Labor Day 2018

A tentative one-year contract calls for a 10.5 percent raise for 6,000 Seattle Public Schools employees, according to an email sent Saturday to members of the Seattle Education Association.The deal, reached late Friday, also includes five additional days of paid parental leave for teachers and substitutes, classified staff and office personnel. School will start as scheduled on Wednesday, Sept. 5. Union members and the School Board will vote on the contract this month.Under the 2015-2018 contract, Seattle teachers earn between $50,604 and $100,763. A 10.5 percent hike would change the salary range to $55,984 to $111,343.Seattle Times

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said; "the North American Free Trade Agreement should include Canada. Trumka, whose organization is an umbrella group for most unions, said the economies of the United States, Canada and Mexico are "integrated" and "it's pretty hard to see how that would work without having Canada in the deal."