Magic: The Gathering Arena Devs Unionize: Workers at local tabletop gaming titan Wizards of the Coast unionized yesterday, specifically the devs behind Arena, the accessible online version of the card game. Their concerns should sound familiar: the layoffs keep coming, management wants all the remote workers to move to Washington and head into the office, uh-oh AI, and mandatory crunch time to match the accelerated tempo of MTG set releases. More details from the Communications Workers of America here.
Seattle Woman Killed by Philippine Military Airstrikes: Kai Dana Sorem and another Filipino American activist were among 19 people killed by Philippine military air attacks on a village earlier this month. The US-backed military claims their victims were fighters belonging to the New Peoples Army, though the guerilla group, the Communist Party of the Philippines, and local Seattle Filipino groups say most victims were civilian noncombatants. The Seattle Times covered a vigil for Sorem this weekend, where community members called for an investigation into the massacre.
Boeing Loses AWACS Contract to Swedish, Canadian Firms: Last month, an Iranian drone and missile attack blew up one of the US Air Force’s most important planes on the tarmac, a Boeing E-3 “airborne early warning control system” (AWACS). Basically it’s an old Boeing 707 with a huge radar dish on top that’s essential to air war. NATO has been looking to replace the E-3 with an airframe that didn’t premiere in the 1950s, and until now, Boeing was the top contender. According to French and German press, Boeing just lost that bid to Bombardier of Canada and Saab of Sweden.
Lummi Nation Sues over Disturbed Burial Grounds: The Lummi Nation says the federal government, local officials and contractors illegally laid fiber optic lines through known Lummi burial grounds in Western Washington, losing human remains in the process. They sued in federal court yesterday, claiming required consultations with the tribe “were treated as obstacles instead of obligations,” a tribal historic preservation officer told KING 5.
Yakima Valley Farmworkers Plan May Day Rally on Unionizing Farm: Empowering Latina Leadership and Action will join the Washington section of the United Farm Workers union on International Workers’ Day in a rally outside Sunnyside’s Windmill Farms, whose owners will not recognize the workers union. Unlike most workers, farmworkers lack the right to have the government adjudicate such disputes. Washington farmers convinced state Democrats to continue denying farmworkers equal collective bargaining rights during the past legislative session. El Sol de Yakima, the Yakima Herald-Republic, Spanish-language vertical, has details on the community’s May 1 plans.
UAE Leaves OPEC: The United Arab Emirates will celebrate International Workers’ Day a little differently this year, announcing this morning their intent to leave the Gulf oil cartel on May 1, per the Associated Press. Long story short, the UAE wants to sell more oil than the cartel will let them. Not that any oil is getting out due to the competing blockades of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and the US.
Tacoma Renters Pitch Fines for Bad Landlords:
In 2023, Tacoma passed a citizen’s initiative to enshrine tenant rights in city law that would prevent landlords from charging excessive fees, evicting people in winter, and more. Organizers say landlords are ignoring the law, requiring pricey lawsuits by renters, so they’re launching another initiative to sharpen its teeth. Per KNKX, “If the initiative passes, landlords would be required to pay tenants a fee of at least $500 and not more than five times the unit’s monthly rent for each violation of the city’s tenant laws.” Money talks!
Good Samaritan Returns 64-years Overdue Nazi Biographies to Library: Northwest Public Broadcasting ran a heartwarming story yesterday about someone returning a couple books to the Richland Public Library that were initially checked out in the 1960s. Cute right? Well, the books were biographies of American automobile industrialist and anti-Semitic publisher Henry Ford, which is less cute.
Uh-Oh, OpenAI Still Isn’t Making Money: I’m sure this will come as a shock, but the plagiarism and lying software marketed by Silicon Valley billionaire Sam Altman as “OpenAI” isn’t profitable, at least not enough for the company to afford all the data centers it signed contracts for, according to The Wall Street Journal. Who could have foreseen this?
As for the Botched US Invasion of Iran: Don’t worry, Kid Rock is on the case.