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August 23, 2010 |
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Monday, August 23, 2010
State employees fight attacks on health care
It's back to the bargaining table this week for the State of Washington and union representatives, who are negotiating for a contract that will cover more than 100,000 state workers. At issue is who pays, and how much, for health insurance premiums and deductibles. The Washington Federation of State Employees, AFSCME Council 28 contends the state is one of the largest employers in Washington and should pay its share of health care benefits accordingly. Instead, state negotiators have suggested raising workers' share premiums by 67% and doubling their out-of-pocket deductibles. Read more.
► In today's Olympian -- This is not the time for state workers to dig in their heels (editorial) -- This is not the year to extract more money out of state coffers. It's a year for sacrifice; just as private sector workers have had to forgo salary increases and pay higher insurance premiums.
(Predictably, The Seattle Times also weighs in today in support of cutting health benefits.)
Teamsters to Coke: Stop cutting jobs, benefits
On
Saturday, hundreds of Coke employees who are members of the Teamsters
union, their family members and supporters, converged on the Seahawks
preseason game at Qwest Field in an effort to halt Coke’s irresponsible
business practices. Coca-Cola Enterprises, the world’s largest marketer,
producer and distributor of Coke products, announced plans in July 2010 to
shut down 3 facilities in economically-distressed parts of Washington
state. Coke is also proposing the elimination of health care coverage for
Coke retirees and wants its current employees to pay an 800% increase in
the share of the cost of their health care premiums. Read
more.
► At FoodManufacturing.org -- Teamsters charge Coca-Cola with "mismanagement" -- A delegation of Teamster workers will attend the Coca-Cola shareowners' meetings in Georgia to raise concerns about mismanagement that threatens to destroy good jobs, undermine workers' rights, and create large-scale inefficiencies. These ill-conceived changes could provoke work stoppages and service disruptions across the country.
Election news:
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► In today's Olympian - Initiatives draw cash -- The soft drink industry has pumped $10 million so far into an initiative that would repeal new taxes on soda pop, bottled water, candy and some canned-meat products. Opponents -- led by labor groups that want to preserve funding for health care and education -- have raised just $268,000. Backers of I-1005’s liquor wholesale privatization raised $2.2 million; I-1100’s liquor retail privatization raised $1.2 million; and I-1098’s income tax on high earners raised $1.9 million. The BIAW has paid half of the $1 million for I-1082, which would privatize workers’ compensation in Washington; I-1082 opponents have $703,536, mostly from trial lawyers.
► In Sunday's Seattle Times -- Liquor initiatives stir up old dispute -- The battle is starting to look like it did in the 1930s, with free-market advocates fighting against people who view cheap, easily available alcohol as a precursor to increased abuse and violence. About 95% of the time, minors who try to buy liquor in state stores are turned away. At grocery stores that sell beer and wine, stings show that minors are turned away 76% of the time. That will change if one of the voter initiatives passes, said Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick. "There will be 10 times as many places to buy hard liquor, and that's going to increase the chances of children buying liquor illegally. The word's going to get around. With every minimart out there selling liquor, they're going to try it."
► In the (Everett) Herald -- Returns drop Sen. Berkey to third; 5,000 ballot left to be counted -- Sen. Jean Berkey's political future is in jeopardy after she slid into third place in the latest tally. If the order doesn't change, Nick Harper and Rod Rieger will advance to the general election. The next updated tabulation is due Tuesday afternoon. If results hold, it will mean success for a coalition of unions and social progressives that conducted an independent campaign to oust Sen. Berkey, a member of the pro-corporate Democratic "Roadkill Coalition."
► In the Bellingham Herald -- Rep. Linville losing primary; worst showing in a decade -- The chair of the House Ways & Means Committee is losing to newcomer Republican Vincent Buys.
► In today's Washington Post -- Poll numbers in 1994, don't bode well for Democrats in 2010 -- Some neutral observers and senior strategists within the party have begun to believe that the national political environment is not only similar to what they saw in 1994 -- when Democrats lost control of the House and Senate -- but could in fact be worse by Election Day.
Local news:
►
At Publicola -- Metro
union says drivers aren't overpaid, balks at contract concessions --
In a candid, informative meeting with
reporters, ATU Local 587 members (including two part-time drivers and one
full-time driver) talked about the terms of the union’s contract with King
County, the controversial downtown Ride Free Area, and the dangers of
driving a bus. Although union president Paul Bachtel said he couldn’t
discuss the specifics of ongoing negotiations, he did note that Metro’s union, unlike the union that tentatively
agreed to forgo a cost-of-living wage increase last week, has access to
arbitration if negotiations fall apart (an outcome many observers think is
likely).
► At SeattlePI.com -- Universities raise tuition, make cuts during crisis -- The state's universities are cutting frills and charging students more following budget cuts handed down by the state. Another year of cuts is predicted in the face of a likely $3 billion shortfall for the next biennium.
