Clean-energy reform | Paper mill investigation | Unions & equal pay

Monday, July 27, 2026

LOCAL

► From FOX 12 — Report details Longview paper mill workers’ response to chemical spill — Employees at the mill took immediate action, and the report details how they had to decide between diverting the flow of spilled material and intermittently shutting off a series of pumps to control the spill…“Our members did what they’re trained to do and they did their jobs,” Josh Estes, a spokesperson for the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers. The tank failure at the mill is “one of the worst industrial disasters in Washington’s history,” according to the Washington Department of Ecology. Estes said despite their training, an emergency situation of this scale is not something you can prepare for.

► From Packaging Dive — Nippon Dynawave extends employee pay at idled Washington plant — Nippon Dynawave Packaging told employees Friday they will continue to receive pay through Oct. 11 following the deadly white liquor tank implosion at the Longview, Washington, pulp and paper mill on May 26 that has idled operations. The company previously had agreed to fully pay workers through Aug. 8, and the new agreement “provides much-needed stability” while local, state and federal investigations into the incident continue, said the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers in a statement.

► From KUOW — Health inspections of Tacoma ICE center remain on pause as legal battle continues — The Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma remains closed to state health inspectors despite a judge’s order two weeks ago opening the region’s largest immigrant detention center to state officials. GEO Group, the independent contractor that owns the facility, requested an emergency pause on the order to allow state inspectors access to the facility. A judge in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay on Tuesday, pending a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on whether to allow a longer pause.

► From the Cascadia Daily News — Update: ICE agents arrest several outside Lynden packing plant in what advocates call a ‘soft raid’ — The number of employees detained from Premier Packing is notable, said Erin Burns, a member of an immigrant advocate group. “We don’t have any other business in Whatcom that we know of that has had numbers anywhere close,” to the estimated 44 to 50 employees detained, Burns said. As a result, the targeting is “terrorizing the workforce,” Burns said…This year, state lawmakers passed a law requiring employers to notify employees five business days before a planned I-9 inspection. Dorrough believes the tactics used by federal immigration officials at Premier Packing, dubbed a “soft raid” by advocates, is a way to bypass the new state law.

► From KING 5 — Here are available resources for people affected by the shooting at Bite of Seattle — Nonprofits and local leaders offered their support and condolences to the community in attendance at the festival. Here is a list of available resources for people who were affected by the shooting.

► From My Northwest — Washington state wildfires growing in size, forcing evacuations — Dry conditions across the state have prompted Red Flag Watches and Warnings, as a series of wildfires continues to grow across Washington. Fire officials are encouraging people to avoid activities that can spark more fires.

CONTRACT FIGHTS

► From the Seattle Times — SIFF Cinema workers walk out before ‘The Odyssey’ showings — Late Thursday night, SCWU posted on Instagram that it had voted to authorize collective action following union negotiations, where they claimed SIFF engaged in bad-faith bargaining practices, including intentional delays and refusing “reasonable” information requests. This alleged behavior, Tippins said, has delayed the ratification of their second contract. Their first contract expired in April. “This continuing delay denies our members any improvements in wages, benefits and protections as bargaining is prolonged,” the email from Tippins said.

► From the Everett Herald — Bakers’ union demands fair pay as talks break down with grocery giant — The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers Local 9 have created a petition urging the grocery giant, which also owns Safeway and Haggen, to make living wage increases. After meeting with representatives from the grocery giant 12 to 13 times in the last year, no new meetings are scheduled, said Cheryl Stone, the union’s financial secretary, treasurer and business representative. The union’s previous contract expired in September. “All we’re asking for is fair treatment,” Stone said.

NATIONAL

► From the BlackPress USA — Black Women Deserve Equal Pay. Unions Help Make It Happen. — That’s why we observe Black Women’s Equal Pay Day this year on July 21. It brings attention to the fact that among full-time, year-round workers, Black women earned just 65 cents in 2025 for every dollar earned by white men…The evidence is clear. Black women represented by a union earn about $9,150 more per year than Black women who are not in a union. Black workers overall also receive a large wage boost from union membership, with a 12.6% wage premium compared with nonunion Black workers.

► From the New York Times — Employers Fear Labor Shortage as Many Immigrants Lose Protected Status — About 70 percent of T.P.S. holders were participating in the U.S. labor force, many in construction and health care, according to an analysis by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania…But on Monday, about 350,000 T.P.S. recipients from Haiti and several other countries will lose their work permits in the first wave of fallout from the Supreme Court ruling. About 190,000 Salvadoran beneficiaries could be next to lose their status when it expires in September. “For particular places and particular industries, tens of thousands of workers no longer able to legally work is going to be a very big hit,” said Alexander Arnon, the director of policy analysis at the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

► From Deadline — Paramount Agrees To Not Close Warner Bros Discovery Transaction Until Next Year Or Until Lawsuit Merits Are Resolved — Paramount has agreed not to close its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery until June 1, 2027, or until shortly after the merits of lawsuits brought by state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America are resolved. The agreement is an extraordinary new development in the merger transaction, which has won regulatory approval from the federal government and European regulators.

POLITICS & POLICY

► From KUOW — Washington state’s clean-energy bottleneck leads to calls for reform — Beyond the environmental impact, labor leaders say the bottleneck has left many construction workers jobless. “The Pacific Northwest was a leader for a long time, and we’re definitely in a very deep lull right now,” said Matthew Heppner with the Certified Electrical Workers of Washington. Heppner said unemployment in his union is about 16%, or three times the statewide average. “The construction industry is struggling incredibly badly in Washington right now,” Heppner said. “We pushed for building clean energy. We thought we were going to do that.” But those clean-energy projects foundered without access to transmission lines.

► From KUOW — Washington’s 3rd District could be among the most competitive House races this fall — Two-term Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is favored in a field of four Democratic candidates. The frontrunner in a field of three GOP candidates appears to be state Sen. John Braun, a Trump favorite who represents a rural legislative district that includes northern Clark County…“The third district nationwide is in the top five, if not the top three targets in the country,” said Justin Matheson, the Northwest Director for Axiom Strategies, a national Republican consulting firm, who is not involved in Braun’s campaign.

► From Range Media — Majority of seats on WA Supreme Court are up for election this year — It’s a crucial time on the state’s highest court in the lead-up to a number of key legal disputes…Supreme Court justice Positions 1, 3, 5 and 7 will go before voters in the Aug. 4 primary. Just two candidates are vying for Position 4, so that race is headed straight to the Nov. 3 general election. These positions are nonpartisan and the elected Justices will serve six-year terms. The Code of Judicial Conduct restricts what candidates can promise or commit to when it comes to specific issues. But endorsements and campaign contributions can help shed light on which way these candidates may lean.

► From the Olympian — Drop off your ballot instead of mailing it this year, WA county auditors urge — Voters can return their ballots either at a drop box, voting center, or through the postal service. However, according to county auditors, USPS rule changes and redesigns of its mail processing and delivery systems are increasing the risk that ballots returned by mail will be late…ballots that are cast too close to Election Day could be postmarked with the date it reaches a processing facility rather than when it’s initially dropped off, increasing the risk that the ballot will be late and not counted.

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