Raid in Bellingham | Union win at Delta | Medicaid

Thursday, April 3, 2025

LOCAL

► From the Seattle Times — Immigration officials raid Bellingham roofing company, arresting 37 — In what appears to be the first full-scale workplace raid in Washington since President Donald Trump took office, immigration officials descended on a roofing company in Bellingham early Wednesday morning and arrested 37 people. Still, said Edgar Franks, political director for the farmworkers union Familias Unidas por la Justicia, the raid at Mt. Baker Roofing came as a shock, especially given the immigrant-friendly policies of Washington officials… the [owner of Mt. Baker Roofing’s] statement continued: “Policies like the enforcement action carried out today directly harm small businesses like ours, making it increasingly difficult to operate and further inflating the prices paid by consumers.”

► From Cascadia Daily News — Update: 37 workers arrested at Mt. Baker Roofing in ICE raid Wednesday — Tomas Fuerte, who has worked at Mt. Baker Roofing for 12 years, said they took the detained people away in two buses. He said he’d never witnessed a raid before…“They (law enforcement) arrived wielding their guns like they were going to shoot us, like we were criminals,” Fuerte told Cascadia Daily News in Spanish. “They corralled us into a room in the back of the building. They had a list and pictures of everyone who was undocumented and took them away.”

► From the New Republic — The Trump Administration’s War on Activists Is Escalating — Lelo’s arrest has sparked some of Washington’s largest protests since Trump’s inauguration. The Washington State Labor Council mobilized its members in some of the state’s largest unions to a rally outside of the ICE facility where he’s being held alongside Lewelyn Dixon, a University of Washington lab tech and SEIU member who’s been detained since late February over a nonviolent misdemeanor she was convicted of in 2001; a green card holder, Dixon first came to the U.S. in 1974. As the Trump administration widens its attacks on migrants and free speech, even U.S. citizenship likely won’t be enough to protect people whose views the White House wants to punish. Trump officials have promised to charge those who vandalize Teslas as domestic terrorists and revoke federal funding from any university that allows “illegal protests.”

AEROSPACE

► From Yahoo Finance — Boeing chief reports progress to Senate panel after ‘serious missteps’ — The hearing lacked some of the sharp jabs aimed at Ortberg predecessors Dennis Muilenburg and Dave Calhoun following major safety problems. But Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, pressed Ortberg on a decision not to include union representatives among company directors, telling the Boeing CEO that the board should be hearing from line workers “in every board meeting.”

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From Game Developer — ‘We’ll be showing them just how valuable our labor is:’ Zenimax workers vote to authorize strike at Microsoft — The bargaining unit—represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) Locals 2100, 2108, and 6215 (ZeniMax Workers United-CWA)—is priming for strike action following two years of contract negations with ZeniMax parent company Microsoft. Members of the ZeniMax Workers United-CWA bargaining committee are attempting to secure better wages, workplace improvements, and robust remote work options.

ORGANIZING

► From Forbes — At Delta Air Lines, A Labor Union Gets A Foot In The Door — Samuelsen said the workers will join TWU Local 100, a historic local with about 43,000 members including 40,000 bus and subway workers. “On our end we’re still taking steps to prepare for bargaining,” he said. “The rank and file will be the nucleus of the bargaining committee. “I’m looking forward to engaging Delta,” he said. “If they don’t come to terms, Delta is going to be in for the biggest strategic campaign of their existence .” …about 20% of Delta’s 100,000 workforce is unionized, compared with 87% at American and 82% at United and Southwest. Only pilots, flight dispatchers, and flight attendants at subsidiary regional carrier Endeavor Air are union members.

NATIONAL

► From Fast Company — ‘Hands Off!’ protest: April 5 could see massive turnout for rallies against Trump and Musk in all 50 states. Here’s what to know — Indivisible is the key organizer, which is partnering with a broad nationwide coalition of groups including: the Women’s March, United Federation of Teachers, Public Citizen, Progressive Democrats of America, Common Cause, Human Rights Campaign, MoveOn, the League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood, as well as some unions including AFL-CIO, UAW, and SEIU.

