Seattle

Amid Union-Busting, Starbucks Workers Just Keep Organizing

February 6, 2024 The Stand. Organize! Seattle, Starbucks, union busting, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

If Starbucks executives thought the company’s aggressive and illegal anti-union efforts would eventually wear down employees and that enthusiasm would wane for joining together in a union, they were wrong. On Monday, employees at yet another local Starbucks store in Renton Village demanded a union election, saying “business has repeatedly been prioritized over partners’ physical and mental health.” Amid management’s union-busting campaign, Starbucks workers just keep organizing. There are now 483 Starbucks stores in 46 states that have filed to unionize. Of those, 385 Starbucks stores in 43 states have won union elections, a nearly 80 percent win rate.

Seattle Shuts Down I-5 To Say No Business As Usual During Genocide!

January 11, 2024 Fight Back News!. Resist! Anti-War, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Seattle

Seattle, WA – On Saturday, January 6, around 1000 activists and community members joined together for a rally and march that began at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Seattle in Capitol Hill. Starbucks has continued to attack its workers organizing unions across the company and attacked Starbucks Workers United for showing solidarity with the people of Palestine. In a rousing speech, organizers condemned the union busting activities of Starbucks and the role corporate America plays in supporting the U.S.-back Israeli genocide of Palestinians. However, they also made it clear that this movement’s primary focus should be on the weapons manufacturers, politicians, and others that materially fund the ongoing attack on Gaza – and to shut down business as usual until Palestine is free.

Seattle Activists Win Resolution Calling For Cease-Fire In Gaza

November 22, 2023 Bia Lacombe, Popular Resistance. Resist! Ceasefire, City Council, Gaza, Kshama Sawant, Resolution, Seattle

Seattle -Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), working people, and anti-war activists have won a historic victory in forcing Democrats on the Seattle City Council to pass a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, and release of all hostages. The vote was 6 yes, 0 no, and 3 abstentions. “This victory is a testament to the growing strength of the global anti-war movement,” Sawant said. “In the last weeks, millions have demonstrated in solidarity with the Palestinians and against the brutal Israeli state. In addition to huge and growing street demonstrations, workers have refused to handle Israeli war materiel in the ports of Barcelona, Spain; Salerno, Italy; and in Belgium.

Seattle’s Urban Animal Debuts Veterinary Worker Cooperative

October 9, 2023 DVM 360. Create! Cooperatives, Seattle, Veterinarian, Worker Cooperative

Urban Animal, a Seattle-based veterinary network, has announced it will become the first worker cooperative veterinary practice in the US this fall. This will enable its 110 employees to share in the governance and profits of the company with more than 50,000 clients.1 Urban Animal joins about 30 worker cooperative-based businesses in Washington. By introducing the limited cooperative association (LCA), Urban Animal founder Cherri Trusheim, DVM, will gift a portion of the company to seed it, striving to become a completely employee-owned worker co-op over time. With the influx of veterinary corporatization, Trusheim aims to empower employees and ensure the practices stay locally owned and community minded while offering the best care.

Antiwar Forces March On Boeing

April 9, 2023 Jim McMahan, Workers World. Resist! Anti-War, Boeing, Seattle, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism

Seattle, Washington — University of Washington students, supporters and youths of oppressed nationalities targeted by U.S. imperialism marched on the Seattle Boeing plant on March 26. The march by 150 chanting demonstrators protested on the 20-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Boeing is the Pentagon’s second largest war contractor. Boeing produces the F-15, F-18, B-52 bombers, Apache and Chinook Helicopters, K-46 mid-air refuelers, cruise missiles, and Boeing is a major subcontractor on the B-1 and B-2 bombers. But that’s not all.

