State budget | Tariff woes | DeJoy resigns

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

LOCAL

► From the Spokesman Review — Attorney claims violation of the Keep Washington Working Act after ICE arrest in Spokane Valley — Kyle Madsen, a senior attorney at the Spokane County Public Defender’s Office, filed a motion to dismiss the assault case, citing government misconduct after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents broke the windows of a vehicle and forcibly removed brothers Jeison and Cesar Ruiz-Rodriguez as they were on their way to a hearing. Madsen, representing Jeison, said ICE’s arrest raises concerns that the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office may have violated the Keep Washington Working Act and the Washington Open Courts Act.

► From the Tri-City Herald — This Pasco mechanic isn’t a felon or violent. So why was he arrested by ICE? — Being undocumented in the U.S. is not a crime under local, state or federal law. It is, however, a civil violation. Everyone in the U.S., documented or not, is constitutionally protected by the right to due process when accused of a crime. Alejandra Guzman-Mercado told the Tri-City Herald that her father was stopped by a federal immigration agent in Pasco around 11 a.m. on Feb. 23. He was driving a work truck when he was pulled over by an unmarked vehicle, one block away from his home. Guzman-Mercado said the ICE agent who arrested her father did not have a warrant.

► From the Seattle Times — Anti-trans Trump policy raises travel, safety concerns for WA residents –Transgender people whose U.S. passports don’t match their other forms of federal and state identification are facing a slew of potential issues because of the new federal policy, including job discrimination, travel complications and the risk of verbal or physical harassment after being outed as transgender, Kline said…The mismatched documents could also create a barrage of issues for people trying to access federal resources, like cash or food assistance. And they could prevent people from getting housing and health insurance, and make it harder to vote or register to vote.

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Boeing reportedly looks to back out of plea deal in 737 MAX crashes — Boeing is seeking to withdraw an agreement to plead guilty related to a criminal fraud charge following two deadly 737 MAX crashes six years ago, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal reported that the aerospace manufacturer is hoping to benefit from “more lenient treatment” from President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.

ORGANIZING

► From 48 Hills — At Game Developers Conference, video game workers look to level up through unionization — On Wednesday evening at GDC, I attended a conversation between Jason Schreier, a Bloomberg journalist who has covered labor issues in gaming for nearly a decade, and Tom Smith, a senior director of organizing for the Communications Workers of America union. Their discussion was focused on the growth of the labor movement in video games that has taken place since 2018, when a GDC panel discussion titled “Unions Now: The Pros and Cons of Organizing” catalyzed the founding of pro-union group Game Workers Unite. The group’s membership quickly swelled from a handful of members to over 300, and their advocacy efforts shifted the conversation around unionization in the industry from “if” to “how.

NATIONAL

► From Yahoo News — US Factory Activity Slips as Materials Costs Rise on Tariffs — “A key concern over tariffs is the impact on inflation, with the March survey indicating a further sharp rise in costs as suppliers pass tariff-related price hikes on to US companies,” Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement. “Firms’ costs are now rising at the steepest rate for nearly two years, with factories increasingly passing these higher costs onto customers,” Williamson said.

► From the AP — International students weigh new risks of pursuing higher education in the US under Trump — As the U.S. government takes a harder line on immigration, cuts federal research funding and begins policing campus activism, students are left to wonder if they’ll be able to get visas, travel freely, pursue research or even express an opinion. International students are coveted as an antidote to declining domestic enrollment and source of full-price tuition payments. In the 2023-2024 academic year, 1.1 million international students at U.S. colleges and universities contributed an all-time high $43.8 billion to the nation’s economy and supported more than 378,000 jobs, according to data released by NAFSA, an agency that promotes international education.

► From the New York Times — U.S. Infrastructure Improves, but Cuts May Imperil Progress, Report Says –Increased federal spending in recent years has helped to improve U.S. ports, roads, parks, public transit and levees, according to a report released on Tuesday by the American Society of Civil Engineers. But that progress could stagnate if those investments, some of which were put on hold after President Trump took office in January, aren’t sustained. Overall, the group gave the nation’s infrastructure a C grade, a mediocre rating but the best the country has received since the group’s first report card in 1998.

► From the AP — US consumer confidence tumbles for the 4th consecutive month to a 12-year low — U.S. consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month as Americans’ anxiety about their financial futures declined to a 12-year low amid rising concern over tariffs and inflation. It is the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80, which the Conference Board says can signal a potential recession in the near future. However, the proportion of consumers anticipating a recession in the next year held steady at a nine-month high, the board reported.

► From the AFL-CIO:

All women deserve to be paid equally for equal work. On #EqualPayDay, we recognize the injustice of the wage gap, where women earn 75 cents on the dollar compared to men.

We’re committed to closing the wage gap and ensuring women get the dignity and respect they deserve at work. pic.twitter.com/ECZTnjcKBW

— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) March 25, 2025

POLITICS & POLICY

► From the Washington State Standard — Democrats in Washington Legislature pitch competing budget plans — Senate Democrats make ends meet in the next two-year budget by delaying expansion of early learning and child care programs, furloughing state workers, and draining state reserves in order to boost funding for special education and other needs of public schools. House Democrats plot a course that avoids controversial moves like furloughing state workers and drawing down savings. Like the Senate, they hold off expanding popular early learning and child care programs. But the House also pledges about $1 billion less in new funding for special education and public school operating costs.