National news:
► In today's Washington Post -- South Korea free trade pact back on agenda -- For three years, since it was negotiated by the Bush administration, the free-trade agreement has languished in Congress. Now trade officials from both countries are trying to resolve the problems that have kept it bottled up, including a dispute over U.S. access to the South Korean auto market and restrictions on U.S. beef imposed after the mad cow scare several years ago.
► In today's NY Times -- Housing fails as means to build wealth, analysts say -- The wealth generated by housing in the second half of the 20th Century, particularly on the coasts, did more than assure the owners a comfortable retirement. It powered the economy, paying for the education of children and grandchildren, keeping the cruise ships and golf courses full and the restaurants humming. More than likely, that era is gone for good.
► From LiveScience.com -- Soaring teen unemployment could have lifetime effects -- Teenage unemployment is at an all-time high, hitting 26.1% in July. Coupled with family financial stress, it could have long-term effects on both their earning power and their mental health.
► In today's NY Times -- Now that's rich (Paul Krugman column) -- We need to pinch pennies these days. Don’t you know we have a budget deficit? For months that has been the word from Republicans and conservative Democrats, who have rejected every suggestion that we do more to avoid deep cuts in public services and help the ailing economy. But these same politicians are eager to cut checks averaging $3 million each to the richest 120,000 people in the country. And there’s a real chance they will get what they want. That’s a demonstration, if anyone needed one, that our political culture has become not just dysfunctional but deeply corrupt.
►
In The New Yorker -- Covert
operations -- Meet the billionaire brothers who are funding the Tea
Party and waging a war against President Barack Obama. David and Charles
Koch
are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower
personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and
much less oversight of industry -- especially environmental regulation.
Charles Lewis, the founder of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan
watchdog group, says: “The Kochs are on a whole different level. There’s
no one else who has spent this much money. The sheer dimension of it is what
sets them apart. They have a pattern of lawbreaking, political manipulation,
and obfuscation. I’ve been in Washington since Watergate, and I’ve never
seen anything like it. They are the Standard Oil of our times."
MONDAY,
AUGUST 23, 2010
OLYMPIA -- It's back to the
bargaining table this week for the State of Washington and union
representatives, who are negotiating for a contract that will cover more
than 100,000 state workers. At issue is who pays, and how much, for health
insurance premiums and deductibles. The Washington Federation of
State Employees, AFSCME Council 28 contends the state is one of the
largest employers in Washington and should pay its share of health care
benefits accordingly. Instead, state negotiators have suggested increasing
the percentage that workers pay for their premiums, and doubling their
deductibles. "Right now, state
workers' coverage benefits are significantly below those of the Microsofts,
the Fred Meyers, the other large employers in the state."
SEATTLE -- On
Saturday, hundreds of Coke employees who are members of the Teamsters
union, their family members and supporters, converged on the Seahawks
preseason game at Qwest Field in an effort to halt Coke’s irresponsible
business practices. The elimination of good, local jobs and the decimation
of health care protections for current employees and present and future
Coke retirees are the inherent results of Coke's practices. Coca-Cola
Enterprises, the world’s largest marketer, producer and distributor of
Coke products, announced plans in July 2010 to shut down 3 facilities in
economically-distressed parts of Washington state. Coke is also proposing
the elimination of health care coverage for Coke retirees and wants its
current employees to pay an 800% increase in the share of the cost of
their health care premiums. "We are
increasingly frustrated that Coke, a major corporation that generated
$21 billion in revenues last year, is intent on cutting good, family
wage jobs, undermining health care protections for its workers, and
eliminating coverage for Coke retirees, many of whom dedicated decades of
their lives to the company," said John Beck, a 36-year production
line worker at the Coke facility in Bellevue. Teamsters Local
Unions 38, 117, 174, 252, 313 and 589 represent approximately 500 Coke
employees at four Puget Sound-area locations.
State
employees fight attacks on health care
State
proposal: Raise premiums 67%, double deductibles
WFSE
Executive Director Greg Devereux says it's a common misconception that
state employees are getting a sweet deal on benefits.
The State of Washington currently pays 88% of employees' health insurance
premiums, and workers pay the rest. One option the state is suggesting
changes the percentages to 80%-20% and raises deductibles from $750 per
family to $1,500.
Instead, says Devereux, the state could raise money for keeping employees'
insurance affordable by closing tax loopholes. He cites the tax exemption
for professional sports stadiums as one example of a drain on the state
budget, while state employees have watched their wages and benefits erode.
"State employees are saying, 'My workload has increased. My pay has
decreased by 5% in the furloughs. I took a $1,100 hit last year in health
care benefits -- and now you want to tax me further?' State employees are
angry. They feel like it's a tax."
The state says the budget crisis makes the changes necessary.
The next round of negotiations begins Tues., Aug. 24, at 9 a.m., at the
Dept. of General Administration in Olympia.
Copyright © 2010 -- Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO