MONDAY, JULY 24  ▪  Like it or not, NLRB poised to "promote" many of us to Supervisor (WSLC President Rick Bender's monthly column) -- We’re still waiting to see if the NLRB will allow working people to be heard on the pending Kentucky River decisions, or if we will simply read about the loss of our freedom of association in the newspaper one morning this summer.
▪  In today's LA Times -- Upending the House of Labor (op-ed by UC-Santa Barbara history professor) -- If everyone's a supervisor, who's left to be protected by labor laws?

Local news:
▪  In today's Olympian -- Unions say health care deal was violated (brief) -- WFSE and other state worker unions file a grievance against the state with the Public Employment Relations Board.
▪  In today's Seattle Times -- Congress may trim state revenue by $689M with business tax cut
▪  In Sunday's Spokesman-Review -- Workers' comp gets helping hand at St. Luke's -- The prognosis for injured workers, their employers and the Washington workers' compensation system is looking up, in part because of a program developed by St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute.
▪  In today's Tri-City Herald -- Hanford, other nuclear workers' medical claims near $100 million
▪  In the P.S. Business Journal -- Soda syrup tax cut will widen restaurant profit margins 

Political news:
▪  In Sunday's Spokesman-Review -- Jim West dead at 55 -- Cancer claims Jim West, the former state Senate majority leader who was one of Spokane's most successful politicians for a quarter-century until he was turned out of the city mayor's office by a career-ending scandal.
▪  In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Chopp melds strategy, clout as he leads battle for House -- Chopp's style can be brusque, and his decisions can perturb even supporters. The Washington State Labor Council, for instance, is troubled by his courting of the business community. Says BIAW Boss Tom McCabe: "I'd like to see Frank Chopp run for governor." 
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Re-election could be cakewalk for many state lawmakers this fall -- With candidates set to begin filing today for the September primary, nearly half of the area's state lawmakers seeking re-election have no announced opposition.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- GOP due plan strong union -- Freshman State Rep. Chris Strow (R-10th) is engaged to Mary Lane, spokeswoman for Dino Rossi's 2004 gubernatorial campaign. Island County's Grethe Cammermeyer decides not to run for Strow's seat.
▪  At Horses Ass blog -- McGavick shows little traction in latest Elway poll -- Cantwell leads 47-33.
▪  In Sunday's Columbian -- Safe at 3rd? -- Rep. Brian Baird's popularity leads some to wonder whether the 3rd District is a safe seat for Baird as long as he wants it.
▪  In Sunday's News Tribune -- GOP losing Hispanic voters (Broder column) -- Bush’s favorability rating has sunk from 60% to 38% among these voters, and Democrats lead the GOP by 24 points.

National news:
▪  At AFLCIO.org -- Bush rejection of AFL-CIO trade petition a "slap in the face" for workers
▪  From AP -- Bush administration rejects request to investigate Chinese labor practices 
▪  In the USAToday -- Where is Robin Hood when you need him? (editorial) --  The minimum wage hasn't budged in almost a decade. Gas prices at $3 a gallon are crushing the working poor. So what is Congress doing? It's working hard -- not to raise the minimum wage for millions of the poorest working Americans, but to repeal the estate tax for a tiny sliver of America's wealthiest.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Spare Goliath (editorial) -- Maryland's "Wal-Mart law" is a bad idea that doesn't deserve a second chance... Massachusetts, a state that is trying to responsibly address rising health-care costs, hasn't resorted to preying selectively on its large employers.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Huge backlogs, delays feared under Senate's immigration plan
▪  In Sunday's (Longview) Daily News -- Sen. Cantwell's bill a needed Rx for Medicare (editorial)
▪  In today's LA Times -- Retailers see trouble on ports' horizon -- Despite smooth sailing in the United States now, firms brace for a logjam as trade pushes capacity.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Union tries to unite blacks, Latinos -- In North Carolina's Cape Fear region, tens of thousands of undocumented Latino immigrants seeking meatpacking jobs have joined hundreds of thousands of poor and working-class black people who struggle to get by. The UFCW hopes their combined forces could create regional power, but is finding it hard to overcome the deep wariness and suspicion between the groups in its quest to unite them.

Last week: Monday, 7/17 -- Tuesday, 7/18 -- Wednesday, 7/19 -- Thursday, 7/20 -- Friday, 7/21