Is There Something in the Water in Seattle?

[marmar]

Is There Something in the Water in Seattle?

Tuesday, 17 December 2013 09:37
By Paul Bigman, Labor Notes | Report


Is there something in the water in Seattle?

The area has seen dramatic actions by and on behalf of workers in the past few months: defeat of concessions at major grocery chains, Boeing workers’ big “no” vote on concessions, a $15 minimum wage voted in for airport workers, and election of a socialist to city council—a candidate who made a city $15 minimum the centerpiece of her campaign.

Activists are hoping what’s happened here has implications far beyond the Puget Sound.

.....(snip).....

In October, two hours before a regional grocery strike would have jumped off, 30,000 Food and Commercial Workers and Teamsters won a contract that defeated onerous health care concessions, and more, that had been forced on their co-workers in other states.

A few weeks later, Boeing Machinists (IAM) turned down an extortionist demand to freeze pension contributions for current workers, abandon defined-benefit pensions for new hires, and pay new hires $21,000 below current workers. Boeing had demanded an eight-year contract extension to keep work on the 777X airplane in Washington. Despite extraordinary intervention by the IAM International, the 31,000 Boeing workers voted “no” two to one.

.....(snip)......

And community college teacher and Teachers (AFT) member Kshama Sawant, running as a socialist on a platform of taxing millionaires and a $15 city minimum wage, raised over $100,000 in contributions and a small army of volunteers for a city council election. ......................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://truth-out.org/news/item/20682-is-there-something-in-the-water-in-seattle

[orpupilofnature57]

1. These are the only people that can save us.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Used to be Seattle was very union/worker friendly

very very blue collar.
My grown sons are the 4th generation to iive in the area. I would hope the Seattle I knew is coming back.
there is a strong connection to the environment up there, too.
( sadly, too little sun, for me, anymore)

[tularetom]

3. They need to bottle it and send a few million gallons to the White house and Congress

This is how Democrats are supposed to act.

[countryjake]

9. Defeating water-thieving bottling corporations...

is another common characteristic of many cascadians, so do not even suggest bottling a drop of our precious water!

[liberalmuse]

4. This is what happens when you legalize pot.

More to come...

[Major Nikon]

6. I've always said it should be mandatory for policy makers

[liberalmuse]

8. ^^^Great Stuff!^^^

Recommended viewing!

[Scootaloo]

5. Water's just water; the trick is, we give a shit. n/t

[uppityperson]

7. +++++

[ismnotwasm]

13. 1,000,000

[loudsue]

10. Dear Washington: Please send some of your water to North Carolina.

Love Always,

Desperate for liberal change in N.C.

[sheshe2]

11. Seattle!

[liberal_at_heart]

12. We need to tell our governor he should be supporting our unions not on his knees begging

Boeing to stay. We don't want slave wages here. They can either pay our workers what they are worth or they can go the hell away.

[ismnotwasm]

14. Yeah I get tired of feeling like we're being held hostage by Boeing

But a lot of workers have fought a lot of years for workers right, and it's them I don't want to see go

[pnwmom]

15. Boeing is doing everything it can to union bust in Washington.

There's only so much that workers here can do to stop it -- as long as other states have right-to-work laws, companies like Boeing will be trying to shift their work out of state.

They just announced they're getting rid of up to 1200 good engineering research jobs here in Seattle, mostly through layoffs. Meanwhile, they're opening up four new research center in other states. But all the attention is on the machinist contract, so there's been very little attention to this, except to the employees involved.

[eridani]

16. Paul Bigman is a locally well-known labor activist

He's also in Labor for Single Payer and on the board of the local Physicians for a National Health Program.

There is much more extensive analysis in the WA State forum here.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10822702