Lauren Gallup

As the city of Tacoma works to manage its $24 million budget deficit, council members have been making decisions on what to cut. At Tuesday’s council meeting, the electeds considered two amendments. The first amendment was brought forward by Council member Jamika Scott, who worked in collaboration with Council member Joe Bushnell to find a way to protect the city’s cash reserve. The initial proposed budget would have used the city’s over $8 million reserve to make up for the shortfall. That’s money the city can use to pay overtime costs for police and fire, fund shelter beds and other emergent costs.

As the city of Tacoma works to manage its $24 million budget deficit, council members have been making decisions on what to cut. At Tuesday's council meeting, the electeds considered two amendments.

The Tacoma City Council adopted its next two-year budget, after months of working with city staff to balance for a predicted $24 million structural deficit.

Nurses at Tacoma’s St. Joseph Medical Center could soon have a new collective bargaining agreement with higher wages, improved safety measures in the hospital and some staffing mandates. The bargaining team for the nurses reached a tentative agreement with the hospital after months of bargaining. This week, all employees at the hospital represented by the Washington State Nurses Association have a chance to vote on the contract.

Aerospace company Boeing has announced another round of layoffs, this one impacting 396 workers in Washington state. About half of the Boeing employees in Washington laid off in this round of cuts are members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace. Bryan Corliss, a spokesperson for SPEEA, said in recent months, his union has seen over 3% of its members across the U.S. laid off from Boeing, as the company faces serious financial trouble in the wake of incidents on its aircraft.

When workers go on strike in Washington state, they don’t earn a dime. A new piece of legislation could change that. This bill would allow workers to eventually access unemployment benefits, starting the second Sunday after they began withholding their labor. Workers could claim up to four weeks of benefits through the state’s unemployment insurance, according to co-sponsor of the bill, state Sen. Steve Conway.

would allow workers to eventually access unemployment benefits, starting the second Sunday after they began withholding their labor. Workers could claim up to four weeks of benefits through the state's unemployment insurance, according to a co-sponsor of the bill, state Sen. Steve Conway.

For workers in Washington state, there are a number of bills being brought forward this legislative session that labor leaders hope will make working life better in the state. The Washington State Labor Council has introduced its legislative agenda for 2025, which focuses on improving child labor laws, bargaining over artificial intelligence in public sector jobs and improving wages and benefits.

Striking teachers march around the Tacoma School District Central Administration Building, Sept. 10, 2018, in Tacoma, Wash. (Credit: Ted S. Warren / AP) Listen (Runtime 4:28) Read By Phineas Pope […]

When employees at PeaceHealth hospitals around the state need a prescription filled for themselves or a family member, they can get them filled at PeaceHealth pharmacies for lower costs. It’s one of the benefits of the health care organization's insurance plan for its employees. But in Bellingham, Washington, PeaceHealth workers can’t use that benefit. There isn’t a physical PeaceHealth pharmacy in the city.