DAILY NEWS
FF’s strike three, ser elegido en Yakima, Reich’s right…
Monday, September 29, 2014
LOCAL
EDITOR’S NOTE — So if you’re keeping track, the politically motivated push by the right-wing extremists at the Olympia-based Freedom Foundation to impose new anti-union “right-to-work” restrictions on collective bargaining at the city level is now 0-for-3, having already been rejected in Sequim and Shelton. But the group’s CEO, Tom McCabe, openly brags that “litigation is an essential part of our strategy to take on unions and their political allies,” so the legal costs for these targeted cities may be just beginning.
► In the (Everett) Herald — Everett Community College union agrees to new contract — The union (WFSE) representing the non-academic staff at Everett Community College has reached an agreement with the state on a new two-year contract. Among other benefits, the new contract for 2015-17 includes a 3 percent pay increase in 2015 and a smaller bump the following year.
STATE GOVERNMENT
► In today’s News Tribune — Questions surround taxes to fund schools — and if voters overturn them — State Republicans, long opponents of raising revenue to meet the state Supreme Court’s order to fully fund basic education by 2018, have been floating a new line of argument in recent days: That paying for education with higher taxes might be unconstitutional.
► In the Seattle Times — Inslee appoints temporary replacement for Rep. Mike Hope — What does it feel like to be a lawmaker for two months when the Legislature is out of session and the political parties are both out campaigning in advance of an election? Retired Navy Capt. Doug Roulstone is about to find out.
ELECTION
► In The Hill — Voting begins in battle for U.S. Senate — Voting is officially underway in the midterm elections. Election Day isn’t until Nov. 4, but a total of 36 states and the District of Columbia allow some form of early voting in person or by mail. Iowa’s early voting began on Thursday, and North Carolina, Colorado, Arkansas, Ohio, Louisiana and Georgia will allow ballots to be cast in the coming weeks.
EDITOR’S NOTE — In Washington state, military and overseas ballots have already been mailed and ballots for the rest of us will be mailed Oct. 21.
► In today’s L.A. Times — Key U.S. Senate races close, new round of polls says — The latest rounds of polling in the contested U.S. Senate races in Iowa, Louisiana and North Carolina make one thing clear: it’s looking very close.
► At Think Progress — Judge slams voter suppression law: ‘Why does state of North Carolina not want people to vote?’ — Several provisions are at issue in this case that all make it more difficult for residents of North Carolina to cast a vote. One provision cuts a week of early voting days. Another restricts voter registration drives. A third implements a strict voter ID law, although that provision does not take effect until 2016.
NATIONAL
► In the L.A. Times — A grand design for greater gridlock at National Labor Relations Board (editorial) — Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee thinks he has the solution to perceived problems at the National Labor Relations Board: Make the five-member body just as deadlocked as Congress… Alexander’s revisions of the NLRB would also allow legal challenges to complaints issued by the NLRB’s general counsel’s office even before they are reviewed by the board itself; that could delay actions on labor complaints for months, if not years. This is not reform; it is legislative neutering.
► In today’s Sacramento Bee — California Gov. Jerry Brown signs subcontractor bill — In a major victory for California labor unions, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Sunday that he has signed legislation that will hold businesses liable when subcontractors violate wage, workplace safety or workers’ compensation rules.
► At Think Progress — Internationally renowned human rights lawyer marries actor who played handyman on ‘Facts of Life’
TODAY’S MUST-READ
GDP growth is less and less relevant to the wellbeing of most Americans. We should be paying less attention to growth and more to median household income. If the median household’s income is is heading upward, the economy is in good shape. If it’s heading downward, as it’s been for this entire recovery, we’re all in deep trouble.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Also see Seattle P-I coverage of Reich’s visit.
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.