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THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011 (printable PDF version)
The people are watching
We want good jobs, effective government
Last Friday, depending on whose estimates you believe, 7,500 to 10,000-plus people came to Olympia to urge legislators to stop the attacks on working people and their unions, to focus on creating good jobs, and to "Put People First" as they deal with the $5 billion revenue shortfall. Sign after sign and speaker after speaker, urged lawmakers to close certain tax loopholes to mitigate the devastation that would be caused by another all-cuts budget.
Reporters -- those that could be troubled to cover the historic event -- were impressed by the turnout, but cynics that they are, wondered aloud, "What difference will it make?" Will legislators suddenly reverse course, go back to the drawing board, and find ways to properly fund our schools, health care, public safety, and other critical public services?
Probably not, given the House-approved all-cuts budget and the Senate's all-cuts budget proposal unveiled Tuesday. These proposals, like Gov. Gregoire's, deliberately avoid closing special-interest tax preferences as lawmakers point to the voters' "loud and clear" message against taxes (as opposed to their messages against liquor privatization and dismantling our workers' compensation system).
That said, led by a group of 11 freshman Democratic State Representatives, Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) introduced HB 2078 on Monday, which is co-sponsored by an impressive 48 Democrats. It would end tax exemptions for corporate banks and out-of-state shoppers, generating $170.3 million for public education. Once again, cynical reporters focused on its hurdles to passage, rather than the opportunity to vote on it so the people can see which legislators care more about out-of-state banks than they do about in-state schools.
So what did Friday's rally accomplish? It reminded legislators that the people are watching. And it reminded all of us the lesson of Plato, Sir Thomas More, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others: silence equals consent.
The tiny and tinny (but well-publicized!) anti-tax drumbeat of right-wing activist teabaggers is nothing new and it is no match for the power of people who care about education, public services and the quality of life in Washington. These GOP activists -- who will rally in Olympia this Friday (and will be a lot easier to count) -- are a small minority who have never wavered in their hatred of government, they simply hung teabags on their hats and became media darlings.
There is a reason why the Red Tide that swept the nation in the last election in response to a weak economy stopped at the Washington border. The people of this state don't want to hand over the keys of our government to ideologues who hate and decry government as evil. We want our government efficient and effective, not just shrunk enough so, as one conservative infamously put it, it can be "drowned in a bathtub."
Last week's rally also reminded Washington's labor movement that there is true power in our solidarity. Its festive atmosphere belied the carnage happening inside the Capitol. That's because it's always a pleasant surprise to realize that there are so many people -- from ferry workers to fire fighters, from machinists to musicians (and firefighters who are musicians!) -- who care about the same things that you do.
We have more power than we know. And it is organized labor's mission to harness that power between now and the next opportunity we have to decide who gets the keys to this state government. We will be identifying which legislators are voting to "Put People First" and which are putting powerful corporate interests ahead of effective government.
GOP takes jobs bill hostage over workers' comp
Tuesday was the deadline for bills not necessary to implement the budget to pass the opposite house. That set up one of the more disturbing and cynical acts of the 2011 session by the House Republican Caucus. They threatened to kill one of the few bills guaranteed to actually create jobs -- HB 1348, the bipartisan $1.4 billion capital construction bond measure -- unless they get the House to act on ESB 5566, the workers' compensation compromise-and-release lump-sum buyout (for less) bill that missed a cutoff deadline weeks ago and died.
"It's the No. 1 hostage," House Capital Budget Chairman Hans Dunshee (D-Everett) confirmed to The Olympian, as did, House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt (R-Chehalis).
Welcome to the new Republican Playbook -- nationally and locally. Hold a knife to the throat of popular legislation and programs in order to force the other party to capitulate. In D.C., the threat of shutting down the federal government led to Democrats agreeing to more and more cuts -- with the bar continually rising, as Republicans realized how effective their hostage-taking strategy was proving. In our state, Republicans threaten an estimated 51,000 desperately needed construction jobs expected to be created by the capital budget in order to cut the benefits of injured workers. Wow.
As we explained last week, their sense of urgency is that the window of opportunity for Republicans to take advantage of recession-related instability in the workers' compensation system is closing as the economy improves and the system recovers. The sharks in Olympia's water are desperately fighting over the last remaining chum, and in this case, the "chum" is injured workers and their families.
On Tuesday, House Democratic leaders refused to capitulate and remain opposed to compromise-and-release.
But as we learned in 2003, it ain't over until the final gavel falls. That year, a major unemployment benefit cut was rammed through in the final hours of a second special session -- without so much as a public hearing -- at the request of the business community.
Gov. Chris Gregoire is still supporting hundreds of millions of dollars more in workers' compensation "cost savings" that include a dollar-for-dollar reduction of long-term disability benefits for those receiving Social Security and a compromise-and-release proposal effecting workers ages 55 and older. For the record, the governor maintains it isn't true compromise-and-release. But as we have described all along, we remain opposed because such cuts would devastate injured workers, transfer costs from business to taxpayers, and in the end, they simply aren't necessary.