► From the Seattle Times — WA Democrats’ budget proposals intensify debate on new taxes, spending — [In the Senate proposal] Increased funding for K-12 special education ($2.2 billion) and raises for public workers ($1.2 billion) are the biggest drivers of new spending for the next four years, which will total $9.7 billion and be evenly distributed between the two-year budgets. Recent collective bargaining agreements with state employee unions include general wage increases of 5% over two years and additional boosts for certain job classifications. Despite the increase in funding for state worker salaries in their proposal, Robinson said Senate lawmakers are also proposing that state workers be furloughed 13 days in 2026, equaling about a 5% salary reduction. The House Democrats’ $77.8 billion spending proposal for the two-year budget funds the raises but does not include furloughs for workers.

► From KUOW — Taxes, furloughs, funding for cops: WA Democrats tee up budget negotiations — Although the budget plans are similar in many ways, the specifics will evolve as lawmakers negotiate the final deal — and there are some clear differences between the two chambers’ approach. A critical sticking point: State workers’ pay. The Senate proposal would include a one-year pay cut for state workers — amounting to 13 furlough days — to help address a tight budget picture in the 2026 fiscal year. The Senate plan would see workers return to their collectively bargained raises after that. The House plan, meanwhile, does not include furloughs or cuts to state worker pay. “We cannot balance the budget on their backs – everything we have fought to maintain is supported by their work,” said House budget chair Timm Ormsby, of Spokane. The House and Senate are also at odds over whether to dip into the state’s so-called “rainy day” fund.

► From the Seattle Times — WA transportation budget lays out options: All cuts or new taxes, fees — On the Senate side, Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, and Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima — the two leading members on the Senate Transportation Committee — released two starkly different transportation budgets. The first one — preferred by Democratic and Republican leaders on the committee — is a $16.2 billion proposal for the 2025-27 biennium that finishes promised projects and fills a $1 billion hole left behind by former Gov. Jay Inslee. It’s funded by an increase in electric vehicle registration fees and a bump in the gas tax, as well as by dedicating existing sales tax revenue to transportation work. The second one — put out as an austere contrast to the first — postpones projects and cuts workforce development programs to staff up the state ferry system and the State Patrol to meet the shortfall. “We either make cuts to find that billion dollars or we look to find new revenue,” King said. “We chose the latter.”

► From NW Public Broadcasting — Striking workers in Washington could get access to unemployment claims if bill passes — If passed, the bill would allow workers that are striking to bargain for better pay and working conditions to reach a first contract, or under other protected instances, to collect unemployment benefits. These workers could only collect those benefits after about a two-week waiting period and would be capped at 12 weeks of benefits. Workers whose employers lock them out of their jobs during labor disputes, like what happened with Boeing firefighters in 2024, would also be eligible.

► From the Tri-City Herald — ‘We need to fight.’ Hundreds of incensed Tri-Citians push back on Trump, DOGE and Musk — At a Sunday town hall, the Marine Corps veteran and retired Columbia River dams worker spoke out about his frustrations with Rep. Dan Newhouse. He says the Central Washington Republican is letting the Trump Administration and Elon Musk trounce over his neighbors. “What are you going to do, Dan, for our veterans as well as our federal workers,” asked Golladay, holding a sign that read, “Support Our Federal Work Force, Deport Billionaire Elon Musk(Rat).”

► From the New York Times — Trump Administration Is Sued Over Push to Dismantle Education Department — The first lawsuit was filed in federal court in Massachusetts by the American Federation of Teachers, a teachers union; the American Association of University Professors; and two public school districts in Massachusetts. Within hours the N.A.A.C.P., the National Education Association union and other critics had brought a case of their own in federal court in Maryland.

► From Axios — Social Security rushing service cuts at White House request, sources say — The Social Security Administration is rushing cuts to phone services at the White House’s request, the agency’s acting commissioner told Social Security advocates in a meeting on Monday, two sources who attended tell Axios. These changes will strain the already struggling Social Security system and could even deprive some people of benefits entirely, according to current and former employees and advocates for retirees. Acting commissioner Leland Dudek said the changes in question would usually take two years to implement, but will be made in two weeks instead, the two sources said, on condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation.

► From Politico — Inside Elon Musk and Russ Vought’s quiet alliance — Musk, the impulsive Silicon Valley billionaire, provides the public face to the bureaucracy-slashing efforts and takes the heat for the budget-cratering, employee-firing and overall havoc-wreaking that has been unleashed on the federal government. Vought, the conservative budget wonk, brings the expertise, insider knowledge and ideology to a dramatic downsizing that both men see as necessary and transformational.

► From the Washington Post — USPS chief Louis DeJoy resigns as Trump eyes overhauling mail agency — Administration officials in recent days met with Jim Cochrane, the chief executive of the Package Shippers Association, a trade group that represents companies including Amazon, DHL and FedEx, about replacing DeJoy, according to three people familiar with the meeting…Recent tension between DeJoy and the Trump administration over the work of the U.S. DOGE Service contributed to the White House’s antipathy toward the mail chief, who was hired during Trump’s first term by a postal board dominated by Trump appointees. When DOGE officials arrived at postal headquarters, DeJoy refused to give them broad access to agency systems, according to four people familiar with the interactions

INTERNATIONAL

► From the AP — Tesla sales fall by 49% in Europe even as the electric vehicle market grows — Tesla sales for January and February slumped to 19,046 from 37,311 in the same period in 2024. That comes against the background of a 28.4% increase in sales of all battery-electric cars in Europe. Tesla sales are falling globally, however. The company posted its first annual sales drop in more than a dozen years in January. Tesla’s new Cybertruck has had multiple recalls including last week, when the company recalled nearly all of them because panels that run along the left and right side of the windshield can fly off when driving.

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