News
The Chronicle - Centralia
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Boeing firefighters locked out by company say safety is being compromised
Friday marks the sixth day of Boeing firefighters being locked out by the aerospace company in a contract dispute. Negotiations between Boeing and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local I-66 representing 125 firefighters at some of the company’s commercial plane factories broke down last week Boeing locked out its firefighters and hired replacements on May 4 after workers rejected pay offers that their union described as 20% below the average at other fire departments in the Puget Sound region. “I’ve been with Boeing for about seven years, and I’ve been in the fire service for coming up on 20,” Lt. Jon Riggsby, a union official and firefighter, told The Center Square from the picket line in Auburn on Friday. His crew handles just about everything, he said, noting he’s worried about safety being compromised for Boeing employees. “Our job scope entails a lot,” Riggsby said. “The majority of what we do is just like municipal fire departments; we run EMS calls, fire calls, and we also run hazmat and rescue. We also have a small contingent of firefighters that support the Boeing Starliner Program and do specialized training with NASA on the removal of astronauts from the capsule.” The main sticking point, according to Riggsby, centers around pay. “Our new hires come in at $25 an hour, but these aren’t really new firefighters because they come in with at least one year career or three years volunteer service already,” he explained. Boeing told the Associated Press on May 4 that the company has offered an attractive package. “We remain committed to securing an agreement,” Boeing said in a news release. “Our offer provides significant pay increases and increased benefits. The union should allow our employees to vote our offer, which was presented before the lockout.” Riggsby says the information Boeing has put out about the contract offer doesn't comport with reality. “They say we’re making on average $91,000 a year, and the raise they say they’re offering would put us up to $111,000 a year,” he said. “But we only have 28% of our workforce at top scale and that’s only $85,000, so I don’t understand their math." Riggsby went on to say, “Currently it takes us 14 years to get to that top scale, and the company now wants to push that out to 19 years, which is basically someone’s whole career." Other departments, he said, have firefighters reaching top scale for pay after about four years. No further talks between the two parties have been announced. “Boeing said they have a robust contingency plan in place, but from what we see that means supplementing the work we normally do with flying in personnel from non-union Boeing sites across the U.S.,” Riggsby lamented. “Our managers and the people they’ve flown in are working around the clock, and nobody is getting breaks. On Thursday, President Joe Biden called on both sides to return to the negotiating table, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Collective bargaining is a right that helps employers and employees. I’m concerned by reports that Boeing locked out IAFF I-66 members. I encourage folks to return to the table to secure a deal that benefits Boeing and gets these firefighters the pay and benefits they deserve.” Biden is visiting Seattle Friday afternoon for campaign events. |
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Inslee makes his case for voters to preserve Climate Commitment Act
At a Monday morning press conference regarding the results of the state’s Climate Commitment Act, Gov. Jay Inslee sought to make a thinly veiled case for why voters should reject an initiative on the November ballot that would repeal the revenue-generating program. Though the CCA’s stated goal is to reduce carbon emission levels by 95% by 2050, Inslee said that “the basic fundamental purpose of this program, is to reduce pollution. The fundamental purpose of the Climate Commitment Act is to reduce pollution. We are responding to pollution and getting real benefits out of it.” Under the CCA, the cap-and-trade program, an emissions limit is set that incrementally lowers. Entities subject to the CCA must purchase emission “allowances” at quarterly auctions, which have generated more than $2 billion so far. Proponents of Initiative 2117 repealing the cap-and-trade program have described it as a “hidden gas tax” that artificially raises gas prices. Although CCA revenue makes up 84% of all spending on electrifying the transportation sector, it is not dedicated specifically toward state transportation infrastructure as gas tax revenue is under a state constitutional amendment. The CCA is one of many state laws or resolutions intended to reduce Washington’s greenhouse gas emissions. While the latest data available from the state Department of Ecology for 2019 shows that emission levels were their highest since 2007, it does not account for environmental policies enacted since, including the CCA which was passed in 2021 and implemented last year. Nevertheless, Ecology Climate Pollution Reduction Program Manager Joel Creswell said at Monday's press conference that “we are currently witnessing the effects of climate change every year” that it “threatens the safety of our communities and negatively hurts human health. We need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Ecology Director Laura Watson said that “we are expecting that those impacts will increase in the future. Thankfully, the Climate Commitment Act is generating the money we need to respond to these impacts. The program is working as intended.” A large sum of CCA revenue, $1.5 billion, is to be spent electrifying the state’s transportation sector. That includes $563 million for the state’s ferry fleet, the largest in the nation, and $429 million for public transit grants. An additional $45 million is to be spent on electric vehicle infrastructure grants for charging stations on state highways. Inslee took