So stay tuned and stay vigilant!
Wha' happa'?
OK. There's not much space left so remember to check our Legislative Tracker™ at www.wslc.org for more status reports, but here are some updates on bills of concern to organized labor that were acted upon in the past week:
SAVING TRANSIT SERVICE -- WSLC SUPPORTS -- SB 5457 (sponsored by Sen. Scott White) would allow a two-thirds majority at county councils to vote to create a two-year $20 congestion reduction charge for certain vehicles to help fund the operational and capital needs of transit agencies. This is desperately needed today as precipitous drops in agency revenue have led to drastic cuts in bus service that many people rely upon to get to work. Pierce Transit, for example, has already cut bus service 20% and plans to cut it 15% more this fall.
On Tuesday, an amendment by Rep. Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle) removed the two-thirds majority requirement and allows a simple majority on councils to approve the charge. His amendment was approved and the bill passed, so it must return to the Senate, where we urge concurrence.
SB 5457 passed the Senate 26-23, was amended and passed the House 51-46, and returns to the Senate for concurrence.
EMPLOYEE MISCLASSIFICATION -- (WSLC SUPPORTS) -- HB 1701 (Rep. Timm Ormsby) increases penalties for construction contractors that misclassify employees as independent contractors to avoid paying unemployment and workers' compensation premiums. As we reported last week, HB 1701 was amended on the Senate floor to exempt contractors with fewer than 50 employees, which means it would not apply to more than 80% of contractors by one estimate. It was telling that, led by Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry (R-Moses Lake), all four of the amendment's sponsors voted against the amended bill anyway. Clearly, some legislators don't want the state to level the playing field for honest contractors who pay their taxes and play by the rules.
The WSLC hopes that, given the chance to reconsider the enormous impact of this amendment, Senators will reject it.
HB 1701 passed the House 54-43, was amended on the Senate floor and passed 25-23. The House has asked the Senate to reconsider the amendment.
IN-STATE BID PREFERENCES -- SB 5662 (Sen. Steve Conway) would maintain and create jobs in Washington by establishing a 7% bid preference on public works projects for in-state contractors -- with at least an 85% in-state workforce. It was amended to be just a reciprocal preference with other states having similar laws.
SB 5662 passed 32-13 and passed the House 87-8, but differences in the two versions must now be worked out.
SOLAR ENERGY JOBS -- (WSLC SUPPORTS) -- HB 1365 (Rep. Deb Eddy) would give a boost to the emerging solar energy industry in Washington state by expanding the definition of "distributed energy" under the Energy Independence Act (I-937) to include solar photovoltaic generation.
HB 1365 easily passed the House 95-2, but after passing Senate committee way back on March 24, it languished without a floor vote through Tuesday, and therefore missed cutoff and died.
Please call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 on these -- and any other bills of concern to working families. Let your legislators hear from you!
Questions about anything you've read in the WSLC Legislative Update? E-mail David Groves or call me at 206-281-8901.
PREVIOUS EDITIONS of the 2011 WSLC Legislative Update
Apr. 7 -- Enough is enough! -- Business interests have already succeeded in cutting their Unemployment Insurance taxes $300 million, cutting workers' compensation costs by hundreds of millions of dollars (with hundreds of millions more to be saved in pending legislation), and the House budget proposals leaves their billions of dollars in tax preferences untouched. But there is still blood in the water in Olympia and business lobbyists are scrambling to extract one more billion-dollar pound of flesh from injured workers. Their sights are set on a brand-new last-minute piece of legislation that includes compromise-and-release lump-sum buyouts and targets benefits cuts toward seniors with permanent disabilities.
Mar. 22 -- New middle ground on workers' comp? -- The House Labor and Workforce Development Committee will hear three brand new bills that may represent the middle ground between where business and labor stand on this contentious issue. These new bills -- combined with SB 5801 already signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire and the House-approved HB 2002 -- represent a total of more than $520 million in cost savings to the workers' compensation system over the next four years.
Mar. 8 -- Senate compromises injured workers -- By a 34-15 vote on March 5, the Democratic-controlled Senate approved a revised SB 5566 that converts our state's workers' compensation system from one that provides "sure and certain relief" to injured workers into an adversarial process that allows employers to lawyer-up versus injured workers and negotiate lump-sum "compromise and release" buyouts. Twelve Democrats sided with all Republicans in voting for SB 5566.
