Jon Talton | The Seattle Times

Jon Talton and Greg Hardin, city editor, at the Lawton (Oklahoma) Constitution in 1984.

October 4, 2019 at 6:00 am

After 37 years, time for reflections and thanks | Jon Talton

Jon Talton, The Seattle Times economics and business columnist for the past 12 years, says goodbye and offers some parting thoughts.

Business

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, large spheres take shape in front of an existing Amazon building and adjacent to a small dog park provided by the company, in Seattle.(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) OTK

September 27, 2019 at 12:00 pm

Don’t be sure that Big Tech won’t face a Ma Bell-like reckoning | Jon Talton

The technology giants have plenty of advantages in fending off antitrust actions. But that's what the old Bell System's leaders thought, too.

Business

Looking southwest towards the Seattle skyline and at left bottom of frame, cars are coming out of the Battery Street tunnel. Road directly above them is Denny Way, running from left to right. Shot Friday, January 4, 2019. The viaduct will be permanently shut down on January 11, 2018 and then demolished. The tunnel to replace it is expected to open about three weeks later. The Battery Street tunnel will not be shut down until later. 208811

September 20, 2019 at 6:00 am

Real-estate seers expect a strong 2020 in Seattle, though not so much for housing | Jon Talton

Seattle real estate is expected to be a hotspot next year, continuing a long trend of investing and building. But the prospects for housebuilding are...

Business

September 17, 2019 at 2:50 pm

A stab at the heart of Saudi oil puts Trump to his biggest test yet | Jon Talton

The weekend attack on critical oil facilities rattled the market. No wonder: Spikes in petroleum prices are closely associated with recessions.

Business

September 13, 2019 at 6:00 am

Are workers ready to flee big cities? It’s not that simple. | Jon Talton

The most recent Census numbers show some major metropolitan areas that shone during the post-recession years now are losing population. But that doesn’t mean an...

Business

Members of Boeing Aeronautical Machinists Union hand out flyers during the Boeing Plant 2 strike, May 1, 1948. (George Carkonen / The Seattle Times)

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On April 22, 1948, the Aeronautical Machinists Union, IAM District Lodge 751, struck the Boeing Company. William Allen was then president of Boeing. For the Machinists the issues were preserving longstanding seniority rules that the company wanted to scrap, and achieving a 10 cent per hour raise for all categories of labor. The strike was characterized by the unusual occurrence of another union, Dave Beck’s Teamsters, collaborating with the company to defeat the machinists union. On September 13, 1948, the Machinists returned to work without a victory, but in the subsequent NLRB-supervised election they soundly defeated the Teamsters.

August 30, 2019 at 6:00 am

For Labor Day, tallying the many cuts that bled unions and the long road back | Jon Talton

Jon Talton | No single source can explain the big decline in union membership. Rebuilding organized labor, and worker bargaining power and rights, will be...