Latest in Labor

One year after being allegedly stranded by their employer in a Westport, Wash., marina, six migrant workers still haven’t returned home to their families.

As climate change makes summers hotter, PNW states are adopting more protections for outdoor laborers. But one lags behind the rest.

“Clubs shutting down may not immediately lead to trafficking,” says one advocate. “But it immediately leads to all sorts of other vulnerable situations.”

Dog handlers and volunteers allege the city-run organization dismissed concerns, failed to warn about risky pets and has fallen behind on reforms.

A Labor and Industries program aims to monitor companies that are “resistant or indifferent” to safety rules, but follow-up inspections are lagging.

The county executive acknowledged an “error in judgment” after a Cascade PBS report revealed a letter supporting the accused former director.
 

Local leaders questioned handling of sexual harassment complaints and a $225,000 settlement, as revealed in a recent Cascade PBS investigation.

Multiple women accused a public works director of inappropriate conduct. Officials helped him get a new job by agreeing not to share the allegations.

The vote finalized more than a year of bargaining for new union contracts, including back pay, annual wage increases and other benefits.

Fishing companies say long waits between seasons can be common, but labor experts say offshore foreign workers are “uniquely unprotected” under U.S. policies.

Advocates say fear of financial hardship undermines bargaining leverage. Opponents say the bill will increase business costs or prolong work stoppages.

Since Jan. 1, agriculture has a 40-hour work week. But the system drew concerns from some growers over labor costs — and has workers split, too.

Conditions in the immigrant detention facility have garnered over 300 complaints, but a law to increase state oversight is still tied up in court.

But workers it would affect can’t weigh in. Ethics rules prevent them from lobbying on bills — even ones that would define their ability to unionize.