WSLC Online -- Political Education

political education

Every election year, the affiliated union organizations that comprise the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO,
vote on which candidates and initiatives to endorse.
The WSLC then makes every effort to inform union members about these endorsements and why they were made.

Internal Communication Works

Internal communication is the best way to inform and educate our members. When they see a flier with endorsements from their union they understand that the homework has been done and the issues have been evaluated all in the interest of working families.

Remember the majority of voters in our state vote by mail -- be sure to get your communication out early. Stay tuned for the 2008 General Election Initiative Fliers which will be available for distribution to your union members.

2008 election endorsements
The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO only makes election endorsements for statewide ballot measures and in races for statewide office, state legislative and certain judicial races. (For recommendations for city, county and other local races, contact your area Central Labor Council.) Here are the WSLC's 2008 election endorsements:

Statewide Candidates: Click here for a printable copy

Governor -- Chris Gregoire

Attorney General -- John Ladenburg

Auditor -- Brian Sontag

Insurance Commissioner -- Mike Kreidler

Lt. Governor -- Brad Owen

Public Lands Commissioner -- Peter Goldmark

Secretary of State -- Sam Reed

Supreme Court Position 3 -- Mary Fairhurst

Supreme Court Position 4 -- Charles Johnson

Supreme Court Position 7 -- Debra Stephans

State Treasurer -- Jim McIntire

State Court of Appeals 3 -- Kevin M. Korsmo

Congressional Candidates:

CD-01 -- Jay Inslee

CD-02 -- Rick Larsen

CD-03 -- Brian Baird

CD-04 -- George Fearing

CD-05 -- Mark Mays

CD-06 -- Norm Dicks

CD-07 -- Jim McDermott

CD-08 -- Darcy Burner

CD-09 -- Adam Smith

Legislative Candidates:

LD-01- House 1 -- Al O'Brien

LD-01- House 2 -- Mark Ericks

LD-01- Senate   -- Rosemary McAuliffe

LD-02- House 1 -- Raymond N. Harper

LD-02- House 2 -- Tom Campbell

LD-02- Senate   -- Marilyn Rasmussen

LD-03- House 1 -- Alex Wood

LD-03- House 2 -- Timm Ormsby

LD-03- Senate   -- Lisa Brown

LD-04- House 1 -- Linda Thompson

LD-04- House 2 -- Timothy Ray Hattenburg

LD-04- Senate -- Judith Marlene Owens

LD-06- House 1 -- Don Barlow

LD-06- House 2 -- John Driscoll

LD-08- House 1 -- Carol Louise Moser

LD-08- House 2 -- Lawrence Haler

LD-10- House 1 -- Timothy Knue

LD-10- Senate   -- Mary Margaret Haugen

LD-11- House 1 -- Zack Hudgins

LD-11- House 2 -- Bob Hasegawa

LD-11- Senate   -- Margarita Prentice

LD-16- House 2 -- William Grant

LD-17- House 1 -- Timothy Probst

LD-17- House 2 -- Deb Wallace

LD-17- Senate   -- Don Benton

LD-18- House 1 -- VaNessa Duplessie

LD-18- House 2 -- Jonathan Fant

LD-18- Senate   -- Jon Haugen

LD-19- House 1 -- Dean Takko

LD-19- House 2 -- Brian Blake

LD-19- Senate   -- Brian Hatfield

LD-20- House 1 -- Michael Rechner

LD-20- House 2 -- Jim M. Cutler

LD-20- Senate   -- Charles Bojarski

LD-21- House 1 -- Mary Helen Roberts

LD-21- House 2 -- Marko Liias

LD-22- House 2 -- Brendan Williams

LD-22- House 2 -- Sam Hunt

LD-22- Senate   -- Karen Fraser

LD-23- House 1 -- Sherry Appleton

LD-23- House 2 -- Christine Rolfes

LD-23- Senate   -- Phil Rockefeller

LD-24- House 1 -- Kevin VanDeWege

LD-24- House 2 -- Lynn Kessler

LD-24- Senate   -- Jim Hargrove

LD-25- House 1 -- Rob Cerqui

LD-25- House 2 -- Lavona "Dawn" Morrell

LD-26- House 1 -- Kim Elizabeth Able

LD-26- House 2 -- Larry Seaquist

LD-27- House 2 -- Dennis Flannagan

LD-27- House 2 -- Jeannie Darneille

LD-27- Senate   -- Debbie Regala

LD-28- House 1 -- Troy Kelly

LD-28- House 2 -- Tami Green

LD-28- Senate   -- Deborah Jane Srail

LD-29- House 1 -- Steve Conway

LD-29- House 2 -- Steve Kirby

LD-30- House 1 -- Mark Miloscia

LD-30- House 2 -- Carol Jean Gregory

LD-31- House 1 -- Ron Weigelt

LD-31- House 2 -- Christopher Hurst

LD-32- House 1 -- Maralyn Chase

LD-32- House 2 -- Ruth Kagi

LD-33- House 1 -- Tina Louise Orwall       (Dual Endorsement)

LD-33- House 1 -- Elizabeth A. Albertson (Dual Endorsement)

LD-33- House 2 -- Dave Upthegrove

LD-34- House 1 -- Sharon Nelson

LD-34- House 2 -- Eileen Cody

LD-34- Senate   -- Joe McDermott

LD-35- House 1 -- Kathy Haigh

LD-35- House 2 -- Daryl Daugs

LD-36- House 2 -- Mary Lou Dickerson

LD-37- House 2 -- Eric Pettigrew

LD-38- House 1 -- John McCoy

LD-38- House 2 -- Mike Sells

LD-39- House 1 -- Scott Olson

LD-39- Senate   -- Frederick Walser

LD-40- House 1 -- Dave Quall

LD-41- House 1 -- Marcie Maxwell

LD-41- House 2 -- Judy Clibborn

LD-41- Senate   -- Fred Jarrett

LD-42- House 2 -- Kelli Linville

LD-43- House 2 -- Frank Chopp

LD-44- House 1 -- Hans Dunshee

LD-44- House 2 -- Liz Loomis

LD-45- House 1 -- Roger Goodman

LD-45- House 2 -- Larry Springer

LD-46- House 1 -- Scott White

LD-46- House 2 -- Phyllis Kenney

LD-47- House 1 -- Geoff Simpson

LD-47- House 2 -- Pat Sullivan

LD-48- House 1 -- Ross Hunter

LD-48- House 2 -- Deb Eddy

LD-49- House 1 -- James F. "Jim" Jacks II

LD-49- House 2 -- James C. Moeller

LD-49- Senate   -- Craig Pridemore

2008 Legislative Voting Records
The Washington State Labor Council's 2008 Legislative Voting Records are available in a 3-page printable (PDF) format. More details on the bills included and overall coverage of the session are included in the 2008 WSLC Legislative Report & Voting Record.

Check out this website
Visit the AFL-CIO's Working Families Vote 2008 website at workingfamiliesvote2008.org. The site is a hub for the extensive activity by AFL-CIO unions to push the concerns of working families front and center in the national political debate and to provide information to rank-and-file members about where the candidates stand on the issues that are central to working families' lives. It serves as an online voter guide and gives our members a way to make their voices heard, feeding into the AFL-CIO endorsement process.

2006 election news
from the pages of WSLC Reports Today

November 10, 2006 -- "A resounding success for working families"

November 9 -- Union member vote drove shift in nation's balance of power

November 3 -- Justice Owens' integrity, experience won labor's endorsement

October 30 -- Initiative 933: A Disaster in the Making

October 20 -- Know your rights! Don't let anybody stop you from voting

October 19 -- Rubberstamp Reichert supports Bush agenda 94% of the time

October 18 -- With ballots in mail, check out your union's endorsements

September 26 -- McGavick's Social Security privatization = Benefit cuts

August 4 -- Cantwell, Murray vote to block tip penalty, estate tax cut

July 31 -- Reichert & Co. once again vote against minimum wage increase

July 13 -- Reichert's minimum wage opposition out of step with voters

July 7 -- Rep. Jay Inslee, Darcy Burner pledge to reform U.S. labor laws

May 11 -- Reichert & Co. borrow $69B for wartime upper-class tax cut

December 5, 2005 -- Do-nothing Doc: Hastings NOT doing heckuva job

June 10, 2005 -- Safeco's McGavick: Rock star or greedy hypocrite?

September 7, 2004 -- Big Business funds anonymous political attacks

Thank you for 2006!
The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO wants to thank the many rank-and-file volunteers who performed several thousand shifts of neighborhood walks and phone banking as part of the WSLC's Labor Neighbor program. Your efforts made a tremendous difference and helped make the 2006 election a tremendous success for Washington's working families. The labor-endorsed candidates won 19 of the 20 races targeted this year by Labor Neighbor!

2006 election endorsements
Hundreds of delegates from across the state -- representing unions affiliated with the Washington State Labor Council unions -- debated and voted in May and August upon 2006 election endorsements for Congress, State Legislature, State Supreme Court and ballot measures. A two-thirds majority was necessary for endorsement. Download the 2006 WSLC Endorsements.

Key 2006 election results
Working families in Washington state not only elected labor-endorsed candidates to Congress and State Legislature (see our detailed roundup of election results), voters went three-for three on the following important statewide ballot measures:
■ Initiative 920 (estate tax repeal) -- Yes 38.6%, No 61.4% -- Voters retained the state estate tax. Bankrolled by a few of the state's richest families, I-920 would have repealed their estate taxes by cutting $100 million a year from the Education Legacy Trust, which pays for K-12 school improvements, smaller class sizes and college enrollment slots. The WSLC opposed I-920.
■ Initiative 933 (re: land-use regulations) -- Yes 41.6%, No 58.4% -- Voters rejected this "faux populist" measure which would have forced taxpayers to pay $7-9 billion to some landowners just to follow laws that are already on the books, or waive community protections. This "pay or waive" system would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars just to administer. The WSLC opposed I-933.
■ Initiative 937 (Clean Energy Initiative) -- Yes 51.8%, No 48.2% -- Voters approved this measure, which guarantees that 15% of the electricity from our largest utilities comes from home-grown renewable energy sources like wind and solar. I-937 will create new jobs, and save consumers money through energy conservation. The WSLC supported I-933.

Key 2005 election results
■ Initiative 912 (Gas Tax Repeal) -- Yes 45.4%, No 54.6% -- Voters have chosen to retain the gas tax (even as oil companies gouge them with high prices) and support an $8.5 billion investment in our transportation infrastructure. This is a watershed vote for good jobs and our state's economy, an outcome that political pundits didn't think was possible just weeks ago.
■ Initiative 330 (Medical Malpractice Caps) -- Yes 43.3%, No 56.7% -- This is another major victory. Voters saw through a deceptive, negative campaign waged by the insurance industry and the Washington State Medical Ass'n, which demonized nurses' unions for daring to oppose I-330.
■ Initiative 901 (Clean Indoor Air Act) -- Yes 63.2%, No 36.8% -- This outcome is less of a surprise, but is another significant victory for Washington workers. I-901 bans indoor smoking in public places and the workplace, finally protecting ALL workers from toxic secondhand smoke.

A portion of this website is paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education - Political Contributions Committee, with voluntary contributions from union members and their families, and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.