MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25 (PDF
version)
Bills Swap
Sides-The Debates Continue
The total eclipse of the moon
coincided with the final cut off for House of Origin bills last week but Labor
did see a few rays of light peeking through. We had several bills pass out of
both the House and Senate and now they are on the way to the opposite house
for hearings and hopefully final passage.
From the
Senate:
The CWA was able to get their High
Speed Internet bill (6438) passed through the Senate with a vote of 49 to
zero. This bill lays the groundwork for the expansion of high-speed internet
service throughout the state. It is a great opportunity to create jobs in both
urban and rural areas and begins to bridge the digital divide. It now moves on
to the House with a hearing scheduled in the House Communication, Technology
and Energy Committee on February 26 at 10 a.m.
The Building Trades and
Laborers won victory in the Senate with the Underground Economy bill (SB
6732) which will bring labor and business together to start the process of
going after individuals who are not abiding by the state employment laws. It
is a win/win that will help stabilize wages and boost revenues from employment
taxes. The House had its first public hearing in Commerce & Labor this
week.
The Sheet Metal Workers, IBEW and the Pipefitters were
fighting hard to pass the HVAC bill (SB 5831) which, in its original
form, would have required certification for mechanics performing heating,
ventilating, air condition, refrigeration and gas piping work. The Senate
passed a version setting up another task force to study the problem more. The
hope is that a version will emerge from the House that will not be a study but
actual implementation of this necessary safety and consumer protection issue.
An important correction to
legislation passed in 2003 will restore unemployment benefits to
workers who have left a job to enter an apprenticeship program. The Senate
passed SB 6751 to ensure these workers who are taking a risk to better
their skills still get necessary compensation while they are in training. The
House should follow suit as it is a good way to level the playing field and
open up apprenticeships to more workers.
WFSE battled and won in the
Senate to expand whistle-blower protection (SB 6776). This bill is
about government accountability and protection for any employee who finds
themselves in the unfortunate position of having to expose any kind of
corruption or illegal behavior in the workplace. The House has scheduled a
hearing in the Committee on State Government and Tribal Affairs at 10 a.m. on
February 26th.
From the
House:
IBEW had a win in the House
with HB 2203 which ensures that operating and maintenance employees
working at nuclear power plants who are covered under collective
bargaining have rights to binding arbitration. The Senate will now
consider after hearings that were held this week in Labor, Commerce and
Research & Development.
The House voted to add labor
members to two boards: the Transit Board (HB 2216) and the Forest Protection
Board (HB 2893). The Amalgamated Transit Union testified in support of
ensuring that the transit system has at least a voice for workers who run the
day to day operations of the system. While it is a non-voting member this bill
at least gives the workers a chance to speak to issues that will help increase
the efficiency of the system.
The fight to add a labor member
on the Forest Protection Board has been long and hard. The Board has operated
since 1974 without a voice from the ground floor. The House vote recognizes
that it is about time to include worker representation; let’s hope this
sentiment prevails in the Senate. A hearing is scheduled in the Committee on
Natural Resources and Ocean & Recreation at 8 a.m. on February 27th.
The earth and its inhabitants
won with the House passage of the Climate Action and Green Jobs bill (2815).
It is a comprehensive bill that will set emissions standards and reporting but
more importantly for labor, it will create jobs and develop workforce training
for clean energy jobs. There is sure to be a lot of interest as the Senate
considers this bill.
Foster parents
who take care of children with physical and mental challenges will get the
right to collective bargaining according to HB 3145. The bill creates
structure, standards and accountability within the system.
HB 2963
extends the same collective bargaining rights granted to University of
Washington teaching assistants to those at Washington State University. It has
worked at UW and now the House agrees that WSU academic student employees
deserve the same. The Senate Labor, Commerce and Research & Development
committee will hear the bill on February 25th at 10 a.m.
Low Wage
Working Families Win a Break
The Senate passed the Working
Families Credit by a vote of 32-16 – a tax cut for lower wage working
families who pay a disproportionate share of household income in taxes based
on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. Now your help is needed to put this
program over the top. SSB 6809 has been assigned to House Finance Committee,
where the House version was reported out as a study-only bill the last time
around. (We don't need to study a program that 23 other states already have
that is associated with a long-standing and successful federal EITC -- we need
help for working families, economic stimulus and a fairer tax system!)
Monday March 3 is the cutoff
date for fiscal committees to move opposite house bills. The Washington Tax
Fairness Coalition is asking you to call Democratic members of the Finance
Committee (Hunter-Chair, Hasegawa-Vice Chair, Conway, Ericks, Santos and
McIntire) as well as Speaker Chopp and Majority Leader Lynn Kessler -- and
urge them to report out the version of the Working Families Credit passed by
every Democratic member of the Senate -- which actually creates the Working
Families Credit program.
Health Care
in Feverish Battle
Prescription Privacy came out
of the Senate with a vote of 26 to 22. The grass-roots lobbying of the Healthy
Washington Coalition paid off but the battle was pitched to the end. The sheer
numbers of pharmaceutical lobbyists dwarfed the coalition’s efforts but the
argument to protect the doctor/patient relationship and shore up consumer
protections prevailed; pharmaceutical profit-making for once, took a backseat.
The battle begins today
in the House. Prescription Privacy will be heard in the Health Care &
Wellness Committee at 3:30 p.m.
At that same time the
committee will hear SB 6333, the bill to create a working group to study
specific health care plans to create quality, affordable coverage for all
Washingtonians and creates a public process through which Washington residents
can discuss the kind of health care system we want to create.
The Health Insurance
Partnership bill (HB 2537) will be heard in the Senate Health Care committee
tomorrow. This is a bill that is critical to employees of small businesses in
our state as it gives them a vehicle for getting health care coverage.
Benefits
for injured workers survive
In the face of hollow sounding
arguments from the state's largest corporations, the House overwhelmingly
approved (62/32) the Benefits on Appeal bill (HB 3139) safeguarding an injured
worker’s benefits during a disputed claim by a self insured employer.
Morally this was the right thing to do. Any delay in benefits while a worker
is injured not only complicates the treatment process but it puts the worker
in an untenable situation – not being able to work and not being able to pay
bills.
It is important to understand
that these are not new or additional benefits but merely benefits that the
Department of Labor and Industries has determined is warranted by the facts of
the claim. The bill allows for an expedited review at the Board of Appeals
which, should the decision be reversed, would lower the exposure to both
worker and self-insured company. Bear in mind, a self-insured company's
exposure is miniscule relative to an injured worker not being paid the
time-loss owed them or being given the medical treatment needed.
The Senate Committee on Labor,
Commerce, and Research & Development will hear the bill on February 26th
at 1:30 p.m.