UPDATE 11:0 AM
The special meeting today at noon to vote on the state employee furlough bill, SSB 6503, has been cancelled. SSB 6503 is now up for a vote of the House Ways and Means Commitee at 3:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 1.
We don't know if the amended version is being re-tooled. The draft as it stands would make SSB 6503 WORSE, not slightly better than the Senate version.
The amended SSB 6503 going before the House Ways and Means Committee, unless it is changed, would mandate that agencies must include five mandatory furlough days for all employees. The Senate had said agencies could come up with plans to reduce compensation costs, with furlough days mandated only if they didn't have a plan by May 15. So this House version is much worse.
So, it’s still a bad bill.
Continue to call the Legislature’s Hotline Message Center at 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to oppose SSB 6503, the state employee furlough bill. Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less. The hotline is open until 8 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and again from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday. So a lot of opportunity to get messages in to vote NO on SSB 6503.
January 29, 2010
WFSE/AFSCME opposes latest health savings accounts bills
HB 2875 creating state employee health savings accounts raises more questions than answers, the Federation’s Dennis Eagle told the House Health Care and Wellness Committee Thursday.]
The bill requires the Public Employees Benefit Board to develop and approve a health savings account with a high-deductible health plan as an option for employees.
Health savings accounts are growing in popularity, Eagle said, but “we have strong concerns that HSAs will result in adverse selection and jeopardize the integrity of the risk pool.
“We believe it create a disincentive to cut corners to save money and take away from preventative care, wellness and health maintenance. We are concerned these disincentives will ultimately result in higher costs to the system and with state employees health benefits under siege, we’re sensitive to cost issues right now."
The bill requires the Public Employees Benefit Board to develop and approve a health savings account with a high-deductible health plan as an option for employees.
Health savings accounts are growing in popularity, Eagle said, but “we have strong concerns that HSAs will result in adverse selection and jeopardize the integrity of the risk pool.
“We believe it create a disincentive to cut corners to save money and take away from preventative care, wellness and health maintenance. We are concerned these disincentives will ultimately result in higher costs to the system and with state employees health benefits under siege, we’re sensitive to cost issues right now."
Bad and good on privatization of child welfare services
The bill that was supposed to “clean up” the highly flawed 2009 law setting up pilot projects to privatize part of DSHS Child Welfare Services came up for a hearing Thursday in the House Early Learning and Children’s Services Committee.
But HB 3121 is itself highly flawed and completely unacceptable.
It was supposed to honor the competitive contracting law, but instead the exclusion enacted last year remains and directs the Transformation Design Committee (TDC) to create a whole new process – after the pilot projects are up and running. HB 3121 also omits two recommendations from TDC.
“Here again in this bill, is another outright offensive attempt to circumvent the collective bargaining law, this time by tasking the Transformation Design Committee (TDC) to create the process for state employees to compete for the contracts,” Federation Lobbyist Alia Griffing told the committee. “This is not language that we take lightly.
“The Federation has grave concerns about putting our members’ jobs in the hands of a committee that has already been seriously undermined” by the independent roll-out of “master contracts” by Children’s Administration, in conflict with the expectation of TDC involvement in the development. Instead, the agency rolled out the “master contracting” model, prepackaged for the committee’s consumption at the December meeting, Griffing said.
So that’s the bad.
The good is House Bill 3143, sponsored by Rep. Larry Haler, R-8th Dist., and initiated by the Federation. It prevents demonstration sites from moving forward unless specifically funded and it prevents the agency from implementing the “supervising agency” (broker) model until tested through the demo sites.
So, call 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to oppose HB 3121 and instead support HB 3143.
But HB 3121 is itself highly flawed and completely unacceptable.
It was supposed to honor the competitive contracting law, but instead the exclusion enacted last year remains and directs the Transformation Design Committee (TDC) to create a whole new process – after the pilot projects are up and running. HB 3121 also omits two recommendations from TDC.
“Here again in this bill, is another outright offensive attempt to circumvent the collective bargaining law, this time by tasking the Transformation Design Committee (TDC) to create the process for state employees to compete for the contracts,” Federation Lobbyist Alia Griffing told the committee. “This is not language that we take lightly.
“The Federation has grave concerns about putting our members’ jobs in the hands of a committee that has already been seriously undermined” by the independent roll-out of “master contracts” by Children’s Administration, in conflict with the expectation of TDC involvement in the development. Instead, the agency rolled out the “master contracting” model, prepackaged for the committee’s consumption at the December meeting, Griffing said.