Chris Hedges Report: Kshama Sawant’s New ‘Workers Strike Back’ Coalition

March 11, 2023 Chris Hedges, The Real News Network. Resistance Report Kshama Sawant, Minimum Wage, Seattle, Worker Rights and Jobs

After a decade on Seattle City Council, socialist Kshama Sawant is declining to seek reelection and will instead launch a new national coalition called Workers Strike Back this March in cities around the US. The goal of Workers Strike Back is to build an independent workers’ movement that fights for the interests of the working class, rather than the agenda of either corporate party. This coalition will organize for a $ 25 an hour minimum wage, build grassroots labor unions, fight for a clean energy transition, battle anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation, and more.

Seattle – Greater Tacoma Foundation Call For Forterra Resignations

October 20, 2022 Last Real Indians. Resist! Indigenous Rights, Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington - A recently obtained letter reveals further fallout from the Snoqualmie Tribe’s exposing the Seattle-based land conservancy Forterra of misleading the tribe and the federal government in obtaining a grant worth up to $20 million. Last week, 78 Forterra staff members issued a letter expressing their support for Snoqualmie Tribe risking their careers. Now, LRI has obtained by the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation that calls for the, “Replace[ment] (of) Forterra’s executive team with an experienced team that can restore trust with partners.” The letter further states, “Communications to the Hilltop community and recent letters from the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, Forterra’s CEO, and former Forterra employees reveal misrepresentation and plans that were never intended to be delivered on to begin with.Seattle, Washington - A recently obtained letter reveals further fallout from the Snoqualmie Tribe’s exposing the Seattle-based land conservancy Forterra of misleading the tribe and the federal government in obtaining a grant worth up to $20 million. Last week, 78 Forterra staff members issued a letter expressing their support for Snoqualmie Tribe risking their careers. Now, LRI has obtained by the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation that calls for the, “Replace[ment] (of) Forterra’s executive team with an experienced team that can restore trust with partners.” The letter further states, “Communications to the Hilltop community and recent letters from the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, Forterra’s CEO, and former Forterra employees reveal misrepresentation and plans that were never intended to be delivered on to begin with.

Seattle Teachers End Week-Long Strike

September 18, 2022 Barbara Madeloni, Labor Notes. Resist! Education, Seattle, Strike, Teachers, Washington, Worker Rights and Jobs

Seattle, Washington - Six thousand Seattle educators walked out on strike September 7, which would have been the first day of school. The top issue was the district’s proposal—disguised in social justice language—to end student-teacher ratios for many categories of special education. Also key were struggles over class size, cuts to services, and wages, especially for substitutes and paraprofessionals, who often work most closely with students with disabilities. Late in the day September 12 the bargaining teams announced a tentative agreement, but provided only a summary to members. On September 13, after eight hours of meeting on Zoom, members voted 57 to 43 percent to suspend the strike, even though they still hadn't seen the entire deal. They had voted before the strike to stay out until members approved a contract.

6,000 Seattle Teachers And Support Staff Strike

September 8, 2022 David Fitzgerald and Bryan Dyne, WSWS. Resist! Education, Seattle, Strike, Teachers, Unions

Six thousand teachers and support staff in Seattle, Washington began a strike this morning, cancelling the first day of classes for 50,000 students in the state’s largest school district. The walkout followed a 95 percent vote by teachers, paraprofessionals and office workers to authorize strike action. The Seattle Education Association (SEA) did everything it could to reach a last-minute deal but was unable to prevent a strike. Union officials have pledged to continue talks to reach an agreement to bring teachers “back to the classrooms as fast as possible.” The union also dropped its initial opposition to the district’s demands for the intervention of a mediator.

Seattle Educators Rally For A ‘Thriving Wage’

February 14, 2022 Steve Leigh, Left Voice. Resist! Education, Labor Union, Seattle, Worker Rights and Jobs

Teachers and librarians at Seattle Colleges in AFT local 1789 are fighting for a “Thriving Wage,” open negotiations, and a democratic and transparent union. They are beginning contract negotiations with the college administration on Feb. 8. Seattle Colleges include North, South and Central College, which are all part of the former community college system. “Community” was dropped from their name when they started offering four-year degrees. On Feb. 7, at Seattle Central College, they rallied to raise their demands. Dozens of members came out and many more joined on Zoom. The rally was organized by a grassroots group of union members. One key demand is open negotiations. This would allow all members to watch and listen to the contract bargaining and to put maximum pressure on the administration.

