Rick Bender, President of the Washington State Labor Council, distributes a monthly column on working families issues to weekly community newspapers around the state.  (See the President's Column page for an index.)  Editors of union newsletters and publications are encouraged to publish these columns, which are posted here every month (email us if you would like a higher resolution photo of Mr. Bender).  Here is his latest column:

As questions sharpen about the White House connections with Enron, the Bush Administration has assured us it would investigate the dramatic bankruptcy of one of America's largest companies that cost many of its workers their life savings.  But President Bush has indignantly warned us that the investigation into Enron, whose executives have been his No. 1 campaign contributor, must not become a partisan political football.

Imagine the following scenario just for a moment:

Al Gore is declared the winner of a contested election for President.

About a year into his first term, a major international labor union -- that happened to be Gore's single largest campaign contributor -- becomes the subject of a federal criminal investigation because its officers so badly, and perhaps fraudulently, mismanaged union finances that its pension fund literally disappeared, costing tens of thousands or workers their entire retirement savings.

The unions' officers, who somehow managed to achieve extraordinary personal wealth through the union investments (some of which were conducted off-the-books) give themselves substantial bonuses to avoid the loss of "essential management personnel" even as members are first realizing their retirement savings have disappeared.

It is learned that the union's president, a close personal friend of Al Gore, had several meetings and conversations with various cabinet secretaries and Vice President Lieberman -- who, by the way, accepted a multi-million severance package from a labor organization he worked for so that he could join Al Gore's ticket -- ostensibly about labor policy in the months that the union's finances and investments spiraled into worthlessness.  Further, the union's auditor -- which was apparently neither independent nor competent, and "consulted" for the union on the side -- admits it destroyed a significant number of documents related to the union's finances.

Now the media has learned of the union's White House meetings and begins to ask serious questions about what President Gore and his administration knew about the union, when they knew it  and whether the union officers used their obvious political connections to avoid charges or seek a bailout of some kind.

Now the next time you see sweaty headed White House spokesman Ari Fleischer warn against the Enron investigation becoming a "witch hunt," imagine what the Republicans and their powerful media machine would be doing to President Gore right now.

Political science professors will marvel for years how the Republican Party managed to appoint independent federal prosecutors and spend millions of taxpayer dollars to dog President Clinton over Whitewater, leaking spurious and false accusations throughout both his terms.  The GOP is hardly in a position to express indignation about the apparent suspension of the extraordinary grace period the media has granted the Bush Administration so far, largely because of the tragic events of Sept. 11.

No, don't shed a tear for President Bush and his 80-plus percent "approval" ratings just because he's being asked some tough questions.  But neither should we watch with amused satisfaction as he squirms.

Shed a tear for the Pacific Northwest workers at Portland General Electric who had the misfortune of being bought out a few years back by Enron, and the tens of thousands of people like them who have lost everything because of perhaps criminal fraud by some corporate chums of our president.

And then resolve the be a part of the effort to make sure nothing like this can ever happen again.

All trade unionists and other supporters are encouraged to attend a community rally in support of "Health, Safety and Human Rights in Food Processing" from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20 in Pasco at the Laborers' Union Hall, 1st and Clark.  Teamsters Local 556 intends to hold Tyson/IBP accountable to its workers and the community by highlighting the dangerous and unsafe working conditions at its meatpacking plant in Wallula.

Eric Schlosser, best-selling author of the Fast Food Nation and the recent Mother Jones cover-page article "Meatpacking: The Most Dangerous Job in America," will attend and talk about health and safety in the meatpacking and food processing industries.  In proclaiming Fast Food Nation one its "Best Books of 2001," Amazon.com's review reads:

"Schlosser's investigation reaches its frightening peak in the meatpacking plants as he reveals the almost complete lack of federal oversight of a seemingly lawless industry. His searing portrayal of the industry is disturbingly similar to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, written in 1906: nightmare working conditions, union busting, and unsanitary practices that introduce E. coli and other pathogens into restaurants, public schools, and homes."

At the Jan. 20 rally, Teamsters Local 556 will release preliminary results of its Health & Safety Study of the Tyson/IBP plant in Wallula that has about 1.400 employees.  Previous studies have revealed that every year one-in-three meatpacking workers in this country -- roughly 43,000 men and women -- suffer an injury or work-related illness that requires medical attention beyond first aid.

You are invited to help end this unconscionable abuse of worker and human rights by attending the Jan. 20 rally to strengthen the Campaign for Health & Safety at Tyson/IBP; build community support for better conditions in meatpacking; and learn about what is going on across the country.

For more information, call Teamsters Local 556 at 1-800-825-5563.

As the legislature debates significant cuts in state services in 2002, one of the first items of business should be finally granting the affected employees the right to collective bargaining. Now more than ever, as the specter of layoffs and other cutbacks loom, it is easy to see why our state's workers would want—and deserve—a seat at the bargaining table.

Today, state employees in Washington are allowed to join unions, form bargaining units and negotiate contracts over non-economic working conditions. But they can't negotiate wages and benefits. For these they must lobby the legislature in a process some describe as "begging, not bargaining." Full collective bargaining is the way to give workers a voice and an interest in creating more efficiency on the job.

Private sector workers and county and city employees all enjoy the right to bargain collectively, but not our state's employees. That is shameful second-class treatment.

To date, 25 states allow full collective bargaining for state employees, including Oregon, California and Alaska.  And contrary to the hysterical predictions of local right-wing ideologues (see yesterday's News-Tribune op-ed and our brief response to that op-ed above), those states have managed to fare just fine negotiating reasonable, responsible contracts with their workers.

In 2000, the Civil Service Reform Act -- the product of a decade of negotiations and compromise -- would have granted state workers full bargaining rights, eliminated hundreds of civil service rules and allowed some managed competition for public services.  It should have passed in 2000. Governor Locke requested it. The Senate passed it (twice).  But Republican Co-Speaker Clyde Ballard refused to allow a vote, even though a bipartisan majority of House members expressed support.

You may recall that state employees joined locked-out Kaiser Steelworkers, whose bill granting them unemployment benefits was also bottled up by Rep. Ballard, spending the night on the marble floors of the Capitol in the waning days of the 2000 session to demand a fair democratic vote on the Civil Service Reform Act.

This session, Rep. Ballard lacks the power to thwart the will of the majority.

It's time for our legislature to make Washington the 26th state to recognize that it should not discriminate against its own workers by denying them fundamental democratic rights in the workplace that the rest of us enjoy.  The Washington State Labor Council will be work to make that finally happen this legislative session.

The Washington State Labor Council's predecessor organization, the Washington State Federation of Labor, signed its charter with the American Federation of Labor in January 1902, and all trade unionists are invited to a reception commemorating this 100th anniversary from 5 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18 at the Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma.

On Jan. 17, 1902, 120 delegates representing 114 local unions and five central labor councils gathered in Tacoma and voted to affiliate with the AFL.  That new organization eventually merged with the Washington State Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1957, the same time the national AFL and CIO merged, to form the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

The 100th anniversary reception will include presentations about the history of the WSLC and its predecessors, special tributes from elected officials, recognition of charter member organizations still with us, and a labor songfest.  In addition, the museum has invited all who attend to tour its Woody Guthrie exhibit free of charge that evening.  (FYI: That excellent exhibit closes Jan. 21.)

Please RSVP to the Pierce County Labor Council at (253) 473-3810 if you plan to attend.

Directions to the museum: From I-5 North or South take the City Center exit #133. Follow the I-705/City Center signs to 21st Street where you'll turn left, and then turn right onto Pacific Avenue.  Museum parking lot is located on Pacific Avenue and behind the museum near the Group Entrance.