So that’s the bad.
The good is House Bill 3143, sponsored by Rep. Larry Haler, R-8th Dist., and initiated by the Federation. It prevents demonstration sites from moving forward unless specifically funded and it prevents the agency from implementing the “supervising agency” (broker) model until tested through the demo sites.
So, call 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to oppose HB 3121 and instead support HB 3143.
House committee vote on furlough vote today
We have received word that the state employee furlough bill, SSB 6503, is now up for a vote of the House Ways and Means Committee at a special meeting at noon today (Friday, Jan. 29).
We understand some improvements have been made, but not much.
So, it's still a bad bill.
Continue to call the Legislature's Hotline Message Center at 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to oppose SSB 6503, the state employee furlough bill.
Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less.
IF YOUR LEGISLATOR ASKS...
Here are our alternatives to the deep cuts in programs, closures of institutions and the furlough bill:
Ask us where to save:
We understand some improvements have been made, but not much.
So, it's still a bad bill.
Continue to call the Legislature's Hotline Message Center at 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to oppose SSB 6503, the state employee furlough bill.
Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less.
IF YOUR LEGISLATOR ASKS...
Here are our alternatives to the deep cuts in programs, closures of institutions and the furlough bill:
Ask us where to save:
- Repeal or furlough some of the $14.8 billion in tax loopholes identified by the Department of Revenue as sources for "potential revenue collections."
- The Washington State Budget and Policy Center has proposed a revenue-loophole closing package that would generate $1.675 billion in revenue in FY 2011.
- The Economic Opportunity Institute has identified a revenue-tax loophole-closing package that could generate $2.285 billion in revenue in FY 2011.
- Significant cuts could be made in the ranks of the Washington Management Service and exempt service, including special pay and bonuses.
Nugget No. 1: The Keno to support parks and recreation bill, SB 6615, was pulled from a scheduled hearing Thursday before the Senate Labor, Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.
Nugget No. 2: Mark your calendars for the Public Employee/Revenue Rally and Lobby Day on the Presidents’ Day Holiday, Monday, Feb. 15. The rally will be at noon on the Capitol steps. But you can get a pre-rally briefing, lunch and lobbying appointments. Register now. Go to the Federation website at www.wfse.org and click on the RALLY icon in the upper right corner.
January 28, 2010
Renton Technical College bargaining update
The Renton Technical College Bargaining Team, which negotiates under a different law than for other Federation members, has completed several more articles and have added four more bargaining dates.
The team has added a new section in their contract regarding paid union time for new employee orientation. There’s also a new and completely restructured layoff and recall procedure that addresses many areas of our members’ concerns.
The team is now working on and nearly finished with articles on professional development, seniority, college closures and hours of work.
The RTC team bargains again Feb. 1, 9, 18 and 24.
The team has added a new section in their contract regarding paid union time for new employee orientation. There’s also a new and completely restructured layoff and recall procedure that addresses many areas of our members’ concerns.
The team is now working on and nearly finished with articles on professional development, seniority, college closures and hours of work.
The RTC team bargains again Feb. 1, 9, 18 and 24.
House committee vote on furlough bill postponed -UPDATE 8:30 AM
Thanks to your thousands of hotline calls and e-mails and in-person visits to legislators, many questions have been raised about the state employee furlough bill, SSB 6503.
As a result, the House Ways and Means Committee has postponed its vote on SSB 6503. It was set for a committee vote Wednesday. It was clear in Tuesday’s hearing that many on the committee had concerns and questions. So stay tuned for further developments.
- UPDATE 8:30 AM: SSB 6503 was added to Executive Session, House Ways & Means, today at 3:30 PM.
But we can’t let our guard down. Continue to call the Legislature’s Hotline Message Center at 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to oppose SSB 6503, the state employee furlough bill. Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Federation Lobbyist Alia Griffing on Wednesday commended legislation (SB 6515) focusing the mission of the Department of Commerce for language on collective bargaining transfer rights. The union is neutral on program transfer issues. “Our concern would be around any gaps in services that are created or lost in jobs or collective bargaining rights as those transfers are made,” Griffing told the Senate Economic Development, Trade and Innovation Committee. “We believe this bill avoids those pitfalls. We appreciate the inclusion of the transfer language contained in this bill.”
Nugget No. 2: Also before the same committee, Griffing urged an amendment to SB 6579 to include a classified state employee representative on a proposed Information Systems Improvement Committee. “We believe that our frontline workers have great ideas and perspectives that might not otherwise be brought forward if that seat is taken by a management position,” Griffing testified.
