skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, December 1, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

On World AIDS Day, New Mexico activists say more money is needed for prevention; ND farmers still navigate corporate land-ownership policy maze; Unpaid caregivers in ME receive limited financial grants.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Secretary of State Antony Blinken urges Israel to protect civilians amid Gaza truce talks, New York Rep. George Santos defends himself as his expected expulsion looms and CDC director warns about respiratory illness as flu season begins.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress has iced the Farm Bill, but farmer advocates argue some portions are urgent, the Hoosier State is reaping big rewards from wind and solar, and opponents react to a road through Alaska's Brooks Range, long a dream destination for hunters and anglers.

Laid-Off UW Laundry Workers Hold Town Hall Meeting

play audio
Play

Thursday, December 6, 2018   

SEATTLE – University of Washington laundry service workers who will be laid off next year are holding a town hall meeting on campus Thursday.

UW Medicine Consolidated Laundry employees are frustrated with the school's decision to close their facility in March, which will leave 100 without work.

Nearly all are people of color and women.

Mustafa Getahun has been a truck driver for Consolidated Laundry for more than two decades and is a refugee from Ethiopia who came to the United States in the 1980s. He says he's sad to leave his colleagues.

"I feel like I've become another refugee,” he states. “I just feel like the same way, like 33 years ago, because this is the family we have. They can read your face, when you are sad or you're happy."

The meeting, which is open to the public, will start at 6 p.m. at Savery Hall.

Elected officials, the UW president and the group UW United Students Against Sweatshops will be in attendance.

The school is closing Consolidated Laundry in order to contract with Hospital Central Services Association in Auburn, a change the school says will save $3 million.

In an email, the school says the decision is purely financial.

The new company is not unionized, but Consolidated Laundry workers are members of the Washington Federation of State Employees. The union was in talks with the university earlier this year to get pay increases for the laundry workers to keep up with King County's rising cost of living, but never came to an agreement.

Georgina Tabasan, a single mom who also has worked for Consolidated Laundry for more than 20 years, says workers weren't asking for much, and are now in an even tighter spot.

"It's devastating for me and for all my co-workers, because most of us here are women and all of us have got kids to send to school,” she explains. “We don't know where we're going to go. I'm sad to say maybe we're going to be homeless."

Consolidated Laundry workers are frustrated at what they see as inequities in UW Medicine's budget. Their union points out their average salary is about $36,000 a year and the UW laundry budget is $12.6 million.

That's less than UW Medicine's 40 highest paid administrators, who make more than $330,000 a year on average.

The university isn't offering severance pay but says it might be able to help workers find jobs at other hospitals, although that isn't a guarantee.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
According to the National Family Farm Coalition, the average U.S. farmland value is now $3,800 per
acre, the highest since the 1970s. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

North Dakota's farming landscape is seeing policy shifts dealing with corporate ownership of agricultural interests. Now, there's fresh debate at the …


Social Issues

play sound

Advocates for unpaid family caregivers in Maine say they'll need continued support beyond the recently passed paid family and medical leave program…

Social Issues

play sound

The Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at the University of Florida and the University of South Florida are filing lawsuits against the deacti…


An estimated 40% of recent college graduates in the U.S. are underemployed, according to Statista. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

A new report from WGU Labs, a nonprofit affiliate of Western Governors University based in Millcreek, Utah, is shedding light on the importance of …

Social Issues

play sound

Many older residents of Washington state are facing strains on their budgets -- and the government programs that could assist them are underused…

The Thrive Indianapolis Annual Report 2022 says Indianapolis has been recognized as a Tree City USA for 35 consecutive years. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Bloomington and Indianapolis are getting some international recognition for the work they're doing to help the environment. The two have been named …

Health and Wellness

play sound

New Mexico activists are tapping today's World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, to announce they'll ask the State Legislature to provide more money for treatment …

play sound

Bipartisan legislation that proposes the installation of solar panels in schools across Pennsylvania awaits a vote in the state Senate. The Solar …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021