Boeing owes strikers more than it’s offering. The machinist union should stand strong | Opinion

Boeing owes striking workers more

Why is anyone in the media or the public at large surprised that Boeing’s latest, “last and final” offer was rejected?

Their 40% wage increase offer doesn’t catch us up to the 10 years’ lack of any contract improvements.

This strike is about respect and human factors, not money.

The return of our pension is paramount.

Company leadership and their contract negotiators are snow-blind and tone-deaf.

We have long memories and have been grievously disrespected these past 10 years. We’ve gone without any contract improvements.

The machinist union membership didn’t ruin this once great company. Company management owns the debacle.

The media keeps harping that we won’t win our pension back. That is what the robber barons said a century or more ago about Unions winning the 40-hour work week, overtime pay, vacation time and medical benefits among other human factor issues that we have fought and paid for in blood.

This is the new “Gilded Age” we are living through. Working-class women and men are standing up to the oligarchs and corporate greed. This is a fight that we have to and will win for all working families.

We stand or fall.

David Clay, Snohomish

Senior center closures should be rejected

The Older Americans’ Act was signed into law in 1965. Each year its funding must be approved by Congress and signed by the President of the United States. Senior centers were established in that law.

“Research shows older adults who participate in senior center programs can learn to manage and delay the onset of chronic disease and experience measurable improvements in their physical, social, spiritual, emotional mental and economic well-being,” according to the National Council on Aging.

Research in the last 50 years continues to support the necessity of senior centers and identifies measures and plans to meet the needs of an ever-growing and changing population.

No research suggests the merging of senior services with other community services. In fact, it supports expanding senior centers and programs.

Yet, our City Council has charged forward, ignorant of federal laws and the needs of constituents. Senior centers are protected by law. Closing them is wrong, legally and morally.

One day you will be older Americans. If you want to move into those years with your feet on solid ground, knowing these laws protecting you, are alive and well in Tacoma, please contact your representative.

Nancy Chapa, Tacoma

Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act

After the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan, ending a twenty-year conflict, an estimated 78,000 Afghan allies were left behind in a country now under Taliban control. More than three years later, Congress continues to stall on addressing their plight. Meanwhile, Congress has allocated $175 billion to support Ukraine’s war efforts and nearly $18 billion for Israel. If the U.S. wants to pursue smart foreign policy initiatives and build strong relationships with foreign nations, it needs to clean up its messes before moving on to new conflicts.

Currently, the Afghan Adjustment Act awaits a vote in both the Senate and the House. As an intern with the Borgen Project, I urge U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer to prioritize this legislation before leaving office in January. The act would grant green cards to Afghan allies, including those who served alongside U.S. forces in the Afghan military. Congress is clearly interested in getting involved in wars, but it’s time to prove they can deal with the issues they create too.

Isaiah LaCombe, Gig Harbor