MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2009
Rep. Inslee warns against "keepers of status quo"
Congressman urges delegates not to be intimidated by opponents of reform

Echoing the convention theme of "Bring Change Home," several speakers at the Washington State Labor Council 2009 Convention in Wenatchee on Friday, noted the positive changes under way at the federal level but warned that a sustained effort is critical to achieve working families' goals.

"Change always meets resistance from the keepers of the status quo," said U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-1st). He said that it's up to us to fight back against the hostile opposition to health care reform orchestrated by those who profit from the current failing system. 

Inslee urged the hundreds of delegates and guests in attendance not to be intimidated by disruptive opponents of health care reform at town hall meetings, many of whom have been deliberately misled about what is being considered. He urged everyone to attend such meetings and to forcefully but respectfully make the case that the status quo is not an option.

"Anybody who says we don't need health reform in this country is one disease away from disaster," Inslee said. "In this country, nobody with a pre-existing condition should be denied access to insurance or charged exorbitant rates. This legislation will fix that."

But he received his loudest ovation when he said people should stop demonizing the Boeing Machinists and that Washington state should be more confident that "the next great Boeing plane will be built right here in the Puget Sound."

"It is not helpful when people say the reason for the (787) delay is the Boeing Machinists. The reason is that management decided to outsource Machinists jobs," Inslee said to thunderous applause. The 787 is more than two years behind schedule and aerospace analysts agree that the blame lies in Boeing's inability to control problems and delays at its suppliers.

But Inslee also added that Boeing's consideration of expanding 787 production in a state other than Washington is a threat that should be taken seriously.

"This is a real risk of losing jobs," he said. "We all need to find out how we can have a relationship (between Boeing workers and management) built on trust. It is a two-way street."

Other convention highlights from Thursday included: 

• Kent Wong, Director of the UCLA center for Labor Research and Education delivered a rousing opening address Friday morning on diversity issues in America. He said the election of America's first black president and the confirmation of its first Latina Supreme Court Justice and cabinet member represents progress, "despite this, in 2009 race still matters."
  
  He said that the majority of whites in the 2008 election voted for John McCain, essentially extending the clearly disastrous economic and foreign relations policies of the Bush administration another four more years. Although he added that among white union members, he majority supported Barack Obama. He credited the "union edge" of effective political education efforts and Obama's clearly pro-worker positions on issues that matters. He also credited AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka -- who is running unopposed to replace retiring President John Sweeney -- for a forceful speech addressing racism in the election head-on.
  
  "He went on national media calling out racism and I give him a lot of credit for that," Wong said.
   

• Bill Daley of the Health Care for America Now! offered delegates an update on the status of health care reform legislation in both the U.S. House and Senate. He said the biggest concern is that critically important aspects of reform -- such as the inclusion of a public option and an employer mandate to "play or pay" -- are being negotiated away behind closed doors by a handful of Senators in the Senate Finance Committee in the name of crafting a "bipartisan" bill that can win 60 votes. He noted that even members of that committee who aren't part of those secret talks are in the dark.
   
  U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) serves on that committee and Daley urged delegates to keep the pressure on her to make sure health care reform legislation isn't watered down to meaninglessness by those who oppose real reform. 
     

• Ana Avendaño, Associate General Counsel and Director of the Immigrant Worker Program at the AFL-CIO, discussed the need for comprehensive immigration reform and the Obama administration's stated intentions to pursue this change after dealing with health care reform. 
  
  She described how, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, employers in New Orleans brought in undocumented workers from Mexico and Central America to replace Americans who fled the flooding. When the American workers returned they couldn't get their jobs back because employer preferred a workforce that could be threatened with deportation to keep wages and working conditions low -- and to keep the unions out.
  
  This is happening not just in New Orleans, but across the nation, only more gradually.  That's why all Americans and union members have an interest in immigration reform, not only to protect the rights and dignity of these workers, but also to welcome them into our unions so we can maintain wages and working conditions and remove employers' incentive to exploit an imported workforce.
   

• John DeGraaf, national coordinator for “Take Back Your Time,” explained how shameful it was that America sits alongside a tiny handful of nations with repressive regimes, like Burma, as the only nations that don't require employers to provide paid vacation and sick leave to workers.

The following awards were presented at the convention Friday: 

• Former WSLC staff member and lifelong civil and economic rights activist Robby Stern was presented with the first annual Joe Murphy Power to the People Award for his outstanding political advocacy by an individual on behalf of working families. Delegates voted last year to name the award after former WSLC Vice President Joe Murphy, who died in a plane crash in Alaska in 2004. Stern told Murphy's wife, children and family members who were in attendance for the presentation that it was a tremendous honor to receive the award because Murphy was a personal hero to him.
  
  Earlier Friday, Stern addressed the plenary convention, sharing demographic statistics about the aging of the labor movement and urging delegates to get retired members involved and informed by supporting and participating in the local chapters of the Alliance for Retired Americans, in which he is now active. 
   

• The Washington State Association of Letter Carriers were presented the Joe Murphy Power to the People Award for outstanding political advocacy by an organization on behalf of working families. WSLC Political Director Benjamin Lawver praised the number of volunteer hours that members of the Letter Carriers contributed during the 2008 Labor Neighbor effort. WSALC President Bob James accepted the award on behalf of his members.
   

• Lynne Dodson of AFT Seattle Community Colleges Local 1789 was presented the 2009 Elsie Schrader Award by the WSLC Women's Committee for her efforts to promote the advancement of women in leadership roles and her outstanding activism on behalf of women within the labor movement.
   

• Ernie Bennett was honored for his decades of outstanding promotion of apprenticeship and vocational education with the 2009 Bruce Brennan Award.  The WSLC Education, Training and Apprenticeship Committee presents this award to the individual who has contributes the most to further the cause of apprenticeship, education and training in Washington state.

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