WSLC Monthly Report -- January/February 2005

WSLC Reports is a bi-monthly summary of labor news and a preview of coming events. It is not intended to be comprehensive. More detail is available on these (and other) stories online. If you want to receive this via fax or mail, Get on the List!
(See previous editions of this newsletter.)

FEBRUARY 18-20—The Pacific Northwest Labor History Association, RiseUp! Productions and the Seattle Labor Chorus have teamed up to present a Festival of Workers’ Culture at the Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 1st Ave. This celebration of labor music, art, poetry and theater will highlight the 100th anniversary of the Industrial Workers of the World. For more information, contact Ross Rieder at 206-524-0346. Learn more.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24—The 2005 WSLC Legislative Conference will be at the Olympia Red Lion Hotel. (See story below.)

President Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security uses a manufactured "crisis" to try to sell Americans on something Wall Street has sought for decades: access to trillions of Social Security dollars that can generate billions in fees. Bush’s plan does nothing to address long-term solvency issues, and in fact makes them considerably worse, requiring massive benefit cuts for future retirees.

Here’s a quick summary of some of the myths being peddled by those who want to privatize Social Security:

REALITY: Social Security has provided a lifeline to millions of Americans with millions of checks, and in more than 60 years has never missed a payment. This track record can continue. Social Security is basically a sound system that can meet 100% of its obligations for the next 39 years, and with responsible changes, can continue to do so indefinitely.

REALITY: Trustees project that the Social Security trust funds will be drawn down to zero in 2042 if no changes are made. (A separate report from the Congressional Budget Office says the date is 2052.) But after 2042, Social Security will not be broke. As it does today, Social Security will continue to collect payroll taxes from workers and employers. In fact, those taxes will be sufficient to finance about 70% of the payments owed to the program’s beneficiaries. With responsible modifications to the program, Social Security will be able to continue meeting 100% of its payment obligations to retirees, disabled workers and survivors.

MYTH:
Social Security and Medicare won’t be able to pay for all the Baby Boomers when they retire.

REALITY: The Social Security tax has been set higher than necessary deliberately to help defray Baby Boomers’ retirement costs. This money has been saved in the Social Security trust funds. At present the trust funds are running an annual surplus of nearly $165 billion; by the end of 2002, more than $1.37 trillion had been saved in the trust funds for the retirement of the Baby Boom generation. Finally, we should not look only at the number of dependents (retirees and children) per worker. It is projected that in 2030, there will be about 79 dependents per 100 workers—well below the ratio in 1965 of 95 dependents to 100 workers.

MYTH:
Ending bureaucratic waste would solve the projected shortfalls for Social Security and Medicare.

REALITY: Administrative costs for Social Security are less than 1 cent per dollar paid out in benefits. This is much lower than the average administrative costs of 12 to 14% for private insurers.

REALITY: The Social Security system was put in place during the Depression. If we could afford it then, we can afford Social Security today when the country is four times richer. The United States is the richest country in the world, and we can provide for our elderly—as do nations not nearly as rich as we are.

REALITY: Social Security benefits are earned by workers through payroll tax contributions that they pay on their wages. And when workers or their families become eligible to receive benefits because a worker has retired, become disabled or died, those benefits are paid.

MYTH:
I would have more to retire on if I put my money in stocks rather than Social Security.

REALITY: Individual stock market accounts would cost a bundle. We’d have to pay for two Social Security systems at the same time: today’s program for current beneficiaries and the privatized system. To cover the price tag, we would have to raise the retirement age, cut Social Security benefits, hike taxes, cut or eliminate cost-of-living adjustments—or some mix of these bad choices. Social Security provides the foundation of retirement, disability and survivor protections for working families and should not depend on how well individual workers can play the market or whether a worker retires shortly after the stock market has plunged.

The Washington State Labor Council’s annual Legislative Conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 24 at the Red Lion Olympia Hotel. All union members are invited and encouraged to attend and get updates on the status of legislation affecting working families.

Wednesday night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. there will be a reception that offers an excellent opportunity for informal conversation with legislators and other officials.

Thursday’s conference concludes with lunch, after which attendees are urged to meet with their legislators to discuss the issues most important to them.

