City Upzones The Seattle City Council up-zoned dozens of neighborhoods around mass transit hubs. Upzones provoke a lot of internal debate on the left because upzones, free of mitigating policy, often lead to gentrification. A new complex plopped on a block raises the market value. It is new and sleek while much of the city… Read more »
Dispatches
The latest on local issues, education on class struggle, chapter news, and actions.
The Hellhole – Week of 3/18
Sound Transit CEO to privatize routes, bring in scabs Privatization leads to worse service and outcomes. This week Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff suggested privatizing a bus route and replacing union jobs with low-bid scabs. What’s good for the goose is not good for the gander though, as Rogoff haggled an 11 percent pay increase… Read more »
The Hellhole – Week of 3/11
Northwest Detention Center Resistance celebrates five years of fighting for immigrant rights This past Sunday in Tacoma, Northwest Detention Center Resistance celebrated their 5th anniversary of fighting for and as people surviving unjust detainment and slavery-like conditions at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC). NWDCR will also change their name to La Resistencia. The event featured… Read more »
Protected: 3.9.2019 Local Council Minutes
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The Hellhole – Week 3/4
Mayor Durkan tried to appoint a public official who oversaw the largest death of unhoused Seattleites in history without a debate Mayor Durkan appointed yet another public official without consulting the public. Jason Johnson had served as interim head of Human Services for the city since March last year. The record number of unhoused deaths… Read more »
The Hellhole – Week of 2/25
Washington teachers fought high stakes testing. Last Friday, they won. High stakes testing and “No Child Left Behind” privatization ravaged public education under Bush, Obama, and Trump. These tests have gone from marginal assessment to dominating the curriculum (and often the bonus structure) during the year. These tests are neither reliable nor valid for assessing… Read more »
The Hellhole – Week of 2/18
UW right-wing vandalizes monument to those who fought fascism in Spain (and many who died in the Holocaust) Fascists recognize how popular socialist policies are. It frightens them. Reactionaries at the University of Washington defaced a memorial to the Spanish Civil War, a struggle where anarchists and communists bravely fought dictator Franco’s rise to power… Read more »
The Hellhole – Week of 2/11
Democrats, Republicans Giving Trump Billions Emergency or Not People are pretending that sarcastic claps at the State of the Union signal resistance to Trump’s agenda, but Democrats in Congress are folding on a tentative deal to keep the government open. The key to it is handing billions over for parts of the wall (euphemistically a… Read more »
The Hellhole – Week of 2/4
Contractors May Never Recover from the Shutdown. We asked one government contractor about the shutdown and they weighed in: Contractors are rarely, if ever, given back pay after a shutdown, and this one can’t be blamed on Trump. It’s due to the way that contractors are paid and how funding is allocated (and how the… Read more »
The Hellhole – Week of 1/28
We Need Public Housing at Fort Lawton. Show up Monday, February 11. Fort Lawton was a massive return of federally occupied lands to (at least) municipal control. No strings attached. With rampant speculation in Seattle, this is a shot to build dense, much needed housing near the city’s largest park and within miles of downtown.… Read more »
The Hellhole – Week of 1/21
Peace for our elders King County could build housing for miles. Instead, we’re reduced to a fight for inches. Bakaro Mall may be displaced by cops. 12th Ave. Ethiopian restaurant Saba is being kicked out. Displacement and gentrification robs communities and the people whose labor powers these streets. The fight for Halcyon Mobile Home Park… Read more »
The Hellhole – Week of 1/14
Issaquah Paraeducators Vote on First-Ever Strike The Office Professionals of Issaquah and Paraeducators of SEIU Local 925 voted to strike, with over 90% of their members in support. In a region that has taken for granted its drivers, cooks, janitors, nurses, secretaries and more, this is especially dank. Educators may also vote to strike in… Read more »