We can’t afford to ignore our state’s transportation crisis any longer. Traffic congestion and traffic accidents are taking too big a toll. It hurts families and communities, and costs our pocketbooks and our economy.

This November we will be voting on the statewide transportation package, Referendum 51. The outcome will determine the future direction of our state. If it passes, we’ll take a big step forward towards fixing our state’s transportation problems. And we have some very large problems to solve. We need to:

• Repair thousands of dangerous bridges and high accident roads,

• Fix the most severe traffic congestion chokepoints,

• Cut big delays in freight movements, whether produce from Wenatchee orchards or airplane parts from Pierce County.

Referendum 51 has another major benefit for our entire state. At a time when unemployment is too high and the economy is failing to revive, this Referendum has the potential to create more than 20,000 good construction jobs over the next 10 years. The economic stimulus of those paychecks will help us pull out of our economic doldrums.

Another major reason to support Referendum 51 is that the measure includes strict audits and accountability. The state Department of Transportation must meet tough audit standards every quarter, and every dime of the revenue raised must be spent on the specific projects detailed in the bill. Making the DOT accountable will help restore the public’s confidence in state government, and should get us moving again in the right direction.

Referendum 51 won’t solve all our problems, but it will help relieve most of the worst pressure points. More than 2,000 high accident locations and 950 dangerous bridges are in need of repair. Traffic congestion is costing our economy $2 billion a year in wasted time and energy, not to mention the human cost of losing hours and hours stuck in traffic jams. Referendum 51 also provides more than $1.5 billion in transit project funding. The high priority projects are located in every part of the state.

How can we raise the billions we need to address all these problems? The Referendum sets out specific solutions. It will increase the gas tax in two steps over the next two years, first a nickel a gallon increase next year and then 4 cents more in 2004. It also provides for an increase in truck weight fees and a 1% excise tax on the sale of new or used cars. Everyone is different, but if you drive 12,000 miles a year getting 24 miles to the gallon, the total cost will amount to about $45 a year. (By the way, our state’s Constitution mandates that every penny of state gas tax be dedicated to roads and ferries only and cannot be spent on other kinds of transit or transportation.) 

It’s never easy to support a tax increase. But increasing user taxes make sense for transportation needs. Those who use our roads the most will pay the most. If you’re a senior citizen who doesn’t drive much, you’ll barely notice the difference if Referendum 51 passes. The truck fee increases still won’t match the fees truckers paid prior to the Initiative 695 tax cut of a few years ago. The state’s Competitiveness Council named improvements in our transportation system as the single most important step we need to take to regain our competitive business climate.

The longer we wait to get started, the more expensive and difficult the job will be. Dangerous and congested roads affect all of us, and we have an enormous task ahead. Some folks are urging that we just rob the state’s general fund of its sales tax revenues from all transportation sales. But because half the general fund pays for public education, that kind of “bait and switch” approach would actually devastate the funding for our states schools. I think that would be a major mistake.

Most of the major employers in our state have sent a clear message to state, city and local leaders:  If the public doesn’t want to invest in our basic transportation infrastructure, we’ll have to re-evaluate whether we will invest in this state. The fact is, companies find their trucks stuck in traffic for 241 hours a year if they use the main highway in the Kent Valley, where there’s the largest warehouse distribution center on the West Coast. The fact is, fragile produce cannot survive lengthy delays on its way to market. The fact is, major manufacturers cannot maintain production when deliveries are unpredictable. The economic future of our state will be determined in large part by the voters’ decision on Referendum 51.

That’s why the Washington State Labor Council is joining with the Association of Washington Business, the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association and the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs to urge voters to vote YES for Referendum 51.

Rick Bender is President of the Washington State Labor Council, the largest labor organization in the state.