The registration fee is $30 and includes materials, lunch Thursday and admission to the reception Wednesday night. Download a registration form (in MS Word format) or call (206) 281-8901 for more information. Whether or not you can make it to the Legislative Conference, get on the WSLC E-List to receive our weekly Legislative Update newsletters via e-mail, fax or traditional mail.

Steve Ignac, the WSLC’s Labor Liaison for Community and Technical Colleges, has resigned to accept a new position with the Carpenters union. Raymond Mason will replace him in this position funded through a grant from the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges. Mason has served as the WSLC Liaison for Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program and directed the Welfare to Work project.

"We are sorry to lose Steve and we very much appreciate his years of service and dedication to the organization," said WSLC President Rick Bender. "But we are fortunate to have someone like Raymond, with the experience and contacts to step in and carry on Steve’s important work."

Mason will continue efforts to increase participation of worker representatives on all college general and program advisory committees. He will recommend policies and procedures for vocational programs to the State Board and inform college staff about labor’s vocational programs. If you have any questions or are interested in being an Advisory Committee Member to your local college, please contact Raymond Mason at rmason@wslc.org or (206) 281-8901.

Last year, about 1,600 workers at the Tyson meatpacking plant in Pasco voted to retain representation by Teamsters Local 556 after the company helped finance an effort to decertify the union. Tyson management has successfully forced a "revote," set for mid-February, but now Tyson has temporarily laid off some 400 workers on the swing shift, citing "market conditions." So on Jan. 29, hundreds of supporters of the Tyson workers and Teamsters 556 rallied in Pasco to support their struggle to improve work and food safety at the plant.

All this comes amid a new report by Human Rights Watch accusing U.S. meat and poultry companies, including Tyson Foods Inc., of major human rights violations including extremely hazardous working conditions and using unethical tactics to fight union organization.

Nurses and other caregivers at Group Health Cooperative represented by Service Employees International Union voted overwhelmingly in favor of new contracts that contain health care costs and make other improvements to boost recruitment and retention of frontline staff. Over 96% voted in favor of the agreements.

By standing united, Group Health workers defeated the worst takeaways that Group Health demanded. But they will have to pay more for health care. If Group Health -- previously a model employer on health benefits -- starts to demand cuts, everyone’s access is at risk. That’s why so many union members are getting involved in bigger campaigns to make health care more affordable

Contrary to the claims of business lobbying groups, Washington's workers' compensation rates rank in the lowest third in the nation, according to the new biennial state-by-state rankings by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. The study is often cited in the insurance industry as an authoritative gauge of workers' compensation rates nationwide.

If employer cost savings not taken into account by the study are considered, Washington offers some of the least expensive workers' compensation coverage in the United States. The 2004 state-by-state rate rankings place Washington 35th but, in terms of cost to employers, our state ranks even lower because Washington is the only state in the nation where workers pay a portion of the premiums. If you remove that portion, Washington ranks 44th with only five states offering cheaper coverage to employers. The Oregon study also does not take into account the millions of dollars in refunds that Washington's employers receive through the state's popular Retrospective Rating Program.

U.S. unionization rates continue to drop, according to the latest U.S. Department of Labor report. The number of American union members fell last year to 15.5 million, down 300,000 from 2003, and the membership rate dropped from 12.9% in 2003 to 12.5% in 2004. That national rate has steadily declined from a high of 20.1% in 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available.

In Washington state, the number of union members grew by 8,000 to an estimated 510,000, but the overall union membership rate dropped from 19.7% in 2003 to 19.3% in 2004 as the state emerged from the national recession by adding some 106,000 jobs. Washington now ranks 6th highest in the nation in terms of the unionization rate.

The drop in national union membership was fueled by the Bush administration and Congress which stripped many federal employees of their right to be union members. The states suffering the biggest drops were Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., which combined to lose more than 120,000 members alone.

The DOL’s latest report on declining union membership comes as organized labor debates how to reverse its steady decline. A number of international unions have called for a restructuring of the AFL-CIO to increase its focus on recruiting new members and better assist affiliated unions with organizing. Visit Strengthening Our Union Movement for the Future, a web site where union members and leaders can add their ideas about labor’s challenges and opportunities, and keep current on proposals for change.