Poet Ocean Vuong's new novel is more than Briefly Gorgeous "To be queer is to fail into your pleasure." The book, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, is a letter from a son to his mother, who can't read. The poet says it's a monument to failure, to violence, to labor, to silence, to America. Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
Seattle baristas walk out because of 'toxic work environment' Baristas at Slate Coffee Roasters claim late or missing pay and "toxic work environment" Anna Boiko-Weyrauch
Amazon holds an annual meeting. Outside, a shit show Inside the meeting shareholders brought a raft of concerns to chief executive Jeff Bezos, including 11 resolutions that failed. Many of those resolutions asked for greater corporate citizenship from the tech giant. Carolyn Adolph
Construction most dangerous industry in Washington state, data says The fatal crane crash in Seattle's South Lake Union came just days after the state was honoring Worker Memorial Day to remember those who died while on the job. Paige Browning
More than 60,000 workers shut down Seattle a century ago If you were in Seattle in 1919 today, something might have seemed strange. The streetcars weren’t running, and the newspaper boys were nowhere around. Anna Boiko-Weyrauch
Gates Foundation, heralded for long parental leave, cuts program by half The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation says it will cut its paid parental leave program by half to help the nonprofit run more smoothly. David Hyde
TSA, FAA workers at Sea-Tac Airport demand to be paid People in charge of airplane safety at Seattle-Tacoma International Aiport haven't been paid for a month. On Friday they'll miss their second paychecks. Casey Martin
Microsoft puts $500M toward housing crisis; says tech partly to blame for homelessness President Brad Smith connected the tech boom with homelessness and lack of affordable housing. Isolde Raftery
450 ambulance workers likely to strike on Friday in Seattle American Medical Response, the private ambulance provider, said it doesn't plan to re-start salary negotiations, which would prevent the strike. Paige Browning