Construction Stalls As Concrete Workers Strike For Wages, Health Care

February 8, 2022 Tushar Khurana, South Seattle Emerald. Resist! Construction, Seattle, Strike, Worker Rights and Jobs

As the omicron-fueled fifth wave of COVID-19 disrupts schools, grocery stores, airports, and hospitals, construction across King County has come to a standstill as well, albeit for different reasons. For nearly eight weeks now, drivers and workers have been striking at Gary Merlino Construction and the region’s five major concrete suppliers. As a result, many of Puget Sound’s largest construction projects — including affordable housing and the Federal Way Link light rail extension project in the South End — are now on hold. After their previous labor contracts expired in July and months of stalled negotiations fell flat, the strike began on Nov. 19, when 34 dump truck drivers at Gary Merlino Construction set up picket lines at their facilities in Renton and South Park.

Mutual Aid Groups Try To Keep Unhoused Neighbors Alive In The Snow

December 31, 2021 Hannah Krieg, The Stranger. Create! Homeless, Housing, Mutual Aid, Seattle

While the City of Seattle swept her home at Ballard Commons, an unhoused woman cried out to the city workers, mutual aid groups, and other community members packing up the park. “Why don’t they come up with a solution that actually makes sense?” she said of the city. “Put people indoors. Do they think we want to be out here in the middle of winter? No! We’re not crazy.” That was three weeks ago. It was 40 degrees that day. Monday, Dec. 27, the city shivered under a high of 23 degrees, the coldest day in 31 years. The risk associated with hypothermia in the cold weather was greater than the risk of contracting COVID-19, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County. That afternoon, Dr. Stephen Morris, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at UW Medicine, told the Seattle Times that Harborview Medical Center saw one cold weather-related death, two “critically ill” patients, and approximately six people admitted for hypothermia.

Seattle Vigil Against Racist Medical Negligence

August 5, 2021 Devyn Forschmiedt, Liberation News. Resist! Health Care, Protests, Racism, Seattle

Hundreds of protesters gathered at Westlake Park in Seattle on the afternoon of July 24 for the Healthcare Equity March. This was the most recent of a series of protests centered around Kaloni Bolton, a 12-year-old Black girl who died tragically at the beginning of this year as a result of medical negligence. The protests have been organized by Kaloni’s family and local organization Decolonizing Science, who Kaloni’s mother and aunt Kristina Williams and Francis Bowman say have been very helpful in bringing people out. Williams and Bowman spoke with Liberation News to bring attention to Kaloni’s story. On December 29, 2020, Kaloni’s older sister brought her to the Renton Landing Urgent Care clinic in Renton, Washington, run by Valley Medical Center of University of Washington Medicine.

On May 15, the families of missing and murdered Indigenous people and their supporters gathered in Seattle from around the North West for a day of prayer and action for “Justice for MMIP families.”

Families Gather For Justice In Seattle

May 18, 2021 Liberation News. Resist! Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Rights, MMIWG2S, Seattle

On May 15, the families of missing and murdered Indigenous people and their supporters gathered in Seattle from around the North West for a day of prayer and action for “Justice for MMIP families.”

Seattle Votes To Guarantee Lawyers For Renters Facing Eviction

March 31, 2021 David Kroman, Crosscut. Create! Eviction, Housing, Renter Rights, Seattle

The Seattle City Council unanimously voted Monday to guarantee free legal counsel to poor tenants facing eviction, a system similar to the right to representation already enshrined in the country’s criminal courts. In passing the measure, members of the council hope to keep as many people in their current homes as possible and avoid the devastating and expensive downstream consequences — including homelessness — that often follow when someone is forcibly removed from where they live. "This legislation will not enough be itself and we know that we need a lot more," said Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who originally proposed the legislation. "We know that eviction destroys communities, wrecks households and even kills."

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