An enduring business-labor fight renews

Plus transit-oriented development, lot-splitting, and Scrooge McDuck

One of the longest-running battles between labor and business in Washington State history played out again in the Senate this week. 

Senate Bill 5217, which would repeal Initiative 841 from way back in 2003, passed the Senate 27-21 after a lengthy and contentious debate. That initiative effectively barred the state from regulating workplace ergonomics to combat repetitive stress injuries.

You should care about this because it’s the quintessential labor-business standoff, with organized labor and its allies arguing such regulation is essential to protect workers from debilitating injuries, and employers arguing it’s a massive and counterproductive government overreach. 

Braces like these used to be common in newsrooms, back when the news business employed copy editors who wore out their wrists churning through copy.