Business

Week in Review: Roe v. Wade, unionization, and policing

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with PubliCola’s Erica Barnett, Geekwire’s Mike Lewis, and The News Tribune’s Matt Driscoll.

Environment

Amazon.com's pollution grows despite massive green energy push

Amazon says a major investment in green power plants will help the company run its operations on 100% clean electricity by 2025.

Business

Seattle's payroll tax is thriving, but faces next legal challenge

Seattle’s new payroll tax survived its first court challenge last June, and the city collected $231m from affected businesses in 2021. The city is forecasting continued growth: $277m in tax proceeds for 2022 and almost $300m next year. Now the lawsuit heads the Washington State Court of Appeals, which is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case Friday.

Business

Food galleys to reopen this week on Washington State Ferries

After two years without hot food or alcoholic beverages, food services will return to some state ferry boats starting Wednesday, April 13. Galleys and cafeterias have been closed since the start of the pandemic.

Business

Seattle seeks to raise pay and set labor standards for gig workers

After months of stakeholder meetings, the Seattle City Council is introducing a series of policies establishing app-based labor standards. Called “Pay Up” ordinance for gig workers, the legislation sponsored by Councilmembers Lisa Herbold and Andrew Lewis, is aimed at raising pay and providing basic worker protections.

Race & Identity

DEI ’R’ US: Setbacks and progress on the road to belonging at work

‘It’s not going to happen in my lifetime. We are working to a future that we will not live to see. That’s what this work is about, and the healing is knowing that we’re doing it together.’

Arts & Life

Diary of a Seattle gig worker: car trouble, drive-thru battles, and no gray area

Delivery services like DoorDash, Grubhub, and Instacart boomed during the pandemic. But drivers for such services say they didn’t benefit from that growth, and that their pay actually decreased. Seattle City Council is drafting legislation to guarantee workers minimum pay and other protections. But critics say the proposal would hurt businesses and consumers who rely on the services.

Business

Seattle reacts to Amazon union election at New York warehouse

Local labor organizers are reacting to the news of Amazon’s first union in the U.S. This follows the successful election of a union at a Staten Island Amazon warehouse.

Environment

Seattle-bound cargo ship spills 90 shipping containers

Nine of the spilled containers are carrying flammable lithium-ion batteries and are considered dangerous cargo.