Labor

Sea-Tac workers aim for pay raise with ballot initiative

Ashley Gross — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:01:00 +0000

Workers at Sea-Tac Airport are trying to get a big pay raise by way of a ballot initiative. If approved, the increase would put them 60 percent over the state’s minimum wage of $9.19 per hour.

Seattle Symphony, Opera musicians approve contract

Ashley Gross — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:25:23 +0000

Labor disputes have shut down performances across the country, but Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera fans don’t have to worry about cancelations anytime soon. The musicians have agreed to a new contract.

Boeing engineers' union to tally strike authorization vote

Ashley Gross — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Boeing is facing the specter of a possible engineers’ strike even as the company races to get the 787 Dreamliner back in the air. Tonight, the engineers’ union will tally votes to see whether members have rejected the contract and authorized a strike.

Report says Theo Chocolate tried to quash union effort

Ashley Gross — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:19:39 +0000

Seattle-based Theo Chocolate is known for its focus on sustainability and fair trade. But a new report says the company doesn’t deserve its "Fair for Life" certification because it tried to prevent workers from unionizing a couple of years ago.

Boeing engineers and technicians to vote on strike authorization

Ashley Gross — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:20:02 +0000

About 21,000 Boeing engineers and technicians will vote on whether to authorize a strike. The threat of a walkout comes at a bad time for Boeing as the company tries to fix its 787 Dreamliner.

Boeing raises its salary offer to engineers and technicians

Ashley Gross — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:02:46 +0000

Boeing has raised its salary offer to its engineers and technicians, but the union is still complaining that it doesn’t adequately compensate its members.

Federal mediators have been brokering talks this week between the company and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA.

Did the Boeing engineers' strike of 2000 succeed in the long run?

Ashley Gross — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:00:00 +0000

When Boeing engineers and technicians walked off the job 13 years ago, they said it wasn’t just for more money. They wanted to improve the culture of the company and chart a new course for organized labor. Did they succeed?

At first blush, it looked like a resounding success. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA, had won a contract with everything they had asked for. Executive Director Charlie Bofferding was triumphant in an interview with KING 5.

“We’re interacting now based on power and respect, and that’s where we want to be,” Bofferding said.

Boeing wants a federal mediator to help with SPEEA talks

Ashley Gross — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:35:06 +0000

After months of unsuccessful contract negotiations, Boeing says it wants a federal mediator to help resolve its contract dispute with SPEEA, the union that represents about 23,000 engineers and technicians in the Puget Sound region.

Much of Washington's apple crop in danger of going unpicked

Anna King — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 15:03:12 +0000

PRESCOTT, Wash. -- Washington state apple farmers have the second largest crop in history but too few pickers to get it all in this harvest. A worker shortage means there won’t be enough people to get the fruit off the trees quickly enough.

Broetje Orchards in southeast Washington is one of the largest fruit growers in the world. Owners there put a plea out for more workers -- they're short 800 people.

Roger Bairstow is a manager at Broetje.

Thousands of union members rally in Olympia

Austin Jenkins — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 17:46:05 +0000

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-962447.mp3

A week of protests over state budget cuts culminated with a large union-led rally Friday at the Capitol in Olympia.

The State Patrol estimated the crowd at 7,000 people. There were signs and chants, and a sea of unionized workers on the steps to the Capitol and Supreme Court.

The conference that didn’t happen: Mexico Now canceled Seattle event

Bellamy Pailthorp — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:10:08 +0000

Organized labor flexed its muscles recently in our region, showing their influence behind the scenes.

Tuesday morning's headlines

Gary Davis — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:34:11 +0000

A surprise windstorm; world finance experts in Seattle, and grocery workers talk strike.