REGISTER NOW FOR FEB. 15 RALLY
Mark your calendars for the Public Employee/Revenue Rally and Lobby Day on the Presidents’ Day Holiday, Monday, Feb. 15. The rally will be at noon on the Capitol steps. But you can get a pre-rally briefing, lunch and lobbying appointments.
Mark your calendars for the Public Employee/Revenue Rally and Lobby Day on the Presidents’ Day Holiday, Monday, Feb. 15. The rally will be at noon on the Capitol steps. But you can get a pre-rally briefing, lunch and lobbying appointments.
January 27, 2010
Bargaining rights for Interpreters critical to money saving reform
Giving DSHS interpreters union rights and cutting the “Byzantine” system of “middlemen and gatekeepers” that chokes off their pay will save the state money and better serve clients.
That’s what interpreters who are working with the Federation on HB 3062 told the House Commerce and Labor Committee Tuesday.
The interpreters help Medicaid clients who can’t speak English understand medical procedures. But the governor wants to cut the $16 million program to save $4 million in state funds, but forfeit $12 million in federal monies.
The interpreter system is also shackled by a trickle-down system where the state uses 13 private brokers, who then contract with separate agencies who in turn then contract with the interpreters providing the direct service. Fully $8 million is lost on those middlemen.
“Because of the brokerage system, (interpreters’) wages have gone down,” the Federation’s Dennis Eagle told the committee. “Interpreters are leaving the field.”
HB 3062 would end that system, set up a special work group to improve interpretive services and grant the interpreters collective bargaining rights to have an ongoing voice in maintaining quality services.
“We want collective bargaining rights not because we want the state to spend more -- we want DSHS to spend less for more,” interpreter Narscisa Hodges said. “Cut administrative costs, restore professional pay and fairness … and improve the quality of the system. This will save the state money.”
“HB 3062 will provide a vehicle for improving this program, saving money and establishing a stable labor pool over time,” said another interpreter, Cindy Roat.
“In this day and age, we can’t afford the luxury of spending half our program dollars on middlemen and gatekeepers…,” Eagle said. “It doesn’t make sense and we can’t afford that model anymore.”
Furlough bill treats Washington's state employees differently than comparable states
The state employee furlough bill may be on a fast track for passage, but it was exposed Tuesday as making state employees the sacrificial lamb in the budget debate.
And the furlough plan is unprecedented when compared to sacrifices inflicted on state employees in 16 other comparable states, Federation Executive Director Greg Devereux told the House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday (Jan. 26).
Devereux told the budget writers that SSB 6503 “is predicated on cuts and furloughs first, then votes on a broad revenue proposal. We do not see that broad revenue proposal on the horizon and it feels like state services and state workers are going to bear the brunt of this recession.”
“SSB 6503 contemplates more extensive furloughs than 16 other states that are comparable to ours,” he said. “None of those other states have taken health care cuts and furloughs. We would be the only state among them.”
If furloughs are implemented, they should be focused on higher-paid employees, like those in the Washington Management Service and the exempt service, he said.
State employees have sacrificed much already, yet billions in tax breaks remain untouched, Devereux said.
“Since 2000, this Legislature has passed 154 tax exemptions -- 27 percent of the total tax exemptions in this state -- totaling $3 billion. I would imagine some of those are excellent, they create jobs but some of them probably could be furloughed or suspended temporarily to bridge us through this period.
“In the end, the root cause of this Great Recession really is middle class wage stagnation. Certain sectors of our economy got fabulously rich while the rest of us were treading water.
“Laying off state workers, furloughing state workers, cutting the health care benefits of state workers, will only lead to further stagnation and economic harm to our communities. The answer is shared sacrifice by spreading the revenue needs for our citizens across as many people as possible rather than continuous cuts to specific groups.”
The committee is expected to vote on SSB 6503 today. So, call 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to vote NO! on SSB 6503. Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less.
January 26, 2010
Call House members to oppose furlough bill; Members push for stricter WMS limits; register for the Feb. 15 rally
The still-bad furlough bill comes up for a hearing this afternoon in the House Ways and Means Committee, 3:30 p.m., Hearing Room A in the John L. O'Brien Building on the Capitol campus.
SSB 6503 is still a bad bill that does not save jobs. It may be sold to you as saving jobs, but in fact any of the questionable savings would be diverted to other areas of the budget.
So, call 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to vote NO! on SSB 6503. Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less.
They need to hear from you.
