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Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
a weekly report on the 2003 session  (Previous editions)

FRIDAY, MARCH 7  (download and print a PDF version of this newsletter)
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A HOUSE MAKES

This edition of WSLC Legislative Update is dedicated to those of you who feel there is no difference between the two major parties in terms of supporting working class issues.  We offer for your consideration a sampling of the policy bills (those that aren't budget-related) that survived the first cutoff deadline Wednesday for passing committees of origin.  It offers a pretty stark contrast between the party agendas in Olympia, where Democrats hold 52-46 control the State House and Republicans gained a 25-24 majority in the Senate after picking up a single seat last November.

The following bills (in no particular order) have passed from committee and survived the deadline:

REGULATORY REFORM

HOUSE—HB 1987 would insure the integrity of the state contracting process and increase contractor accountability by allowing the state to temporarily debar those that violate fair-bidding, prevailing wage and other rules. HB 1065 would promote apprenticeship by establishing utilization requirements on major public works projects.

SENATE—SB 5161 repeals workplace ergonomic safety rules (this has passed the full Senate). SB 5053 prohibits state agency rules that exceed federal standards. SB 5108 removes statutory authority for state safety, wage and environmental inspectors to access private property.

WORKER RIGHTS

HOUSE—HB 1944 requires employers with 75 or more workers, including part-timers, to provide advance notice of mass layoffs.

SENATE—SB 5388 grants employers legal immunity when they show reckless disregard for the truth providing negative references for former employees.

UNION RIGHTS

HOUSE—HB 2016 prohibits the use of public funds to discourage unionization. A glimpse of what the House would be like under Republican control was offered during committee action on this bill. All four GOP committee members unsuccessfully supported amendments to: Prevent the state from administering collective bargaining agreements, insert so-called "Right-to-Work" provisions into bargaining agreements, ban union dues deduction, and more. These aggressive anti-union attacks were supported by Reps. Bruce Chandler (R-Granger), Cary Condotta (R-East Wenatchee), Larry Crouse (R-Spokane) and Janea Holmquist (R-Moses Lake).

SENATE—SB 5155 prohibits strikes by educational employees.

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

HOUSE—HB 1611 requires payment of benefits during employer appeals of injured worker claims; HB 2052 requires the state to set premium rates at the actuarial indicated amounts, thus avoiding the mistakes that led us to today's significant premium hikes and pressure to cut benefits.

SENATE—SB 5271 restricts people who suffer work-related hearing loss from qualifying for benefits; SB 5378 would require four-quarter averaging for time loss, sharply reducing benefits, especially for workers in construction, agriculture and those new to the workforce.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS & HEALTH CARE

HOUSE—HB 1214 would save millions of dollars for uninsured and underinsured consumers, private health plans and the state government by creating a prescription drug purchasing pool and buying in bulk. (It passed the House 64-33 back on Feb. 7). HB 1830 would require large employers like Wal-Mart and others that don't offer affordable health benefits to reimburse the state for Basic Health Plan and Medicaid coverage utilized by their employees.

SENATE—SB 5904 creates a new program providing assistance to low-income seniors with their drug purchasing, but costs $15 million a year and there's no funding specified. The Senate passed a bill very similar to HB 1214 last year on a 27-20 vote. Republican leaders seem reluctant to allow a HB 1214 vote because it would probably pass.

FARMWORKER ISSUES

HOUSE—HB 1079 creates opportunities for children of immigrant workers to get resident student tuition at institutions of higher education. This has passed the House 75-20.

SENATE—SB 5696 would lower temporary farmworker housing standards for sheepherders, an effort that even Peruvian government representatives decried as unacceptable. SB 5890 would set up a 2-year pilot project to study questions already answered by the State Supreme Court in the Rios decision. The court said it is both necessary and feasible for WISHA to create mandatory medical monitoring for farm workers who mix, load and spray the most toxic pesticides.

There are many more such examples contrasting the agendas of the House and Senate. Although the real budget negotiations have yet to begin in earnest—apparently awaiting the March revenue forecast—there is plenty of evidence that sharp differences exist in that area as well.

Democrats in the House support HB 1869 requiring performance audits of business tax breaks to begin measuring the return on taxpayers' investments. But bills are still alive in both houses to add to the more than 400 business tax breaks already on the books. In addition, there are bills to eliminate the expiration dates for these breaks.