the opportunity to double down on his stance regarding EV ferries, rather than diesel, arguing that to not do so would be “nuts” and “probably delay getting boats. CCA has a plan for us to get boats as fast as they can. There’s no other way to finance them right now.” Rather than carbon emission reduction, Inslee focused primarily on the ostensible benefits these projects will have on air quality and air pollution. According to Ecology State Ambient Air Monitoring Coordinator Jill Schulte, the department is installing 50 “SensWa,” a portable sensor for fine particle pollution, throughout the state. Some CCA revenue would also be directed at improving forest health. Inslee attributed smoke emitted during wildfire seasons that reduce air quality to climate change. However, forestry experts have noted there are a variety of factors that determine the amount of smoke, including fuel moisture levels and heat intensity. Another factor impacting wildfire seasons severity is the level of precipitation during late July and early August that moistens light fuels necessary to ignite wildfires. |
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'This is serious': Violent crime in unincorporated Pierce County alarms officials
Gun crime trends in unincorporated Pierce County have officials worried. According to data presented to the Pierce County Public Safety Committee, in 2024, there have been 58 crimes involving firearms in unincorporated Pierce County through March 2024. There were 20 cases in March alone. “That’s really concerning seeing these numbers because I think it’s pretty high,” Pierce County Councilmember Paul Herrera said at Monday's committee meeting. Herrera pointed out that the 20 cases in March were alarming on their own. However, comparing the first three months of 2024 to the previous three years show that the firearm-involved crime rate has dropped. Gun crime trends in unincorporated Pierce County have officials worried. According to data presented to the Pierce County Public Safety Committee, in 2024, there have been 58 crimes involving firearms in unincorporated Pierce County through March 2024. There were 20 cases in March alone. “That’s really concerning seeing these numbers because I think it’s pretty high,” Pierce County Councilmember Paul Herrera said at Monday's committee meeting. Herrera pointed out that the 20 cases in March were alarming on their own. However, comparing the first three months of 2024 to the previous three years show that the firearm-involved crime rate has dropped. There have been 78 new hires within the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office from 2022 through 2024. There have been 12 hires so far this year alone. Jackson noted that the department also has 37 new hires in the training process. The Center Square previously reported on the Pierce County Sheriff's Department's Mountain Detachment currently works out of the basement of Eatonville City Hall. The county is currently exploring potential locations to construct a new facility for the mountain detachment. |
Columbian Newspaper
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Appeals court upholds gag order in Trump hush money trial, Cohen gives more testimony
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Tuesday upheld the gag order in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, finding that the judge “properly determined” that Trump’s public statements “posed a significant threat to the integrity of the testimony of witnesses and potential witnesses in this case as well.” |
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Jury selection consumes a second day at corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez
NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez sat by himself at a defense table Tuesday as prospective jurors who claim they can’t serve at his federal New York corruption trial were interviewed by a judge in a room just outside the courtroom. |
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Movie armorer appeals conviction in fatal shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A movie weapons armorer is appealing her conviction for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust,” according to court documents released Tuesday. |
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Another top Russian Defense Ministry official is arrested on bribery charges amid Kremlin shake-up
A second senior Russian defense official was arrested on bribery charges, officials said Tuesday, days after President Vladimir Putin replaced the defense minister in a Cabinet shake-up that fueled expectations of more such purges. |
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At least 1 dead after severe storms roll through Louisiana, other southern states
At least one person is dead in Louisiana after storms slammed several southern states, including many areas previously hit during one of the most active periods for twisters on record. |
The Stand (Washington Labor News)
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King Co. labor celebrates at Labor Oscars
Union supporters gathered Friday to celebrate movement leaders SEATTLE, Wash. (May 14, 2024) — King County union members, leaders and allies gathered on Friday, May 10 to celebrate the work of the labor movement over the past year at Labor Oscars. The event was held at the new union-built and operated Seattle Convention Center Summit […] The post King Co. labor celebrates at Labor Oscars appeared first on The STAND. |
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SEIUs show solidarity on the line
Striking IBEW 46 Limited Energy Electricians joined by SEIU members SEATTLE, Wash. (May 14, 2024) — Members of SEIU 6, SEIU 775, SEIU 925, and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW joined IBEW 46 Limited Energy Electricians at strike lines across the region last week, sharing that classic Purple solidarity with our IBEW siblings. Limited Energy electricians went […] The post SEIUs show solidarity on the line appeared first on The STAND. |