- Call 1-800-562-6000.
MEMBERS PUSH FOR STRICTER WMS LIMITS
Ecology members who have studied the growth of the Washington Management Service in depth used a hearing Monday on a bill limiting special pay for WMS employees to push for further reforms.
Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-26th Dist., called the special pay freeze for WMS and exempt employees a "common sense temporary pause."
Local 443 Ecology member and Federation Executive Board member Kerry Graber applauded the bill, but said more could be done.
She presented charts showing that pay for WMS in Ecology is out of whack with national averages for executive pay. She also presented data about how the state could save tens of millions of dollars by trimming the size of WMS, including just not replacing WMS employees who leave state service.
"We're seeing an inequity and we'd like to see more reform in this area," Graber told the House Ways and Means Committee.
Stan Leja, an Ecology hydrogeologist and member of Local 443, said the current fiscal crisis presents an opportunity for action.
"It think it's (HB 2998) something that's needed but doesn't go far enough," Leja said. "I think it needs to be permanent."
Seaquist said further legislation getting at the WMS problem is coming.
REGISTER NOW FOR FEB. 15 RALLY
In just two weeks, the legislative session has turned brutal against state employees. The passage of the furlough bill is the latest example.
The problem is we need new revenue and closing or suspending some of the $14.8 billion in easily accessible tax loopholes.
You can help bring that message directly to legislators in a big way. Mark your calendars for the Public Employee/Revenue Rally and Lobby Day on the Presidents' Day Holiday, Monday, Feb. 15. The rally will be at noon on the Capitol steps. But you can get a pre-rally briefing, lunch and lobbying appointments.
January 25, 2010
Call House members to oppose furlough bill; register now for Feb. 15 rally; Local 491 members turn out to save Rainier School
As we told you last time, the furlough bill (SSB 6503) passed the Senate Friday and comes up for a House hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 3:30 p.m., in the House Ways and Means Committee, Hearing Room A in the John L. O'Brien Building on the Capitol campus. It's scheduled for a committee vote Wednesday.
SSB 6503 is still a bad bill that does not save jobs. It may be sold to you as saving jobs, but in fact any of the questionable savings would be diverted to other areas of the budget.
So, call 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to vote NO! on SSB 6503. Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less.
REGISTER NOW FOR FEB. 15 RALLY
In just two weeks, the legislative session has turned brutal against state employees. The passage of the furlough bill is the latest example.
The problem is we need new revenue and closing or suspending some of the $14.8 billion in easily accessible tax loopholes.
You can help bring that message directly to legislators in a big way. Mark your calendars for the Public Employee/Revenue Rally and Lobby Day on the Presidents' Day Holiday, Monday, Feb. 15. The rally will be at noon on the Capitol steps. But you can get a pre-rally briefing, lunch and lobbying appointments.
LOCAL 491 MEMBERS TURN OUT IN RAIN AND COLD TO TURN UP THE HEAT ON SAVING RAINIER SCHOOL
Dozens of Local 491 members braved the rain, wind and cold Sunday to turn up the heat to save Rainier School.
They set up a peaceful picket line along the heavily traveled Highway 410 in Buckley.
In a show of solidarity were members from the Department of Transportation, Western State Hospital, Yakima Valley School, among others.
Rainier is one of the residential habilitation centers slated for closure. Members at Frances Haddon Morgan Center are planning a similar rally. Details to come.
ALSO THIS WEEK:
- The bill restricting bonuses and other special pay for WMS and EMS employees gets a hearing today in the House Ways and Means Committee.
- The Federation-initiated bill to give DSHS interpreters collective bargaining rights (HB 3062) comes before the House Commerce and Labor Committee Tuesday.
- The proposed cuts to the successful Program for Adaptive Living Skills (PALS) at Western State Hospital comes up for a work session Tuesday in the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee.
- Also up this week are important hearings on: generating revenue through sales of surplus fish in our state hatcheries; the Department of Commerce; Information Services; gang violence; new revenue for state Parks via proceeds from Keno; and we may see a committee vote on the problematic parks host bill.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Your calls on several bills are critical this week because the first major deadlines for bills to clear committees come up next week. House bills need to pass House committees by Tuesday, Feb. 2. Senate bills need to clear Senate committees by Feb. 5.
Nugget No. 2: For our members in the DSHS Division of Child Support, the bill that would change the calculation of child support came up for what amounted to a courtesy hearing Friday. Local 443 member Katie Nelson presented written testimony to the committee. But time ran out and she was not allowed to testify. It's a moot point: The committee's chair, Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-24th Dist., said the bill, SB 6399 is not moving this session.
