2010 Legislative Report, Voting Record released (WSLC Reports

May 12, 2010

May 11: Airline, rail workers' democracy

May 10: Is ASAF flying cover for EADS?

May 7: Labor history conference in June

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

2010 Legislative Report, Voting Record released

In advance of its 2010 endorsement convention this Saturday in Seattle, the state's largest labor organization -- the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO -- released the 2010 edition of its Legislative Report and Voting Record today. The publication (available online in HTML and 2MB PDF format) summarizes this year's legislative activity on working families issues and grades the performance of individual legislators. Read more.

► In the 2010 Legislative Report -- It's about the jobs -- The restoration of quality jobs will signal an end to this recession, not the return of corporate profits or stock market gains. In the 2010 legislative session, that meant investing in our public infrastructure to put workers in the decimated construction industry back to work. It also meant raising new revenue to avoid more layoffs of teachers, college faculty and staff, nurses and other health-care professionals, public safety workers, and other state employees who provide critically needed public services at the time we need them most.

► In the 2010 Legislative Report -- Conservative caucus endangers Dems (WSLC President Rick Bender's column) -- Masquerading as "moderates," a group of Democrats calling themselves the Roadkill Caucus espouse a pro-corporate, anti-government agenda. They use the same rhetoric that Republicans use about Washington having a horrible business climate, about the need to "reduce government's footprint," and even labeling their fellow party members as "too liberal." They pit constituencies against each other -- rural areas vs. Seattle -- in open defiance of the party's theme of "One Washington." And they are doing their dead-level best to make Democrats’ election fears a self-fulfilling prophecy.

State government news:

► At WFSE.org -- Furlough fight heats up as WFSE files demand to bargain -- The fight over the new furlough law -- which could force state employees to take up to 10 unpaid layoff days -- kicked into even higher gear Tuesday as the Washington Federation of State Employees, AFSCME Council 28 filed a formal demand to bargain with the state. Executive Director Greg Devereux said furloughs are a mandatory subject of bargaining under the contract and the 2002 collective bargaining law.

► In today's Olympian -- Salary report shakes up state worker stereotypes (editorial) -- It’s hard to miss the negative stereotypes of state employees. We’ve all heard them -- lazy, overpaid bureaucrats who couldn’t survive in the private sector if their lives depended on it. Right? Wrong. It’s not so easy doing challenging work with high expectations and workloads amid shrinking budgets and a dwindling work force. Perhaps -- just perhaps -- the new salary survey will help some people appreciate state workers for the jobs they perform.

Election news:

► At Publicola -- Poll: Tea Party, Democrats popular in state -- Adding a hypothetical Tea Party candidate to a generic Republican-vs.-Democrat race reduced support for the Republican from 35% to 28%, while support for the Democrat remained unchanged at 45%.

► At Politico -- Dino Rossi linked to troubled bank -- Millionaire Dino Rossi’s expected entrance into the race against Sen. Patty Murray will likely prompt questions about his relationship to a Bellevue bank that has run into problems with federal regulators. Rossi was a co-founder of the financially foundering Eastside Commercial Bank, and he wooed the bank’s acting CEO, Dick Ducharme, a friend, lobbyist and business partner, to invest. As of 2007, Rossi had a stake in the bank of at least $75,000, which is the maximum amount that could be listed on his state legislative disclosure form.

► From AP -- Voters' anti-establishment mood bites both parties -- The tide that ousted a 3-term Republican senator in Utah has spread beyond the Tea Party. It toppled a longtime Democratic congressman from West Virginia on Tuesday, and several White House-favored lawmakers elsewhere are confronting liberal voters who don't want party elites telling them what to do.

Boeing news:

► From AP -- Long Beach Boeing workers strike over medical, pension -- Workers who assemble C-17 planes went on strike Tuesday, shutting down the production line for the jumbo cargo jets in a feud over medical and pension benefits. Nearly all of the 1,700 unionized mechanics at Boeing’s Long Beach plant heeded the strike call, but about 3,000 non-union workers continued working, the company said.

Local news:

► In today's Columbian -- Letter Carriers' food drive nets 155,000 pounds -- Vancouver- area residents turned over 155,000 pounds of food during the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive, local organizers say, just shy of the 156,000 pounds gathered last year.

► In the (Longview) Daily News -- Worker's death leads to fines against EquaChlor -- L&I has fined EquaChlor $7,000 for two serious safety violations in connection with the Christmas Day death of employee Justin Florek, 25, who suffocated under the crushing weight of a 35-foot salt pile.

► In the (Aberdeen) Daily World -- "Big question mark" on wind project -- Grays Harbor PUD commissioners are considering walking away from a three-year planning process involving the Radar Ridge wind farm in Pacific County, citing uncertainty over regulatory approval.

► In today's Bellingham Herald -- WTA to hold hearing Thursday on budget cuts -- Whatcom Transportation may cut bus service by 14%, including eliminating all Sunday service.

National news:

► In today's Wash. Post -- Health-care overhaul up against long campaign across U.S. -- Efforts to block a key provision of the new health-care overhaul law are underway in 33 states, as a growing roster of mostly Republican officials have mounted legal and legislative challenges to an eventual requirement that virtually all Americans buy health insurance or pay a penalty tax. This Friday, seven more states will formally join a lawsuit filed by Florida and 12 other states in late March.

► In today's LA Times -- Trade deficit rises to $40.4 billion in March -- The U.S. trade deficit rose to a 15-month high as rising oil prices pushed crude oil imports to the highest level since the fall of 2008, offsetting another strong gain in exports. The larger deficit is evidence of a rebounding U.S. economy.

