THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2009
WSLC urges approval of Ref. 71 to protect families

The Executive Board of the Washington State Labor Council voted last week to urge union members throughout the state to approve Referendum 71, the ballot measure affirming domestic-partnership rights and making discrimination illegal in Washington state. The State Legislature passed the domestic-partnership law this year, but now voters must approve Ref. 71 to ensure that all families have the same protections, rights, and responsibilities as their neighbors.

If voters approve Ref. 71, domestic partners will retain key rights and obligations like:

• Death benefits for the partners of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty

• Pension benefits for the partners of teachers and other public employees

• Victims’ rights, including the right to receive notifications and benefits allowances

• The right to use sick leave to care for a seriously ill partner

• The right to workers’ compensation benefits if a partner is killed in the course of employment

• The right to receive unemployment benefits if an employee must leave a job to care for a seriously ill partner

• The right to adopt a partner’s child without paying for a home study

• The areas covered by the law include labor and employment law, pensions, survivor, and other public employee benefits, family law, insurance rights, higher education, banks, financial institutions and loan agencies, creditors’ rights and business licenses.

"The domestic partnership law will provide death benefits for the partners of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty," said Kelly Fox, President of the Washington State Council of Firefighters, a WSLC affiliate. "They are first responders in times of crisis. It’s important for our members to be assured that when they risk their lives, they know their families will be protected in the unfortunate event the unthinkable happens."

There are more than 5,000 registered domestic partners and they are in every county in Washington state. Many gay and lesbian couples, often with children, and many senior couples are domestic partners. Often these seniors can't marry without sacrificing hard-earned Social Security and pension benefits. 

Domestic partnership laws allow them to protect their loved ones. This law provides essential protections to many older couples and to families with children who would otherwise be living without a safety net.

"The domestic partnership law provides stability to teachers’ families and the families of many students. Especially in these difficult economic times, it’s important that teachers’ families have pensions and health insurance," Sandra Schroeder, WSLC Vice President and President of AFT-Washington. "The partners of gay and lesbian teachers get sick just like any other spouse and deserve the same right to be cared for by their partners."

The WSLC will be working with its affiliated unions to urge rank-and-file members across the state to approve Referendum 71 in this fall's election.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2009
AFL-CIO elects Trumka, Shuler and Holt Baker

(The following report is posted at AFL-CIO Now.)

Wednesday was a great day at the 2009 AFL-CIO Convention: Delegates elected a historic ticket. Our new President Richard Trumka will be joined in leadership by two women, Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker. Shuler, 39, is the youngest person ever to become an officer of the AFL-CIO. (Shuler is also a friend of the WSLC and the labor movement in the Pacific Northwest, having served as a legislative representative and grassroots organizer for IBEW Local 125 in Portland, Oregon.) The dynamic team will lead the union movement into an exciting future.

Trumka, who previously served as AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, Shuler, formerly the executive assistant to Electrical Workers (IBEW) President Edwin Hill, and Holt Baker, who was re-elected as executive vice president, were voted into office by acclamation Wednesday afternoon.

Trumka reflected on his upbringing in a union family in western Pennsylvania and talked about the changes and challenges that we as a union movement are facing:

Even though the face of the American labor movement has changed, one thing hasn’t: It’s that the surest, the fastest, most effective way to lift workers and our families into the middle-class is with the strength, that can only, only come with a union contract.

And, sisters and brothers, that fundamental truth hasn’t been more critical to the future of this country than it is right now because, today, the American middle-class isn’t being squeezed -- we are being crushed.

The mirage of prosperity through borrowed money has dissolved -- and now we’re left with the reality of a hollowed-out economy and a broken financial system.

Even though it wasn’t the labor movement that got us into this mess, we are the people who are going to lead America out of it. But we can only do it if we seize this moment -- we can only do it if we act now -- we can only do it if we provide the leadership working Americans are demanding.

Well, today I’m telling you that we will seize this moment. We will act, we will lead, and, by God, we will win! The American labor movement can turn our country around -- and together that’s exactly what we’re going to do!

But to do it, we need a new kind of labor movement—one shaped to meet the needs of Americans in a changing economy.

Trumka was nominated by outgoing AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who praised his energy and dedication.

Shuler promised she would manage the AFL-CIO’s finances responsibly and transparently, accountable to members, and she would make it a top priority to reach out to young workers to sustain unions for future generations:

We need to revitalize and unify labor at every level. We need to reach out to unorganized workers -- especially those under 35 -- who, for whatever reason, don’t see us as the answer to the economic problems they face.

We know what young people are capable of -- we worked side by side with them last year in a political campaign to make real change happen. We watched them organize and spread a message of hope to the American people, and we’ve got to build on those bonds of solidarity that were forged in the heat of the campaign.

Shuler’s name was placed into nomination by Hill, who spoke of her energy and organizing skills, calling her “the right choice at this pivotal time”:

Liz Shuler is going to do for you what she has done for us: be part of a team that will confront all obstacles, win new victories and promote the solidarity and spirit that represent the best of our movement.

Holt Baker said that her mission would be passage of the Employee Free Choice Act and reaching out to a new generation of workers, to give them a chance at the American dream:

We’re not just concerned about labor’s family. Our fight is really about ensuring life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all families.

As we engage that pursuit, our themes may change, but our mission remains steadfast.

I believe with every fiber in my body that our movement must keep on ensuring that millions of workers in this country have the dignity and respect they deserve. That means good wages, decent pensions, affordable health care and continuous job training. If we don’t fight for these securities, who will?

The current system is broken. So together we’ve got to fight to fix it like our lives depended on it. Because they do.

In addition to the top three officers, convention delegates elected 51 vice presidents who will make up the AFL-CIO Executive Council.

Here’s what a few union delegates are hoping to see from the new leadership:

Bev Curphey of IBEW 728, Palm Beach, Fla.:

I would tell the new leadership that diversity is the number one priority. It is important to bring all working families into the labor movement, embrace new workers and mentor them.

Tanya James of UMWA 9909, Fairmont, W.Va.:

I hope the new leadership doesn’t lose sight of those who have fallen on the job. 

^{Copyright © 2009 --  Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO}