union

SEIU: Fastest Growing Union Holds Strong In Washington

The Conversation With Ross Reynolds — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:18:36 +0000

Nationwide, the percentage of workers who are in unions has dropped to around 11 percent according to January report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s lowest rate in nearly a century. But the Service Employees International Union has been bucking the trend in recent decades – it’s the fastest growing union in the United States.

Since 1996, 1.2 million workers have joined SEIU nationally. Today, SEIU national represents 2.1 million. Here in Washington state the SEUI has six locals with more than 100,000 members, up from about 40,000 in 2001.

The union represents nurses, child care workers, public school employees and janitors. Plus, Local 775 is the biggest, with around 43,000 members who are long-term care workers, home health aides, and nursing home aides.

Ross Reynolds talks with David Rolf, president of the Seattle-based Local 775 of the Service Employees International Union for health-care workers.

Union-Led Group Calls For Challenge To Washington Charter School Law

Ann Dornfeld — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:40:57 +0000

A group that includes Washington’s largest teachers’ union has formally asked state Attorney General Bob Ferguson to challenge the constitutionality of the state’s new charter school law.

Wash. Teachers' Union President On How To Improve State K-12 Education

Ross Reynolds — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:00:00 +0000

This week we’ve been taking a closer look at the battle over how to improve state education. Today we get another perspective from Mary Lindquist, president of the state’s largest teachers' union, the Washington Education Association.

Congress Readies For The Next "Cliff"

Steve Scher — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 19:49:39 +0000

The next cliff looms in Washington, DC, as the US Treasury runs out of borrowing authority at the end of February. There may be a decision about across-the-board spending cuts known as "sequestration," as well as a debate over the social safety net.

Will Democrats agree to cuts to Social Security and Medicare? We talk with economics writer James Kwak about the political support for smaller government and less revenue.

Northwest Wheat Growers Hope For Resolution At Grain Terminals

Jessica Robinson — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:58:22 +0000

Northwest wheat growers are hoping for a swift resolution to a labor dispute that could keep their grain from reaching the world market. Grain terminals remain open in Portland, Vancouver and Seattle, even though the terminals' owners have implemented a contract offer unionized longshoremen rejected.

Most of the wheat that grows on the rolling hills of eastern Washington is bound for the international market.

Former Hostess Workers Still Picketing Shuttered Plant

Deborah Wang — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:17:24 +0000

Striking members of a bakers’ union are still picketing a plant in Seattle that makes Hostess Twinkies and Ho Hos. That’s despite the fact the plant is now closed for good.

Seattle Symphony And Opera Musicians Authorize Strike

Marcie Sillman — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:59:34 +0000

Members of the Seattle Symphony and Opera Players' Organization (SSOPO) voted October 15 to authorize a strike. In a statement on its website, SSOPO representatives say the latest contract offers from both organizations call for 15 percent reductions in pay and benefits for the 2012-2013 season. That's on top of concessions the musicians have already made. The union says its membership can't take further cuts.

Boeing Engineers Reject Contract Offer, Return To Bargaining Table

Deborah Wang — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 22:28:55 +0000

Negotiators for the Boeing Company and its engineering and technical union are back at the negotiating table today. That’s after union members soundly rejected the company’s latest contract offer.

More than 21,000 members of SPEEA, the Society For Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, voted by mail on the company’s contract proposal. When the votes were counted last night, 96 percent of engineers and 97 percent of technical workers had voted ‘no.’