► From the AP — Dow drops 1,500 as US stocks lead worldwide sell-off after Trump’s tariffs ignite a COVID-like shock  — Financial markets around the world are reeling Thursday following President Donald Trump’s latest and most severe set of tariffs, and the U.S. stock market is taking the worst of it so far. The S&P 500 was down 4% in midday trading, more than other major stock markets, and at its bottom in the morning was on track for its worst day since COVID struck in 2020…Trump announced a minimum tariff of 10% on imports, with the tax rate running much higher on products from certain countries like China and those from the European Union. It’s “plausible” the tariffs altogether, which would rival levels unseen in roughly a century, could knock down U.S. economic growth by 2 percentage points this year and raise inflation close to 5%, according to UBS.

► From the AFl-CIO:

Strategic use of tariffs can be an effective tool to support industries & protect jobs. But they must be accompanied by policies that invest in our manufacturing base & a strong commitment to promoting workers’ fundamental right to bargain collectively.https://t.co/Ml79VZnI9M pic.twitter.com/ISrs23H0WP

— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) April 2, 2025

► From the AP — Stellantis temporarily halting production at 2 plants in Canada, Mexico — Stellantis, which owns car brands like Jeep, Citroën and Ram, said Thursday it will be temporarily pausing production at the Windsor assembly plant in Canada for for the weeks of April 7 and 14. Operations will resume at the facility the week of April 21. The company will also be temporarily pausing production at the Toluca assembly plant in Mexico for the month of April, starting on April 7. Due to the production pause, there will be temporary layoffs at the Warren and Sterling stamping plants in Michigan and at the Indiana and Kokomo transmission plants and Kokomo casting facility in Indiana.

► From WBUR — Labor union protests in Boston, calling for Tufts student to be released from ICE custody  — A union leader led a chant for a crowd of more than 200 people, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and state Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who gathered in downtown Boston Tuesday evening to protest the arrest of Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk by immigration agents. “Come for one, face us all,” said David Foley, president of the Service Employees International Union, Local 509. The crowd shouted back: “Free Rümeysa, free them all!”

POLITICS & POLICY

► From Cascade PBS — Central and Eastern Washington brace for possible Medicaid cuts — Even if there isn’t a formal proposal on the table yet, she said, it’s important that Congressional representatives like Newhouse understand the potential consequences of cutting Medicaid. “The rural people in this district would be hurt most [if cuts occur] … You have to stand up and say something immediately even if the process is long,” Newberry said. “If you don’t, the process will be finished, you’ll be blindsided, and you never know what was coming.”

► From the Government Executive — Pro-labor Republicans push Trump to rescind order busting most federal unions — As labor groups prep for a protracted legal battle over the edict, a group of eight pro-labor House Republicans, led by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., on Wednesday urged the president to reverse course. “Applying this exemption widely across agencies such as the General Services Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services could unintentionally affect government efficiency and employee morale,” the group wrote. “Collective bargaining in these agencies has traditionally played a positive role by providing a structured channel for communication and addressing employee concerns, which ultimately supports a more productive and stable workforce and thereby promotes national security.”

► From Reuters — Exclusive: Trump administration moves to more easily fire some agency employees — The moves, which the sources said are taking place at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Energy, are the first evidence the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is following through on a plan announced in his first day in office to recategorize tens of thousands of government workers to facilitate layoffs and remove career civil servants that may oppose its policies.

► From Bloomberg Law — DOGE’s $455 Million in Labor Savings Carry Costs for US Workers — In the case of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, for example, office closures and the potential for staff cuts could slow agency enforcement and oversight designed to prevent on-the-job illnesses and injuries. “What you’re going to see is lower inspection numbers for the same amount of work, less innovation, less proactive activity,” said said Doug Parker, who led OSHA during the Biden administration. “And unfortunately, in time, you’re going to see more workers getting killed and injured, because the deterrent effect will be lessened.”

► From Bloomberg Law — Unions Ask Judge to Stop Second ‘Fork in the Road’ Exit Offer — The amended complaint, filed March 31 at the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, is the latest legal challenge seeking to block President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk‘s plans to shrink the federal workforce.

► From the AP — K-12 schools must sign certification against DEI to receive federal money, administration says — A notice sent Thursday by the Education Department gives states and schools 10 days to sign and return the certification. It’s the latest escalation against DEI policies, apparently giving the Republican administration a new lever for terminating federal money.

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