The following excellent op-ed by Connie Niva, a member of the Washington State Transportation Commission, appeared over the weekend in the The (Everett) Herald:

Now that the governor is out with his most recent proposal for transportation, the nay-sayers and radio jockeys are in high gear railing against the idea of more taxes. It's the same old story: If the Washington state Department of Transportation spent its money more efficiently, there'd be more than enough to build the backlog of projects.

Anyone out there interested in the facts instead of fiction?

Fiction: The current gas tax is more than enough to solve our transportation problems.

Fact: The last time the gas tax was raised was 1991. Accounting for inflation, the value of the gas tax has decreased. Even when you consider that population has increased 43 percent and vehicle traffic soared 88 percent in the past 20 years, the value of gas tax receipts, in real dollars, has gone down about 8 percent since 1991. Of the 23 cents collected, only about 12 cents goes to state highways and ferries. The remainder goes to cities and counties for their transportation problems. The gas tax can only be used for highways and ferry operations. Yet, 20-year needs in the Puget Sound area alone are somewhere in the range of $18 billion. Add billions more for the rest of the state and even Gov. Locke's proposal seems small.

Fiction: Washington state has one of the highest gas taxes in the nation.

Fact: Washington state's gas tax is 23rd in the nation. We are the lowest in the West Coast -- California, Oregon, Utah, Montana, and British Columbia all have higher gas taxes than Washington.

Fiction: WSDOT is a bloated bureaucracy

Fact: There have been $5 million worth of performance audits of the DOT in the past 5 years as directed by the Legislature. In addition, the State Auditor's Office employs seven auditors to check DOT's books all year, every year. We always learn something and have implemented all proposals that do not require legislation. After spending millions to audit the department, wouldn't taxpayers rather see their dollars build something than pay bean counters to repeat their work?

Fiction: WSDOT is not accountable

Fact: We realize that people aren't satisfied with audit results alone, which is why Secretary Doug MacDonald has instituted "Measures, Markers and Mileposts," a quarterly report to detail WSDOT's performance. Recent items have measured worker safety, construction and maintenance program delivery among others. Readers can find this report on the web at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/GrayBook/GrayNotebook.pdf. Further, the Legislature didn't get around to passing the bench marking proposals of the Blue Ribbon Commission. Benchmarking is the process by which you compare programs and performance against previous years or national standards. We think this concept is too important to ignore. So, the Transportation Commission is making it happen.

Fiction: DOT doesn't contract out to the private sector:

Fact: Over two-thirds of the budget is spent on private companies who build all the department's construction and repaving projects through a low-bid process.

Fiction: DOT has more employees than other state DOTs.

Fact: This could be, and, we are the only state DOT that moves 27 million people every year by ferry. We have multiple boats on routes in Puget Sound and the San Juans every day. It requires a lot of folks to make that happen.

I know that WSDOT has a long way to go to debunk many of the myths and misunderstandings out there. Secretary MacDonald and the Washington state Transportation Commission are committed to doing a better job of informing people about our efforts. So, you can either stay tuned for some facts (check that web page) or continue to listen to fiction. Your choice.

A federal court overturned as unlawful an anti-worker executive order issued by President Bush early last year that required federal contractors to post notices informing employees of their rights to avoid unionization and standard union dues obligations derived from collective bargaining agreements.  The order, however, did not compel contractors to inform workers about their rights to join a union.

On Jan. 2, the court ruled that the Bush Administration had no authority under the National Labor Relations Act to issue the measure (Executive Order 13,201) and permanently enjoined the administration from enforcing it.

The ruling is the second reversal by the courts of an executive order issued by President Bush that is detrimental to workers.  Last year, the courts threw out Bush's order barring project labor agreements that set terms and conditions of employment on federally funded construction projects and ensure the orderly resolution of labor disputes.  Project labor agreements have worked effectively to prevent strikes and lockouts, benefiting construction companies and employees alike since the 1940s.

These two measures were among the four executive orders issued all at one time within a month of President Bush taking office.  The orders were sought by Bush's corporate contributors and right-wing ideologues, and were an early salvo in a continuing campaign of over-reaching initiatives that have undermined workers' rights.