BossFeed Briefing for September 11, 2023
Today marks 61 days of the SAG-AFTRA strike. You have two more days of no Bainbridge ferry route (for cars, bikes, or scooters anyway). Google just turned 25 years old. Seattle Public Schools just barely managed to keep school starting on time this year instead of a strike delay, this time by custodians - some of the lowest paid workers in the district.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK:
Wage theft doesn’t pay. The second largest city in the UK is out of money after being sued for committing gender-based wage theft. Apparently women were so underpaid the outstanding back pay comes to a whopping $955 million.
Hey… sulfur is super harmful and if you don’t protect your workers from it, you’ll be fined. Don’t take our word for it — L&I fined a Moses Lake company $479,700 for violations including “having a worker unload molten sulfur from a railcar without wearing the proper respiratory protection.”
That goes for ammonia too. A packing company in Yakima must pay $194,000 in fines for violating federal chemical safety regulations related to ammonia. The facility has since closed operations but hadn’t provided any safety training for their employees or followed several other basic safety regulations.
TWO THINGS TO ASK:
How do you write about that? A federal judge in Tennessee declared a popular SBA program that grants government contracts to minority-owned small businesses unconstitutional, saying that minorities must “demonstrate” via an essay that their race has been a hindrance to their success.
Do you know where to go if you’ve been hurt on the job? Workers compensation claims can be difficult to navigate, and Washington State Labor Council’s Project Help is aiming to clear it up. If you’ve been injured and need assistance making a claim, Project Help is available in both English and Español.
AND ONE THING THAT'S WORTH A CLOSER LOOK:
Local Progress Impact Lab, in partnership with The Economic Policy Institute and Center for Labor and a Just Economy, released a Labor Day 2023 report on “Localities Taking Action to Protect Workers.” Featured are organizations and leaders across the country who have made strides this year to secure better working conditions for many types of workers. Somewhere in there (page 12, paragraph 2 and 3) are two policies for Seattle gig workers, one for paid sick & safe time and one for protection from unjust deactivations that we seem to have a connection with. That’s not the only good labor news in Washington state though! Also featured are cannabis worker protections, and Seattle OLS has a very satisfying list of enforcements on page 16.
Read this far? Consider yourself briefed, boss.
Let us know what you think about this week's look at the world of work, wages, and inequality!