Feb. 28 -- Better care, injury prevention cut workers' comp costs -- Organized labor supports efforts to cut Washington's workers' compensation costs associated with long-term disability pensions. But the best way to do that is by utilizing best practices that have demonstrated success in achieving that outcome, NOT by simply cutting off benefits when injured workers reach a certain age or allowing "starve-and-settle" agreements. This week's Legislative Update newsletter includes an explanation of which workers' compensation bills labor supports and opposes, plus post-cutoff status reports on previously reported legislation.
Feb. 18 -- Creating jobs, fixing workers' comp & more -- The deadline for policy bills to pass committee in their house of origin is Monday (Presidents' Day), for fiscal bills to pass committee in their house of origin is Friday, Feb. 25, and for all bills to pass their house of origin is Monday, March 7. See some summaries of important legislation the Washington State Labor Council is following, including providing public-works bid preferences for in-state contractors, creating aerospace apprenticeship opportunities, preventing work injuries and implementing best practices to address the issue of rising long-term disability claims, and more.
Feb. 14 -- A measure of temporary relief for the unemployed -- After weeks of negotiation, the Legislature approved legislation last week addressing both taxes and benefits in our Unemployment Insurance system. In addition to granting businesses permanently lower U.I. tax rates, it provides federal extended benefits, plus enhancements to the existing training benefit program and a temporary $25 boost in weekly benefits for all new claimants. Plus, news regarding liquor privatization, workers' compensation changes, Washington Film Works, and an opportunity to support state employees on Presidents Day, Feb. 21.
Feb. 8 -- What will we do to help struggling families? -- Having already decided how to help struggling businesses to avoid a Unemployment Insurance tax increase, the question is: what will we do to help families struggling with unemployment? The House is considering amending the Senate-approved U.I. legislation to make its temporary business tax cuts permanent and to provide additional temporary U.I. benefits for struggling families. While it's not the permanent children's benefit increase supported by the United for Washington Families coalition, getting an additional $20-$25 on the kitchen tables of Washington's unemployed families will provide some measure of relief, and create nearly $200 million of purchasing power in local economies. Plus, the WSLC urges legislators not to risk precious jobs in Centralia by imposing an aggressive new timeline for the TransAlta power plant to meet new greenhouse gas emission standards, and some Republicans want to impose the "McKenna Minimum Wage," a creative interpretation of 1998's popular minimum wage initiative that would block its annual increases in certain years. Bad idea.
Jan. 31 -- Don't take it out on ferry workers! -- There's no question about it, the Washington State Ferries system is struggling. But it's not because of its dedicated hard-working employees made it that way. Yet legislation is being proposed to fix the WSF essentially by taking away ferry workers' bargaining rights, unilaterally cutting their wages and benefits, and privatizing parts of the system. These bills are blunt instruments that take out a decade of frustration on the wrong people, trample on fundamental workplace rights, and circumvent the collective bargaining process. Plus, news on legislation to "build a better speed bump" on home foreclosures, putting state money to work creating jobs with a State Investment Trust, and updates on unemployment insurance and workers' compensation
Jan. 25 -- House panel passes balanced U.I. bill -- The House Labor and Workforce Development Committee chaired by Rep. Mike Sells (D-Everett) has amended HB 1091, the governor's initial proposal for changes to the state Unemployment Insurance system, to balance proposed business tax cuts with a children's benefit to help families struggling with unemployment. This change, supported by the growing United for Washington Families coalition of community and labor groups, is a win-win-win to help families, businesses and the economy, which are all suffering right now. Plus, news of a so-called "right-to-work" bill filed by Republicans, Gov. Gregoire's proposal on workers' compensation, and misguided efforts to deal with the immigration issue at the state level.
Jan. 18 -- Businesses AND families are suffering -- Advocates for Washington families support balancing Unemployment Insurance tax cuts (price tag: $478 million) with a $15 children's benefit (price: $202 million) to help 170,000 struggling families, instead of enacting a proposed training benefit that might impact 1,900 people. While many in business lobbying groups remain dedicated to tax cuts without relief for our families, friends and neighbors, this may be one of the only opportunities our state legislators have to make positive change in 2011. That's why we remain hopeful that legislators on both sides of the aisle will set aside historic differences and embrace this win-win-win proposal that helps business, families and our economy. Plus, updates on paid family leave insurance and a referendum to temporarily suspend tax breaks we can no longer afford.
Jan. 13 -- Balance U.I. tax cut with aid for children -- A coalition of unions and other organizations is proposing an alternative more balanced approach to Unemployment Insurance changes that recognizes the shared struggles of businesses, families and communities. While we believe that Gov. Gregoire's initial proposal is a good start to this discussion, it is not the best path to economic recovery. Its modest improvements to training benefits fall short of what is needed to address the immediate needs of families in crisis and our state economy. We strongly believe MORE must be done for families struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Thanks to the relative health of the U.I. Trust Fund, this may be the only opportunity this year to do something positive for struggling families, while also avoiding a U.I. rate increase for employers.
Copyright © 2011 -- Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO