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Links to commercial press stories are functional at the date of posting. In some cases, links "expire" when the source would like to begin charging you for old news. WSLC Reports Today  links to all stories of interest to organized labor; some positive, some negative. The intention is to inform.  The creation of a link does not constitute an endorsement of that story's content.
 

Reports for February 18-21, 2003

Previous weeks' news: Feb. 10-14 -- Feb. 3-7 -- Jan. 21-24

FRIDAY, Feb. 21 -- WSLC Legislative Update:  Workplace safety in jeopardy 
...plus -- Washington's fire fighters denounce Bush's plan to cut grant funding
— In today's Seattle Times -- Leaner production moving well on Boeing shop floor (w/ IAM comment)
...plus -- Regional transportation planners propose $14.4 billion in highway taxes
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Home care workers strive for a livable wage
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Prescription drug bill is bad medicine -- Op-ed by the director of the Washington Epilepsy Foundation, who is part of a pharmaceutical industry-funded coalition cynically called the "Healthcare Access Alliance."
...plus -- Walk-on ferries doomed unless legislators win delays
— In today's Tri-City Herald -- Utilities, businesses leery of state tax reform
— In today's News Tribune -- Hospitals building for the near future
...plus -- Critical condition: Workers urgently needed at hospitals
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- 2,000 Deaconess, Valley hospital workers face pay freeze -- Move may ignite talk among employees to unionize. Deaconess is among the last large hospitals in Washington that doesn't have broad segments of the work force represented by organized labor.
— In yesterday's Longview Daily News -- PUD pact nets Wenatchee smelter workers 10 months' pay
— In today's Olympian -- Democrats scorn Benton's "tax-me-more" bill
...plus -- Ethics Board delays action on Sen. Roach as e-mail probe continues
— In today's Oregonian -- Portland teachers edge toward strike vote
At AFLCIO.org -- Flawed trade policies produce record 2002 deficit, Sweeney says
— In today's Washington Post -- U.S. trade deficit rises to record levels
— In today's L.A. Times -- UFCW leader upsets Willie Brown to take helm of powerful CalPERS
— In the USA Today -- Troubled firms entice CEOs with platinum pay, "golden hellos"
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Frustrated Democrat Brazile makes friends in the GOP -- Influential political strategist Donna Brazile, frustrated that her party takes African-Americans for granted, is advocating a political strategy that some in her party view as heresy: "The idea is to re-energize the African-American electorate and revive the Democratic Party at the same time."

THURSDAY, Feb. 20 -- Celebration of Black History and Labor is Feb. 25 in Tacoma
...plus -- Reps. Smith, Baird urge severance fairness at Miller Brewing Co.
— In yesterday's Columbian -- Semiconductor companies say more tax breaks key to success here (Aerospace, software, timber, agriculture, media, soda and bull-semen-distributing companies agree.)
...plus -- "Honest Dubya?" Nethercutt compares George Bush to Abraham Lincoln
— In today's Olympian -- House panel votes 27-0 for plan to speed budget cuts
— In yesterday's Aberdeen Daily World -- Willapa Harbor hospital, nurses (USNU) agree to pact
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Death of foot ferries a step closer as panel approves service cuts
— In today's Everett Herald -- About 70 public health workers to get state's 1st smallpox shots today
— In today's King County Journal -- Carpenters Union to break ground on future regional HQ
— In today's Seattle P-I -- State agrees to review its timber practices; critics say salmon harmed
— In today's N.Y. Times -- Shifting responsibility for funding pensions -- Bush's proposed savings accounts aim to shift responsibility for retirement security from the business community to you.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19 -- Ergonomics repeal, hearing loss bills pass State Senate
— In today's Bellingham Herald -- Senate guts worker rules
— In today's Seattle Times -- Senate votes to gut ergonomics rule
— In today's Olympian -- Senate votes to nullify workplace ergonomics rule 
...plus -- House bill to fund home care contract draws bipartisan support
— In today's King Co. Journal -- Privatization of liquor sales means revenue loss (Sen. Keiser op-ed)
— In today's Olympian -- Curb costs of prescriptions (editorial in support of HB 1214)
— In today's Spokesman-Review -- Idaho House votes against business tax break -- Republican Gov. Kempthorne's budget opposed extending the tax break, and the GOP-controlled House agreed.
— In today's Everett Herald -- Boeing starts defining the details of "do or die" 7E7 (column)
— In yesterday's Columbian -- Unrest remains for ex-Consolidated Freightways workers
— In today's Seattle Times -- Those we mourn and those we ignore -- Op-ed: Two days before the Columbia crashed, a plant explosion in Kinston, N.C., killed four workers and injured 37. The plant had been repeatedly cited for serious safety violations... but we've seen no national mourning, no calls for major inquiries on factory safety, no lengthy stories giving a human face to the victims.
— In today's Washington Post -- Attorneys General crusade against corporate misdeeds -- States are joining forces and stepping in where the federal government has declined to act or done little.

TUESDAY, Feb. 18 -- "Cover the Uninsured" town hall meeting March 10 in Seattle
— In today's Bremerton Sun -- Business tax breaks still alive and well, despite budget crunch
...plus -- A sampling of more than 400 tax breaks (from high-tech R&D to bull semen)
— In Monday's Vancouver Columbian -- Tax breaks get closer scrutiny in tight budget
— In today's Seattle P-I -- Boeing programs face challenges in industry downturn
...plus -- Boeing's 757 and 767 face dearth of orders; could the end of the line be near?
— In today's Everett Herald -- Boeing wants more action in Olympia on "competitiveness"
...plus Sunday -- Prescription drug reform takes important step (op-ed by Reps. McCoy and Berkey)
— In today's King Co. Journal -- Business friendly? Survey ranks state among best, angering some
...plus -- Renton mayor's surprise announcement: Renton best place to build 7E7
— In Monday's Spokesman-Review -- State workers seek shield against irate citizens
— In today's Yakima H-R -- Paid leave legislation over-reaches (editorial)
— In today's Seattle Times -- Cheats infest jobless roll: Fraud cases rise with unemployment
...plus -- Unemployment system troubles many employers
— In today's P.S. Business Journal -- Business, employee groups spar over minimum wage
— In today's Olympian -- Senate leaders reprimand Roach for violating "respectful workplace policy"
— In today's Salem (Ore.) S-J -- Report counters claims that farmworker raises would hurt industry
— From the AP -- Noriko Flynn, widow of late labor leader Harry Bridges, dies
— In Monday's Chicago Sun-Times -- Home-care workers get bargaining rights, by executive order
— In today's Washington Post -- Big Steel on rebound but workers, retirees pay price in benefit cuts
...plus -- Lobbyists, running their own numbers -- NFIB develops Regulatory Impact Model software that "estimates" the cost of proposed business regulations. (Insert RIM joke here.)
— In today's L.A. Times -- The good life is no more in Argentina -- More than any other developing nation in the 1990s, Argentina embraced the free market and the global economy. For top officials at the International Monetary Fund and economic gurus of the American right, Argentina was a star pupil. For a few years, people lived better than ever. Then the bottom fell out.

Previous weeks' news: Feb. 10-14 -- Feb. 3-7 -- Jan. 21-24

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21
State fire fighters denounce Bush's plan to cut grant funding

In a letter to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters denounced the Bush Administration' s 2004 budget cutting the grant program that helps fire departments with training, equipment and safety programs. The letter also criticized the President for rejecting homeland security funding last year that would have provided equipment for local fire departments.

"The Administration's proposed funding for the FY2004 FIRE Act (grants that go directly to our fire departments for training, equipment and safety programs) is actually a 33 percent cut from the FY2003 funding that was just approved by Congress," wrote WSCFF President Kelly Fox.

"You understand, Senator Murray, but we need the Bush Administration to understand and other members of Congress to understand that Homeland Security is Hometown Security," Fox added.

The Washington State Council of Fire Fighters represents 6,500 fire fighters throughout the state. Here is a copy of the entire letter:

February 20, 2003

Senator Patty Murray
173 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC  20510

Dear Senator Murray:

For more than a year, Congress has debated with little movement on how best to provide funding for our nation's domestic defenders, fire fighters and paramedics.  You have been a leader in working to secure federal funding for local fire departments.  Your leadership is especially important given that our profession faces daunting new challenges, and local governments can no longer fund the challenges alone.

Let me assure you, we are prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect the citizens of this state - even if it means putting ourselves in harm's way. Although the job we need to perform in this war on terrorism is familiar, the magnitude of the challenge before us is unprecedented - as the enemy now comes to our cities and towns. Whether it is a terrorist attack in Washington State or any other disaster or incident that threatens lives and property, our firefighters and paramedics will give 110 percent as they always have and will continue to do in the future.

Washington's domestic warriors -- firefighters, police officers, and paramedics -- need the resources to do their jobs in the event of a terrorist attack.  Nearly every fire department in our state lacks the specialized training, the appropriate equipment and, in many cases, the proper level of firefighter staffing needed to effectively respond to the aftermath of a terrorist attack involving chemical, biological, radioactive, or nuclear agents. The federal government has failed to fulfill its role in providing the funding for resources needed by local governments to meet these objectives.  No one doubts that the need is great.  I think everyone agrees that it is a matter of when, not if, we will face that next attack -- and it will be our local first responders on the front lines, as demonstrated on September 11, 2001.

Presently, within Washington State, we have anticipated shortcomings and are seeking passage of House Bill 1517. This legislation would require all fire departments in our state to adhere to national standards for deployment delivery and a host of operational and level of service issues. Furthermore, it requires an annual assessment of the organization in regard to service delivered and if said services are being deployed in a manner meeting nationally recognized standards.

Last August, Congress provided President Bush $2.5 billion in emergency homeland security funding, for him to release to local police and fire departments if he thought it was needed.  Regrettably, he rejected that funding, and vowed, "we'll spend none of it."  President Bush himself held back hundreds of millions of dollars for equipment, training and other needs for our first responders.

Fifteen months ago, we were told that $3.5 billion was being earmarked for first responders in the Bush administration's FY 2003 budget.  But to date that money is nowhere to be found. Firefighters in Washington and across our nation have received plenty of praise and accolades since 9/11; we have been invited to many photo ops. But our cities and towns, our counties, our fire districts, and their fire departments are still waiting for that funding. In fact, our state has yet to see a dime of money that was promised by the Bush administration to help our firefighters and paramedics.

We have serious concerns about the $3.5 billion proposed for first responders in the administration's FY 2004 budget.  The administration's latest budget is lacking in detail, and we fear much of the funding is nothing more than a reshuffling of cards in the deck. In fact, the Bush administration's proposed funding for the FY 2004 FIRE Act (grants that go directly to our fire departments for training, equipment, and safety programs) is actually a 33 percent cut from the FY 2003 funding that was just approved by Congress two weeks ago.

As the majority of fire departments in our state cope with under staffing, so do nearly two-thirds of the nation's fire departments.  Instead of providing federal funds to help local government hire firefighters, it eliminates a similar program that helps communities hire more police officers.  Meanwhile, many firefighters are reservists and guardsmen who are already on the ground in Afghanistan and the Middle East or are waiting to be called up.  Their absence will put even further strain on an already under-staffed fire service. 

You understand, Senator Murray, but we need the Bush administration to understand and other members of Congress to understand that Homeland Security is Hometown Security.  We wouldn't send our military into war without the proper equipment, the proper training, and the necessary number of soldiers to do their job.  But that is exactly what our membership and the nation's first responders are being asked to do in the war on terrorism here at home.

So what is needed by our nation's fire service? Here are some conservative examples of what is needed as provided by the International Association of Fire Fighters:

• $65 million to train every professional firefighter to first responder level for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) response.
• $7 billion to add 75,000 new firefighters and bring staffing levels at fire departments into compliance with international standards.
• $60 million to provide firefighters with protective clothing that provides CBRN protection.
• $42 million to upgrade or replace self-contained breathing apparatus to meet federal standards for protecting firefighters from CBRN exposures.
• $97 million to provide CBRN detection equipment to fire departments.
• $5 to $10 million to conduct research into developing firefighter protective clothing and equipment that would be functional in all environments, ranging from structural fires to CBRN incidents, similar to the U.S. Army's Objective Force Warrior Program.

We need your help!  Senator Murray, we request you to roll up your sleeves and fight for federal funding to appropriate money for much-needed training, equipment, and staffing to help Washington State's first responders. Moreover, the firefighters, paramedics, and police officers in every community of this great nation are counting on federal assistance so we can do what we do best; protect the citizens when catastrophic incidents strike.

Unfortunately, regardless of federal assistance, demands for staffing, training and equipment intensify. Just days after the September 11 attacks, FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh highlighted the need for additional resources. Firefighters, he said, "put their lives on the line everyday and yet they are always the first in line for budget cuts and the last in line for recognition. That's got to stop."  The need for additional firefighters, on-going training, and equipment is tremendous and can no longer be born solely by local government.

We understand that Congress may soon consider a supplemental appropriation bill to fund military operations and other emergency needs.  I ask you to work to ensure that any supplemental appropriation passed by Congress also includes funding to address the needs of America's domestic defenders.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the issues currently facing our nations domestic defenders. As I said earlier, we are prepared to protect the citizens of our state; we call for assistance from Congress to provide the needed funding to enable us to respond appropriately to incidents caused by the war on terrorism.

If you should have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kelly L. Fox, 
WSCFF President

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20
Celebration of Black History and Labor is Feb. 25 in Tacoma

Tacoma longshoremen Willie Adams and Mike Chambers again this year present "the ultimate gift to our community," A Celebration of Black History and Labor scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at downtown Tacoma's Pantages Theatre, Broadway and 9th. Last year's event packed in a standing-room-only crowd to hear a distinguished list of nationally and internationally renowned speakers. This year's list is no less impressive:

Paddy Crumlin, National Secretary, Maritime Union of Australia

Nikki Giovanni, Poet, educator and author

Paul Robeson Jr., only child of the legendary Paul Robeson, long-time civil
rights activist, archivist of the Robeson papers

Yolanda King, actress, director and producer; older child of the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr.; director of the MLK Center's Cultural Affairs program

Avery Brooks, actor, director and professor

Ms. Shabbazz, producer, writer and lecturer; oldest daughter of Malcolm X
and
Dr. Betty Shabbazz

Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network,
prominent civil rights leader

Entertainment will include Tap Central, a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. and the Black Tap Masters, ensuring that we remember Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Jimmy Slyde, Henry de Lang,
Charles "Honi" Coles and the Nicholas brothers. In addition, composer and jazz pianist Todd Cochran and guest vocalist Alvin Chea will perform a tribute to Black composers: Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Marion Cook, Quincy Jones, James Weldon Johnson and Charlie Parker.

Admission is $11 for adults and $6 for students and seniors. For tickets, contact the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts at 253-591-5894 or by calling TicketMaster.

The sponsors of the Celebration of Black History and Labor are Willie Adams, Mike Chambers, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the Harry Bridges Institute and the Diane Middleton Foundation.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20
Reps. Smith, Baird urge severance fairness at Miller Brewing

U.S. Reps. Adam Smith (D-9th) and Brian Baird (D-3rd) sent the following letter last week to Miller Brewing Company urging fairness in the company's negotiations over severance packages for laid-off workers represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers: (Both congressmen have also offered assistance to the Teamsters Union, which likewise is in negotiations with the company.)

February 13, 2003

Mr. Scott Jenson
Corporate Labor Relations
3939 West Highland Blvd.
PO Box 482
Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53201

Dear Mr. Jenson,

I understand the Miller Brewing Company will be closing down its Tumwater brewery in the upcoming months.  It is always unfortunate to see a company close its doors and I extend my sympathies.

I am particularly saddened to hear that in this event four hundred employees will lose their jobs in the midst of a struggling Washington State economy, including fifty members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 286.

It has recently been brought to my attention that the Miller Brewing Company is offering the IUOE engineers and custodians of the Tumwater brewery a maximum of three weeks severance pay for the three years that the company has owned this plant.  This troubles me on multiple levels, and I would like to urge you and your company to reconsider the offer.

I encourage you to take into account some of the following concerns that I find unsettling: 

• There are men and women who have worked at the Tumwater brewery plant for up to 26 years who, under Miller's proposal, will receive a mere three weeks of severance pay for their hard work and commitment.
  

• The offer of the Miller Brewing Company defies the norm for a standard plant closing agreement.  In comparison, the plant closing agreement of the Stroh brewery offered one week of pay for every two full years of service the person was employed at the plant, not necessarily for the same company.
  

• Under the severance pay plan offered by the Miller Brewing Company to non-union employees, severance pay is determined by the "years of employment with Miller and its affiliates or their predecessors."  This is anti-union and blatantly unequal treatment.

The Tumwater brewery has been an integral part of the community and a long-standing source of employment.  Please take the well-being of the community into consideration when the doors are closed in the upcoming months.  When negotiating a plant closing agreement with the Operating Engineers Local 286, I urge you to be fair and just.

Thank you for your time.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. 

Sincerely,

Adam Smith, Member of Congress
Brian Baird, Member of Congress

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
Ergonomics repeal, hearing loss bills pass State Senate

The State Senate on Tuesday dealt injured workers (and those about to be injured) a one-two punch when it approved two labor-opposed measures: SB 5161 repealing the state workplace ergonomics rule and SB 5271 dramatically restricting workers' compensation claims for victims of occupational hearing loss. Both bills are part of the business lobby's "competitiveness" agenda that seeks to roll back important workplace standards by blaming them for recessionary economic woes.

SB 5161:  Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines) made a noble effort Tuesday to amend/strike the ergonomics repeal bill and replace it with Gov. Gary Locke's mandate announced Friday, which ordered the Department of Labor and Industries to establish extraordinary new mechanisms ensuring fair enforcement of the rule.

But Sen. Keiser's effort was thwarted by a successful Sen. Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla) amendment to make the rule merely voluntary, thus reestablishing the L&I policy of years past for education and incentives but no mandate for employers to address ergonomic hazards. The final passage vote on the bill was 30-19 (see roll call below).

"Make no mistake, this is still the ergonomics repeal bill," said Rick Bender, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. "Making the rule voluntary is the same as killing it. Just as President Bush did with the federal standard, this bill invites employers to ignore their responsibility to provide a safe and healthy work environment.

"This is especially frustrating because the rule has cleared so many obstacles and successfully withstood countless legal and legislative challenges from the business community. Organized labor will aggressively oppose this anti-worker bill in the House."

The roll call for Tuesday's SB 5161 final passage vote (Democrats are listed in bold):

VOTING YEA: Benton, Brandland, Carlson, Deccio, Doumit, Esser, Finkbeiner, Hale, Hargrove, Haugen, Hewitt, Honeyford, Horn, Johnson, McAuliffe, McCaslin, Morton, Mulliken, Oke, Parlette, Rasmussen, Roach, Rossi, Schmidt, Sheahan, Sheldon, T., Stevens, Swecker, West, Zarelli 

VOTING NAY: Brown, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Jacobsen, Kastama, Keiser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Poulsen, Prentice, Reardon, Regala, Sheldon, B., Shin, Spanel, Thibaudeau, Winsley

Be sure to email your Senators and thank (or admonish) them for (not) promoting safe and healthy workplaces.