► At AFL-CIO Now -- "Show Us the Tax Breaks" debuts in Washington D.C. -- A new film demonstrates that all-too often, the jobs and economic benefits promised by corporations seeking tax breaks fall far short of promises. Sometimes, they just take the money and run, leaving communities in economic ruin. “Show Us the Tax Breaks” premieres Thursday, following a panel discussion with union leaders, economic and development experts and members of Congress, who will explore how real economic recovery strategies must address the creation of good jobs and the role of corporate subsidies in our current economic climate.

► At AFL-CIO Now -- Going Gaga over workers' rights -- Lady Gaga recently made an unexpected appearance at the Westin Saint Francis hotel in San Francisco -- in the form of a flash mob singing a pro-worker version of lyrics to her “Bad Romance.” Replete with tuba, trombone, snare drum and a couple dozen dancing activists, the group materialized in the hotel’s lobby to denounce the chain’s poor treatment of its employees and urge people to “Boycott, boycott,” this “bad, bad hotel.”

► At Huffington Post -- Real misery: Unemployment woes lead to two-tiered economy -- The crisis of joblessness continues to stymie a full economic recovery, with ripple effects from credit card delinquencies and rising food stamp participation indicating new hardships for millions.

► In today's Washington Post -- How to turn Congress Inc. back to just Congress (Katrina vanden Heuvel column) -- It is clear that the kind of strong reforms we urgently need won't be achieved simply by electing a new president or new members of Congress. Despite the voters' mandate for change, the underlying problem of Washington -- what author and Washington Post reporter Robert Kaiser calls "so damn much money" -- remains unaltered and is in many ways more powerful than even before. In the wake of the Supreme Court's recent Citizens United decision -- which awarded corporations the rights of citizens when it comes to electioneering, allowing them to use their coffers to manipulate political discourse -- the prospect of a Congress "brought to you by (insert corporate sponsor here)" has only grown. Americans must fight back with legislation that will help organized people defeat organized money.

► In today's LA Times -- What unions do for Americans (by an IATSE member) -- Far from transforming certain employees into taxpayer-funded aristocrats, unions today seek to preserve fairness for workers and a semblance of the American middle class.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010
2010 Legislative Report, Voting Record released

Washington's largest labor organization to consider election endorsements Saturday

In advance of its 2010 endorsement convention this Saturday in Seattle, the state's largest labor organization -- the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO -- released the 2010 edition of its Legislative Report and Voting Record today. The publication (available online in HTML and PDF) summarizes this year's legislative activity on working families issues and grades the performance of individual legislators.

On Saturday, the WSLC's COPE (Committee on Political Education) Endorsing Convention begins at 8:30 a.m., at the Machinists 751 Hall, 9125 15th Pl. S. in Seattle. Hundreds of delegates representing WSLC- affiliated unions from across the state will gather to vote on endorsements for congressional, judicial, state legislative and statewide candidates, plus any ballot measures. Endorsements require a two-thirds majority vote. Among the candidates scheduled to speak are U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, 3rd Congressional District candidates Denny Heck and Craig Pridemore, and several others. (See a tentative agenda or get more information about Saturday's convention.)

The 2010 Legislative Report and Voting Record summarizes action on the state's supplemental budget, plus legislation intended to create jobs, expand collective bargaining rights, strengthen safety nets for laid-off and injured workers, and much more. This year, the report not only includes the WSLC's annual legislative voting records, but also scores legislators based on their sponsorship of legislation and their advocacy for or against organized labor.

"It's become increasingly common for legislative leaders to avoid votes on important issues so our affiliates asked for more comprehensive information so they can better judge who's working with us and who's working against us," said WSLC President Rick Bender. "This is part of a long-term strategy to more effectively target our political efforts to advance a pro-worker agenda."

Last week, the WSLC mailed postcards to union members in selected legislative districts that previewed their legislators' voting records and referred members to the WSLC web site for the complete report. (See a sample postcard.) Members of WSLC-affiliated unions can also have a printed copy of the report mailed to them free of charge. (Request a printed copy.)

"We are making every effort to ensure that union members know what happened in Olympia because legislators' actions affect their jobs, their pocketbooks and their families," Bender said.

Among the reports included in the WSLC's 2010 Legislative Report and Voting Record are:

► Conservative caucus endangers Democrats (WSLC President Rick Bender's column) -- Masquerading as "moderates," a group of Democrats calling themselves the Roadkill Caucus espouse a pro-corporate, anti-government agenda. They use the same rhetoric that Republicans use about Washington having a horrible business climate, about the need to "reduce government's footprint," and even labeling their fellow party members as "too liberal." They pit constituencies against each other -- rural areas vs. Seattle -- in open defiance of the party's theme of "One Washington." They are doing their dead-level best to make Democrats’ election fears a self-fulfilling prophecy.

► Things have changed (by WSLC Political Director Benjamin Lawver) -- One of the key changes adopted after the 2009 session was to establish a more comprehensive system of evaluating the performance of incumbent state legislators, given that voting records don’t always explain who is truly advocating for working families or opposing their interests. This is necessary because it has become common practice for caucus leaders to "protect" their members by either denying votes on important working family legislation or by blocking recorded roll-call votes on the floor.

In addition, there are several articles describing the fate of legislation affecting workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, collective bargaining, building trades, and much more. See the Legislative Report's table of contents for a list.

Widely considered to be the "voice of labor" in our state, the Washington State Labor Council is the largest labor organization in the state with more than 500 affiliated local unions, representing approximately 400,000 rank-and-file union members working in our state. Learn more about the WSLC.