Business & Labor

Boeing engineers' strike in 2000 casts shadow over current talks

Ashley Gross — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Boeing engineers and the company are supposed to meet with a federal mediator today – but union leaders say the two sides are still far apart. Looming over the negotiations is a memory that's 13 years old, but still fresh for many.

In early 2000, Boeing engineers and technicians did what nobody expected them to do – walk off the job and stay off.

Concerts canceled as Spokane symphony strikes

Jessica Robinson — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 18:05:30 +0000

SPOKANE, Wash. - Classical musicians in Spokane stood outside their theater this weekend, lifting picket signs instead of instruments.

Musicians with the Spokane Symphony are entering week two of a strike over pay cuts. Five concerts have been canceled so far.

Spokane joins a growing list of cities this fall where symphonies have become embroiled in labor disputes -– including Seattle, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Adam Wallstein is the principal timpanist with the Spokane Symphony.

“It's certainly a regrettable situation.

Taxis threaten to stop Sea-Tac Airport service over town cars

Ashley Gross and KPLU News Staff — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 21:02:37 +0000

Claiming town cars are breaking the rules, Seattle taxi drivers are threatening to stop taking passengers to Sea-Tac Airport.

Northwest farmers, shop-keeps wait anxiously for cherry workers

Anna King — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:18:47 +0000

PASCO, Wash. – With lingering high unemployment and the endless talk of the down economy -– it’s hard to believe that there are some industries putting help-wanted signs out by the dozens. But that’s the case in Northwest orchard country where there appears to be a dwindling supply of migrant workers for cherry picking.

Update: Seattle council says paid sick leave is right direction

Vanessa Romo — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:40:30 +0000

The Seattle City Council voted 8-1 this afternoon to approve the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, making the vote official after council members announced last week that they finally had the votes to pass it.

The lone dissenter in the vote was Council President Richard Conlin.

Seattle to battle over sick leave

Vanessa Romo — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 01:35:44 +0000

In what is likely to be a contentious summer debate, the Seattle City Council will receive a proposal this week to mandate all Seattle workers be allowed between five and nine paid sick days a year.

Starbucks need not "out" job applicants with pot busts

Gary Crawford — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:42:00 +0000

Starbucks Corporation isn't required to disclose the names of potential plaintiffs in a lawsuit accusing it of illegally requiring job applicants to reveal past marijuana convictions.

That's what a California appeals court ruled this week. The Seattle-based coffee giant was accused in a 2005 lawsuit of violating a mid-1970s California law that bars employers from asking job seekers about minor marijuana convictions that are more than two years old.

China's aerospace sector booming, Washington companies testing waters

Bellamy Pailthorp — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:43:09 +0000

China's aerospace sector is taking off. Washington state has hundreds of suppliers - and many want in to that growing market. The state's Department of Commerce is more than a year in to a new push to promote them.

Monday morning's headlines

Gary Davis — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:13:35 +0000

Snowy weather comes to western Washington, grocery workers reach a tentative contract agreement, and Seattle Schools sudden improvement in graduate's college readiness.