SB 5271: Meanwhile, the business lobby "competagogues" that continue to define the debate in Olympia this session won another victory Tuesday with the 28-21 passage of SB 5271, which imposes significant new restrictions on permanent partial disability claims for work-induced hearing loss. This bill is one of several being pushed by the business community to punish injured workers for anticipated revenue shortfalls in the state workers' compensation fund.

Businesses sought and received $400 million in premium rebates in the past few years as stock market earnings rolled into a relatively healthy workers' compensation fund. That gamble backfired when the market tanked and now there's not enough money to pay projected benefit costs. When the state proposed premium increases to restore the fund's health—the first general rate increase in eight years—the business community went ballistic.

Now, cutting injured workers' benefits has become a priority for L&I. The department has proposed a number of bills, including SB 5271, that are opposed by organized labor because they make injured workers pay for business' self-inflicted premium increases.

Again Tuesday, Sen. Keiser offered compromise amendments, including one that would impose a new time limit of 10 years, as opposed to two years, on filing hearing-loss claims. But amid a series of hearing-loss jokes that belied the seriousness of the issue, Sen. Jim Honeyford (R-Sunnyside) rose to oppose the compromise, citing proposed employer premium increases: "This is one way to control costs." The amendments failed—one on a 24-25 vote—and the bill passed.

The roll call for Tuesday's SB 5271 final passage vote (Democrats are listed in bold):

VOTING YEA: Benton, Brandland, Carlson, Deccio, Doumit, Esser, Finkbeiner, Hale, Hargrove, Hewitt, Honeyford, Horn, Johnson, McCaslin, Morton, Mulliken, Oke, Parlette, Roach, Rossi, Schmidt, Sheahan, Sheldon, T., Stevens, Swecker, West, Winsley, Zarelli 

VOTING NAY: Brown, Eide, Fairley, Franklin, Fraser, Haugen, Jacobsen, Kastama, Keiser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, McAuliffe, Poulsen, Prentice, Rasmussen, Reardon, Regala, Sheldon, B., Shin, Spanel, Thibaudeau

Ironically, when Sen. Hewitt rose to oppose Sen. Keiser's compromise amendments to SB 5271, he reminded fellow Senators it deserved support because "it is an agency-request bill... it has not been changed in one single word."

"I hope when L&I supports other things, that argument is equally compelling," responded Senate Minority Leader Lisa Brown (D-Spokane), referring to the impending debate on L&I's ergonomics rule.

During that debate Sen. Hewitt reversed course, arguing: "There is tremendous distrust of L&I."

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
House bill to fund home care contract draws bipartisan support

A diverse bipartisan coalition of representatives from across the state introduced legislation last week to honor the home care union contract.

"For too long, these caregivers have lived in life-threatening poverty while caring for the most vulnerable in our society," said Rep. Dawn Morrell (D-Puyallup), a registered nurse and the prime sponsor of the bill. "The public voted to improve the quality of home care services, and it's our responsibility now to honor this contract, provide these caregivers with a step towards a living wage, and ensure that seniors and people with disabilities can receive quality care in their own homes."

In November 2001, Washingtonians overwhelmingly approved Initiative 775, which established the Home Care Quality Authority and gave home care workers the right to join together and bargain for higher wages and benefits.

This fall, 26,000 home care workers represented by Service Employees International Union Local 775 negotiated a first union contract. These workers currently earn $7.68 an hour with no benefits. The contract provides for:

• A wage increase to $8.70/hr in July 2003 and $9.75/hr in July 2004

• L&I coverage for all home care workers

• Health benefits for all uninsured home care workers who work at least half-time

Home care workers help seniors and people with disabilities live with dignity and independence in their own homes. Currently turnover among home care workers is high, and many consumers have a hard time finding a home care worker who will stay more than six months before leaving to find a higher paying job with benefits.

"Thank you—the work you're doing is so important," said Rep. Richard DeBolt (R-Chehalis) to a group of 20 home care workers who gathered together after the Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing last Thursday. "I'm supporting you and I'm with you all the way." Several dozen caregivers looked on as Yakima home care worker Ali Dominguez and representatives of the Home Care Quality Authority testified on the contract. Dominguez cares for a developmentally disabled child in Yakima.

"If you vote 'yes' for our contract, we still won't have any paid vacation or holidays, we still won't have any pension for our retirement years, we still won't be paid overtime like other health care professionals, we still won't have a career ladder, but we will begin to enjoy some dignity on the job—dignity that we work hard to ensure for our clients," he said. "If you vote 'no' on our contract, most of us will sink further into poverty, or have to choose to find a different job-that means many of our home care clients will lose good workers."

Thirty-four legislators have signed onto the bill (HB 1777): Reps. Morrell, DeBolt, Cody, Benson, Sullivan, Woods, Pettigrew, McDonald, Wallace, Priest, Simpson, Roach, Grant, Hinkle, Santos, Jarrett, Hunt, Blake, Dunshee, Conway, Kirby, Hankins, Clibborn, Linville, Kagi, Kessler, Kenney, Schual-Berke, Darneille, Rockefeller, Wood, Lovick, Campbell, McDermott and Hudgins.

CALL TO ACTION: Take action now to support quality home care services and living wages and good benefits for home care workers. Click here to send your elected representatives an e-mail in support of funding the first contract negotiated with the Health Care Quality Authority.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18
"Cover the Uninsured" town hall meeting March 10 in Seattle

Got insurance?

The combination of a slow economy, increasing unemployment and rising health care costs mean that millions of Americans are becoming uninsured. During 2001, an estimated 2 million people lost their health insurance when they lost their jobs. Having a job is still no guarantee of health insurance. About 80 percent of the approximately 41 million Americans without health insurance are in working families.

Everyone is affected when such a large part of the population cannot get regular health care. The uninsured live sicker and die younger; they burden emergency rooms with chronic conditions; and some must declare bankruptcy if they become seriously ill and cannot pay their medical bills.

In order to draw attention to this problem, the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO has joined an unusual coalition to sponsor Cover the Uninsured Week, March 10-16, 2003. Cover the Uninsured Week is a series of events designed to draw attention to the many facets of this problem.

The public is encouraged to attend the Town Hall Meeting, which kicks off the week. A diverse group of elected officials and health care industry experts will discuss the problems, and possible solutions, of the uninsured. Audience members will also have a chance to question panelists and elected officials.

What: Town Hall Meeting
When: Monday, March 10 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Harborview Auditorium, 325 9th Avenue in Seattle

Other events throughout the week include an interfaith breakfast for legislators, a forum at the UW Medical School and a CityClub forum that will include WSLC President Rick Bender among its panelists. The medical school event and the CityClub luncheon are both open to the public, although tickets must be purchased for the CityClub event.  

If you would like to get involved in Cover The Uninsured Week, please contact the WSLC or call local organizers at (206) 784-9135, or check out www.covertheuninsured.org.

Effects on business: Decisions about health care benefits are often agonizing for business owners. Approximately half of all people without health insurance work for businesses with less than 99 employees. According to recent surveys, many of these small firms will face annual premium increases of at least 20 percent over the next two years. Some of them are expected to drop coverage altogether, and some will increase the share of insurance premiums their employees must pay. As a result, many workers may be forced to drop coverage because they cannot pay the additional cost. 

Effects on seniors: Not having health insurance has serious consequences for middle age and older Americans. Adults between 45 and 64 years of age have almost twice the medical expenditures as those between the ages of 35 and 44. Older adults are among the fastest growing subset of uninsured Americans.

Effects on families: Not having health insurance has serious consequences for families. Eight out of 10 uninsured Americans are in working families. Oftentimes, these people are not eligible for public programs and cannot afford coverage on their own. More than eight million of the uninsured are children. One in five parents of uninsured children delayed or skipped needed medical care for their child over the past year because they did not know how to pay for it. In addition, one in five parents of uninsured children has kept or would keep their children from participating in extracurricular sports because they fear they might get injured.