In the final analysis, look for the House to pass efforts attempting to introduce some accountability into business tax breaks, and look for the Senate to continue the reckless plunge into more tax giveaways at the worst possible time. We hope both houses keep their eyes on the ball: preventing drastic, devastating cuts in necessary community services.

Minimum wage attacks are now "emergencies"

The good news is that all three House bills and no less than seven Senate bills to lower/freeze the state minimum wage or exempt certain workers have died. The bad news is that three Senate bills did survive and now are eligible for Senate floor votes at any time:

SB 5768 establishes a tip credit that freezes the minimum wage for workers who earn tips for about 30 years. When the state minimum wage doubles to $14.02 an hour—which will take nearly three decades if inflation continues at the pace of this past decade—tipped workers would start getting wage increases again.

SB 5697 freezes the state minimum wage unless the state unemployment rate is less than the federal rate. If this bill had governed our lowest wage rate since 1992, it would now stand at $4.42 an hour, having risen 17 cents over an 11-year span.

SB 5681 freezes our lowest wage similar to 5697, but also lowers the wage for teenagers and bans city and county governments from passing "living wage" ordinances like the one recently approved in Bellingham.

In addition, these bills are all now "emergencies." Republican strategists offered substitute bills for each which add a so-called emergency clause. But the main effect of each (freezing the wage) would have no impact until the next scheduled increase in 2004, well beyond the usual 90-day implementation period of non-emergency bills.

So why did they do it? (Glad you asked!)

Because that clause would immunize the measures from referendum challenges similar to the one financed last year by the Building Industry Association of Washington to repeal unemployment insurance reform. The last thing GOP strategists want is to risk another minimum wage ballot issue. Not only would their unpopular changes face certain rejection, it would draw Democrats to the polls. The last time the minimum wage was on the ballot in 1998, Republicans were swept from control in both the State Senate and the State House.

Three-Way workers' comp: It never had a prayer

While the Olympia press focused this week on Rep. Lois McMahan (R-Olalla) and her prayer walkout, a Three-Way workers' compensation bill sponsored by some extreme right-wing Senators was quietly quashed. "Three-Way" is the term for allowing the private insurance industry into the state’s industrial insurance market.

Privatization of state workers' compensation systems has many fans in the insurance industry and at anti-government think tanks, but not so many in actual Three-Way states like California. Premiums have skyrocketed so high there that Costco, a huge international company, this week cited its extraordinary workers' compensation costs in that one state for revising downward its profit estimates.

The bottom line is that workers' comp systems all over the country are struggling in the Bush economy as market losses and rising health care costs take a tremendous toll. Employers in this state who are angry their premiums are on the rise should look beyond our borders to see how much worse it could be. The State Senators who seek to harness this employer anger to attack injured worker benefits and privatize the system should move past their rhetoric. That way we can begin debating real ways to protect and improve our workers' compensation system.

A planned hearing this week on SB 5979, the Three-Way bill, was quietly cancelled. The bill's sponsors are Sens. Jim Honeyford (R-Yakima), Joyce Mulliken (R-Ephrata), Pat Hale (R-Richland), Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla) and Tim Sheldon ("D"-Potlatch).

It's time to approve the home care contract

Monday at 5 p.m. is the next cutoff, when fiscal committee must have moved their bills as well. After that, it's House and Senate floor action the rest of the week. We hope one of the priority items of business will be moving HB 1777, which implements the Home Care Quality Authority contract. Call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and leave a message for your legislators to support quality home care services and living wages by approving this bill.

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PREVIOUS EDITIONS of the WSLC Legislative Update:

Feb. 21 -- Workplace safety in jeopardy (re: BIAW ergo initiative, blocking WISHA inspections)
Feb. 14 -- MORE business tax breaks?!  (re: digging a deeper budget hole with no accountability)
Feb. 7 -- Commerce and ANTI-Labor? (re: workers' comp, minimum wage and transportation)
Feb. 3 -- Now is the time... to pay less? (re: workers' comp and minimum wage)
Jan. 24 -- Drug bill off to a strong start; competagogues go after ergonomics rule again
Jan. 17 -- It's the Economy, Stupid!  (re: "competagogues" and Washington's business environment)
Jan. 10 -- A Question of Priorities  (re: explosion of corporate influence on government)

Copyright © 2003  Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO