TUESDAY, JULY 25  ▪  Reichert joins Democrats in urging NLRB to hear workers' side -- The 8th District Republican urges the NLRB Chairman to allow oral arguments in the Kentucky River rulings redefining who can be reclassified "supervisors" and denied their union rights.

Also today:  ▪  Rally for state employee health care on Thursday in Puyallup -- Despite a budget surplus, state negotiators are proposing to double state workers' monthly expenses. 

Local news:
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Another corporate tax break? (editorial) -- Do large corporations need another tax break? The House of Representatives seems to think so. It plans this week to take up a measure defining when states can tax companies -- and making it easier for companies to avoid paying state taxes. It would cost Washington an estimated $700 million a year.
▪  Today from AP -- Gregoire boosts women, minorities -- The governor directs state government to boost their opportunities to land state contracts, saying their share has sunk to 1% or less.
▪  In today's Everett Herald -- Arlington Wal-Mart foes take case to court -- A judge recently ruled against opponents in Marysville. "It's the same issues, the same lawyer, the same union funding, and we've prevailed so far in all of them," says a Wal-Mart spokeswoman.

Political news:
▪  Today from AP -- Eyman upset over I-917 signature count -- Temporarily setting aside his gorilla, Darth Vader and Buzz Lightyear costumes, the initiative profiteer asks that his claims be taken seriously. Elections officials say the I-917 verification sampling will be finished by next Monday.
▪  In the Seattle P-I -- Car tab initiative: Disappearing ink (editorial) --  The funny costumes have run their course. Let's talk about the serious business of governing, which requires difficult choices -- if you pay less for car tabs, then pay more taxes somewhere else or cut government services. The real villain in this costume theater is the ill-suited promise of something for nothing.
▪  At Postman on Politics -- Eyman's money man ready to write another check -- Michael Dunmire believes Eyman about the "missing" signatures. He's given $232,000 to the campaign so far, and says he'll soon donate about $100,000 to Eyman's "compensation fund."
▪  At Postman on Politics -- AWB backs Alexander for Supreme Court -- They pass on BIAW Boy.
▪  In today's Salem S-J -- Out-of-state money boosts Oregon's term limit, spending cap initiatives
▪  In today's NY Times -- Oregon's property rights law kicks in, easing land-use rules -- A new claim for $203 million may be the biggest yet among hundreds of filings by Oregon property owners since voters approved a 2004 measure that requires the government to compensate the owner or waive the regulations that reduce the value of property. Several states, including neighboring Idaho and Washington, now have similar measures on their ballots this fall.
▪  In today's Seattle P-I -- "It's the American dream, stupid," Democrats say -- The centrist Democratic Leadership Council unveils the "American Dream Initiative," a package of proposals aimed at strengthening the middle class and helping the poor work their way out of poverty.

National news:
▪  Today from AP -- Five years of WTO talks crash amid bickering -- A deal touted as a way to lift millions of people out of poverty floundered because six of the World Trade Organization's most powerful members failed to agree on trade in farm and manufactured goods.
▪  Today from Reuters -- Higher pay may help solve U.S. trucker shortage -- Some experts are proposing to raise pay by 30%, or invite Mexican workers to do the job. 
▪  In today's NY Times -- Raising wages, not walls (Dukakis op-ed) -- If we are really serious about turning back the tide of illegal immigration, we should start by raising the minimum wage.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Immigration bill aims to bridge Republican divide -- It would allow most of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States a chance to work here legally, but only after the government certifies that U.S. borders have been sufficiently secured.
▪  Today from AP -- Pension deal still in negotiations -- Congressional negotiators rushing to complete a major pension bill before the August recess say a deal remains elusive.
▪  In today's Washington Post -- Security won out over federal workers, new study says -- The study views the Sept. 11 attacks as pivotal, creating "a new and different policy environment" that helped Bush override union objections and frame the debate for stronger management control.
▪  In today's Chicago Sun-Times -- Unions persevering -- A year after two of the AFL-CIO's biggest unions broke away from the national federation to build a new one, local labor leaders say unions have maintained solidarity here. But there have been hurdles, and more lie ahead.

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

Last week, we reported that both Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, along with Democratic Reps. Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Brian Baird, Norm Dicks, Jim McDermott and Adam Smith, had all written the Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board to urge him to hear oral arguments in the three pending Kentucky River decisions.  Add Republican Rep. Dave Reichert to the growing list.

The 8th District Republican wrote the NLRB Chairman Robert Battista on Monday, also urging that advocates for working families be allowed to present their case publicly on the rulings, which are due some time this summer. The Kentucky River decisions are expected to redefine who can be considered "supervisors" and therefore denied the right to join unions, affecting as many as 8 million American workers in health care, building and construction, energy, broadcasting, port shipping and other industries.

"As these decisions have the potential to affect a wide range of workers... I believe it is in the best interest of all concerned that the Board hears oral arguments in these cases," wrote Reichert in a letter dated Monday.

The following event announcement was distributed Monday by the South Sound Chapter of Washington State Jobs with Justice: