But that’s not how it was spun. Business interests and legislators who had long complained about the costs of doing business in this state immediately blamed (and still blame) our "unfriendly business climate." Then-Gov. Gary Locke responded by creating a Competitiveness Council of corporate executives to develop a wish list of pro-business legislation, and he made those recommendations his priorities.

Amid a national recession that ensued, political momentum for this competitiveness agenda grew as unemployment rose, despite the fact that state job loss was caused by events that had nothing to do with state government. The 9/11 attacks decimated the airplane market and Boeing shed tens of thousands of jobs, accelerating its plan to contract out work. The dot-com bust hit our state disproportionately hard. A phony energy crisis on the West Coast delivered a death blow to our aluminum industry. International trade policies continued to harm agriculture, timber and manufacturing sectors.

In 2003, the momentum to improve our business climate went into overdrive as the state prepared its "bid" for the Boeing 7E7 (later dubbed the 787 Dreamliner) assembly work. Without so much as a public hearing, in the final hours of the extended 2003 legislative session, new laws written and supported by business interests were approved making it harder for injured workers to receive workers’ compensation benefits and overhauling the state unemployment system with drastic benefit cuts. (See the Unemployment Insurance position paper for more information.)

As the national economy improved in the ensuing years, much of the damage done to working families’ interests during that frenzy was undone. With the support of Gov. Chris Gregoire and a Democratic-controlled legislature, some benefits were restored for injured and unemployed workers.

Even as the U.S. economy showed signs in 2007 and early 2008 of what has now been declared a recession, until late 2008, Washington state was able to buck that trend with continued economic and job growth. We expanded exports and diversified our state economy.

In fact, our state has been recognized as a leader in streamlining processes for business and, in the past four years, Washington has climbed Forbes Magazine’s list of "Best Places to Do Business" from 12th to 3rd best state in the nation to do business. Other national rankings have similarly rated Washington as having a favorable business climate.

But now the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration and unchecked greed in the financial sector have shaken the nation’s economic foundation to it core and the recession has arrived in Washington state. Layoffs are happening in many sectors, at both large corporations and small businesses, as the credit market freezes and consumers have less to spend.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the recent Machinists strike at Boeing, rumblings among business lobbying groups have begun again about the jetmaker moving its assembly work to a "right-to-work" (for less) state in the South. As they have in the past, the business lobbying groups will blame pro-working family policies of Washington for job loss and business cutbacks amid the national recession. They will seek what has always been —and will always be— their agenda: lower business taxes, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance tax cuts, and less regulation.

Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Gregoire has promised to respond to the state’s economic downturn by delivering an economic stimulus package in 2009 that includes transportation and education investments. This will presumably include funding from the federal government and the new Obama Administration, which vows similar infrastructure investment.

LABOR’S POSITION -- Some of the Competitiveness Council’s recommendations from the early 2000’s, including improving state investment in public education and transportation, were supported by labor and continue to be cited by business leaders as priorities for improving our state’s business climate. But many of the group’s recommendations were anti-worker ideological leftovers labor adamantly opposes: deregulation of business and privatization of public services.

Fortunately for all of us, the state government has thus far resisted those deregulation and privatization policies that have proved disastrous on the national level. The Washington State Labor Council will continue to advocate that state government continue to resist those policies as we struggle to improve the economy.

Legislators should be wary of business lobbyists who insist that when it comes to our business climate -- as one former Boeing executive infamously expressed -- "we suck." Many objective national studies still rank Washington as a great place to do business on issues ranging from taxes to workers’ compensation.

Lawmakers should also be wary of neo-conservative ideologues who claim that unionization—and the higher wages and better benefits that result from collective bargaining—harms business competitiveness. The truth is that high wages and good jobs have absolutely driven Washington’s economy and helped us buck negative nationl trends in recent years. That’s one of the reasons why Washington is not only ranked 3rd Best State to Do Business by Forbes Magazine, but we also has the 4th highest union density of any state in the country. The two are not mutually exclusive.

As the economy stumbles, important safety nets for injured workers and people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own must not be shredded. Now is the time to give both business and workers a lift up.