SEATTLE – It's more than a chance to pick up a couple of free books this weekend at the Seattle Center. At a First Book Resource Fair on Saturday, families can learn more about 20 local community groups, from the arts to social services.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Washington partnered with the national nonprofit group First Book to organize the event.

The goal is to jumpstart summer reading by getting new books to hundreds of children whose families might not otherwise be able to afford them.

AFT Washington President Karen Strickland says it fits the mission of the union, which represents educators and support staff.

"As an institution, we can have a very direct, positive impact on individual lives,” she says, “besides the work we do as the union – you know, by providing books and pulling people together. And we all have a shared interest, right? It's about quality of life for everybody."

Strickland adds many AFT Washington members also are parents of school-age children.

According to the First Book organization, young children from lower-income families have one-fourth the vocabulary of their higher-income peers, in part because they don't have books at home or people who read with them.

In Washington, most AFT members work in colleges and universities. But Strickland says the ties to K-through-12 education and even preschool are critical. She explains what happens in those early years eventually affect the course content and budget in higher education.

"Legislators and decision-makers are becoming less comfortable with providing so much remedial education at the college level,” she says. “I mean, it makes sense – you don't want to pay for education when a child is in K-12 and then, pay for the same kind of education when they get to higher ed. So, it's good to reinforce K-12 success."

Strickland says the union is planning other First Book events in other cities in Washington.

The Resource Fair at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall is this Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.





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A strike set to begin today has been averted at Western Michigan University, Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine, known as WMed.

Its resident physicians reached a tentative deal with the medical school last week.

For nearly eight months, about 200 residents and fellows had been negotiating for improvements in working conditions, including higher salaries and stipends, and more time off.

Mitchell Batchelder - an organizer and field representative with the Resident and Fellow Alliance, the union representing the residents - said the strike notice seemed to prompt a greater willingness from WMed management to reach an agreement.

He emphasized several key aspects of the deal.

"They secured a three-year contract with guaranteed wage increases in each year," said Batchelder. "They got a meal stipend - you know, they're working 24-hour shifts and they need access to fresh, healthy food in order to bring their best while they're working those 24 hours."

He added that the agreement marks a historic milestone as the first private-sector medical resident contract in the state of Michigan.

Batchelder also stressed the impact such a contract could have on W-Med's future, as well as the community.

With this agreement in place, he predicted the institution will not only retain its current top-tier residents, but also attract new talent.

"From a long-term perspective, for these hospitals in Kalamazoo and for the community, this is a really, really great thing," said Batchelder. "Because it can be really hard sometimes to retain and attract qualified health care professionals. And I think this allows them to have an even stronger pitch to those folks."

Batchelder said he believed this private sector deal could also have a significant national impact on unions and labor laws - highlighting what he describes as the imbalance in current regulations.

He noted that many U.S. labor laws are structured in a way that tends to favor employers.



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This has been "National March Into Literacy Month" but it may become tougher over the summer to "march" into a public library and ask for help finding a good book.

An executive order signed this month by President Donald Trump requires staff and funding cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the agency funding libraries across the country.

One in five Maryland adults has low reading skills, according to the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and 36% of fourth graders read below grade level.

Sandy Keaton, 2025 conference chair for the State of Maryland Literacy Association, said building reading skills can start in the home and parents play a large role in their kids' reading journey.

"The best way to promote literacy is for you to be a reader and for your children to see you being a reader," Keaton emphasized. "The second thing I would say would be to read with your child. You can have him or her read a page to you, then you can read a page. You can have him or her read the entire page."

Nationally, Maryland's literacy rate is in the middle of the pack among states, at 28th.

The library cutbacks come as the National Center for Education Statistics found national reading scores had their largest decline in more than 30 years. Those declines were worse for already low-performing students.

For adults, Keaton suggested starting with a book you like or that is about one of your interests, and go from there.

"If they wanted to continue to build on that knowledge, there are so many exhibitors and vendors that have books that not only will help younger children but will also help the adults," Keaton added.

Keaton recommended librarians as a great resource for all ages to get into reading. They are trained to help people pick books to match their reading level and interests.


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The U.S. House of Representatives last month passed a budget resolution that would reduce the federal deficit by $880 billion over the next decade. That's at the cost of Medicaid programs, and Montana K-12 students could feel the impacts. Roughly two in every five Montana kids have health insurance through Medicaid, according to a Montana Healthcare Foundation report. Others may be under the care of family members who use Medicaid benefits, such as grandparents or veterans.

Amanda Curtis, president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, says kids "hurt" when their needs aren't met.

"Teachers, counselors, nurses in Montana are incredibly concerned for our students who rely on Medicaid services to be able to show up to school and learn every day," Curtis explained.

She added that school staff are vital to student health as they often recognize when a kid needs extra help, like through speech and language pathologists, nurses or psychologists. The federal move clashes with a Montana bill to drop the sunset date for Medicaid expansion, which went to the governor's desk earlier this month.

Curtis noted that bill received bipartisan support.

"Montanans from the entire political spectrum agree that this is a program that is important to Montanans, that is good for Montanans, not just on an individual level but also for our economy," she continued."

Medicaid is partially funded by federal dollars but administered by states, which would be left with tough decisions on who to cut from the program or how to make up the difference - by raising taxes, cutting other programs. Based on Montana's Medicaid spending, the proposed federal cuts are equivalent to coverage for 57,000 kids in the state, or nearly 70% of child enrollees, according to KFF.


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