News for the week of March 2-6, 1998If you have news related to the labor movement in Washington state that you would like to share via WSLC Reports Today, we encourage you to submit it by e-mail, by fax (206-285-5805) or by phone (206-281-8901)
News for the week of March 2-6, 1998Friday, 3/6/98 — GOP's election-year solution to transportation crisis: CHARGE IT!
Wednesday, 3/4/98 — How to vent
frustration over the injustice of temporary work
Tuesday, 3/3/98 — You can celebrate International Women's Day by
helping many get a raise
Monday, 3/2/98 — Corporate
interests argue over what constitutes a "working
family"
News from previous weeks:
February 23-27, 1998 — February 16-20, 1998 — February 9-14, 1998 — February 2-6, 1998
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GOP's election-year solution to transportation crisis: CHARGE IT!
The Republicans finally passed their transportation plan at about midnight Thursday night, and it will avoid a certain veto from Governor Locke by passing the buck directly to voters.
Now, come November, YOU will have to choose between doing nothing about deteriorating roads and massive traffic gridlock or passing the single largest debt authorization in state history to respond to the crisis. (And while you're at it, you'll get to decide whether you want to return to office the politicians who left you with this so-called choice.)
Rep. Karen Schmidt (R-Bainbridge Island), chairwoman of the Transportation Committee, mustered this inspiring endorsement of the plan for voters' consideration: "There are no other dishes on the buffet line."
Why? Because the GOP not only refused to consider the governor's transportation plan, they also refused to agree to a compromise alternative. So the Legislature voted 25-24 in the Senate and 57-38 in the House to put their plan on the ballot. Sen. Eugene Prince (R-Thornton) was the only Republican in either house to vote against the plan.
So what will be the cost of the Republicans' no-new-taxes-no-matter-what commitment?
— About $2 billion (with a "b") in bond sales.
— Transferring car-tax revenue out of the state's general fund and into the transportation fund. That means taking money out of the pot that funds education, public safety, state employee and teacher salaries, and every other crucial service the state provides.
— Transferring still more out of the state's general fund to replace the local criminal justice funds which will now go toward transportation.
— Amending Initiative 601, the state spending limit, to allow shifting all these pots of money.
Democrats warned that the proposal is way too risky. If the economy takes even the slightest downturn (which it has already shown signs of doing due to the Asian financial crisis), the house of cards — or in this case, bonds — could collapse. Then the Legislature would be forced to raise taxes to meet existing commitments to education and social services, something Democrats don't want to see happen.
But, desperate to retain their narrow majority in the State Senate, the Republican Party has put politics ahead of prudence — a point made disturbingly clear in the talking points distributed on the floor of the Legislature to GOP members: "Make it clear that the Democrats who oppose our plan are doing so BECAUSE THEY WANT TO RAISE TAXES!"
Yes, the governor's comprehensive, long-term approach to responding to the transportation crisis would have increased gas taxes which, by Constitution, are the only dedicated source of transportation funding. The last time the State Legislature mustered the will to increase this tax was in 1991, so inflation has eroded its value ever since. But Locke's proposal — supported by business and labor representatives — was never seriously considered by the GOP.
"It is a sad day for schools, fiscal responsibility and transportation," Governor Locke said Thursday night.
The Washington State Labor Council is not interested in seeing the transportation crisis pitted against education, state employees, criminal justice and other critical programs. Nor are we interested in the potential for substantial job losses in our private sector economy and ports because Republicans are more concerned about getting reelected than providing for long-term transportation needs.
But now it appears the choice we will have is: Their way or the highway (the one that can't handle the growing needs of our citizens and industries.) You'll have a lot of time to think about it between now and November — during your growing commute to and from work.
How to vent frustration over the injustice of temporary work
The Republican-controlled State Legislature has killed a bill that would have ensured temporary and part-time workers receive pro-rated benefits equivalent to their full-time counterparts. So until next year when we may have a new Legislature more amenable to fair-minded proposals like this one, there is a new way for temporary workers to vent their frustration.
A
new web magazine called Temp
24-7 is dedicated to the life of the temporary worker. It
features a weekly "Temp Tale of Terror," a glossary of
temporary agency lingo and a video game in which the player slays
co-workers with a stapler.
And after you've released all that frustration you may be interested in more information about the growing problem of temporary and part-time worker abuse. If so, click here. And when you're done with that, consider calling a union and get your agency organized. Contact either the Temporary Workers Union or e-mail us, for more information or a referral.
You can celebrate International Women's Day by helping many get a raise
With women accounting for more than 70 percent of all minimum wage earners, there is no better way to celebrate International Women's Day this Sunday than by spending some time collecting signatures for Initiative 688 to raise Washington state's minimum wage.
Volunteers are encouraged to attend the "Women's Work is Everybody's Business" event at the Seattle Center House on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Activists can turn in petitions at the Jobs With Justice table there and deliver the message that: Raising the Minimum Wage is Everybody's Business.
The goal is to fan out and collect 4,900 signatures that day, representing the woefully small minimum wage in this state of $4.90 an hour. Initiative 688, the Paycheck Protection Act, would raise the minimum wage in two steps to $6.50 and then adjust that wage annually for inflation.
Please consider attending Sunday's event to celebrate the role women play in the American workplace, and to do something substantive to help the women at the bottom of the pay scale who have been left behind by the "booming economy."
For more information or to get petitions, call Bridget at the Paycheck Protection Coalition, (206) 256-6391. For more details on Initiative 688, click here.
Corporate interests argue over what constitutes a "working family"
In advocating for raising the minimum wage (and everything from expanded collective bargaining to improving work safety), the labor movement speaks on behalf of "working families." But as it argues against a proposed increase in the federal minimum wage, one employer-backed conservative think tank is now questioning the definition of a family — saying married couples without kids aren't one.
The Employment Policies Institute in Washington, DC says that only 16% of the workers who would be affected by a minimum wage increase are "single parents with kids." The rest live alone or with relatives, or have a working spouse. "Those aren't families," said John Doyle, an EPI spokesman. "They support themselves."
"These so-called think tanks are the lowest of the low," said Robby Stern of the Washington State Labor Council. "These people must have no clue what it's like to work for a living, much less at the minimum wage. It is shameless to try to say married couples don't constitute a family. I'd like to see some of the right-wing candidates they work for go out on the campaign trail and tell their constituents that they aren't a family unless they have kids."
In addition, the EPI's 16% statistic implies that families where both parents work are doing just fine and shouldn't be included among families that would benefit from a minimum wage increase.
"The idea that families that are forced to have at least two incomes wouldn't benefit from a minimum wage increase makes absolutely no sense," said Stern. The EPI's argument is "patently silly," agreed Donna Lenhoff, general counsel for the National Partnership for Women and Families.
"I think it's time to redefine what a 'think tank' is," he added. "I wouldn't think a bunch of tassel-toed, high-paid spin doctors spending their days trying to manipulate statistics would qualify."
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