► From the Chinook Observer — Congresswoman tours peninsula hospital, new clinic — Chayet told Gluesenkamp Perez during the tour of the clinic that she hopes cuts from the reconciliation bill that was passed and signed into law in 2025 — dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — will not “put a hitch” on the services OBH is trying to provide. The bill, which the congresswoman voted against, was approved on a party-line vote…Gluesenkamp Perez said there’s been “a lot of discussion” at the federal level about how to combat the rise in violence and abuse against healthcare workers.

► From Politico — Unions sound alarm on last-minute push for robot farm equipment — In a letter obtained by POLITICO that was sent last week to Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, several of the state’s leading unions including the United Farm Workers warned that introducing the unpiloted machinery could have “real consequences for worker safety and California jobs.” They also lashed out at the last-minute nature of the measure, which would allow it to avoid the scrutiny of the regular legislative process.

INTERNATIONAL

► From Reuters — Airbus employees in Spain resume strike after rejecting offer — Thousands of Airbus workers in Spain have resumed strike action this week after rejecting the company’s latest pay offer and mediation proposal, ​unions said on Wednesday, ahead of a new mediation meeting ‌scheduled for Thursday…Union representatives for UGT and CGT said the stoppage had already ​slowed military and ​commercial production and ⁠would make it harder for the company to meet its delivery target.

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