January 22, 2010
Senate passes furlough bill - still a bad idea; Register now for Feb. 15 rally; Save Rainier School rally on Sunday; more Capitol nuggets
The state Senate at 12:35 p.m. Friday passed the state employee furlough bill on a vote of 27-17, with five excused. SSB 6503 now goes to the House.
The bill has been somewhat mitigated--a few more exemptions, flexibility for agencies to craft an alternative compensation savings plan--but it still asks state employees to take what will amount to a 9 percent pay cut. So it is still a bad bill. Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less.
In your calls to the legislative hotline, now turn your attention to the House. Call 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to vote NO! on SSB 6503.
Read the bill report here.
REGISTER NOW FOR FEB. 15 RALLY
In just two weeks, the legislative session has turned brutal against state employees. The passage of the furlough bill is the latest example.
The problem is we need new revenue and closing or suspending some of the $14.8 billion in easily accessible tax loopholes.
You can help bring that message directly to legislators in a big way. Mark your calendars for the Public Employee/Revenue Rally and Lobby Day on the Presidents’ Day Holiday, Monday, Feb. 15.
The rally will be at noon on the Capitol steps. But you can a pre-rally briefing, lunch and lobbying appointments. Register here now.
DON’T FORGET: SAVE RAINIER SCHOOL/SAVE RHCS RALLY THIS SUNDAY
Rainier School Local 491 members will rally this Sunday, Jan. 24, to save their facility from the chopping block. You’re invited. The “Save Rainier School” rally will be 12-4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 24, at Buckley Park, at the corner of Highway 410 and Ryan Road in Buckley.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: The Federation’s Ton Johnson testified Thursday against the closures of Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima and Pine Lodge Corrections Center in Medical Lake before the House General Government Appropriations Committee. Joining him: John Higgins, mayor of Medical Lake, who said Pine Lodge’s inmates are an asset to the community, running the recycling center, growing produce donated to local food banks and making quilts for local charities. The Yakima City Council previously voted to urge legislators to save Ahtanum View.
Nugget No. 2: Michele Fukawa, a social worker 3 and member of Local 313 in Vancouver, urged the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee on Thursday to save vital programs, like secured crisis residential centers, from the budget ax. “Our jobs are pretty difficult as they are” without further cutting such resources, Fukawa said.
Nugget No. 3: Bills to give DSHS interpreters collective bargaining rights have been introduced: Senate Bill 6726, assigned to the Senate Labor, Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee; and House Bill 3062, which has a hearing next Tuesday in the House Commerce and Labor Committee. The interpreters are some of the most underappreciated and poorly treated workers in the state. They came to the Federation for help winning them a fair helping of decency and respect. As you recall, hundreds of Federation members this past Monday joined with them to bring that message to legislators. The Federation initiated HB 3062 and SB 6726.
Nugget No 4: Another Federation-initiated bill would help longtime employees facing the need for more than the current limit of 261 total shared leave days. Under HB 3063 and SB 6695, employees with between 10 and 20 years of service could receive 522 days of shared leave. Those with more than 20 years of service, 788 shared leave days.
Nugget No. 5: Finally, your message about repealing or suspending some of the $14.8 billion in tax loopholes is getting through, and there is some small movement. The Senate Ways and Means Committee discussed information provided to them by Federation members yesterday, so they are aware of the facts. And with our use of the gold bullion dealers’ tax break example, the Senate on Friday introduced SB 6713 to roll back a few preferential tax breaks. First on the list: gold bullion dealers. But, sadly, no mention of the tax breaks for the Seattle sports stadiums, condominium maintenance fees and hundreds of others.
The bill has been somewhat mitigated--a few more exemptions, flexibility for agencies to craft an alternative compensation savings plan--but it still asks state employees to take what will amount to a 9 percent pay cut. So it is still a bad bill. Its unintended consequences will cost more, not less.
In your calls to the legislative hotline, now turn your attention to the House. Call 1-800-562-6000 and urge your two House members to vote NO! on SSB 6503.
Read the bill report here.
REGISTER NOW FOR FEB. 15 RALLY
In just two weeks, the legislative session has turned brutal against state employees. The passage of the furlough bill is the latest example.
The problem is we need new revenue and closing or suspending some of the $14.8 billion in easily accessible tax loopholes.
You can help bring that message directly to legislators in a big way. Mark your calendars for the Public Employee/Revenue Rally and Lobby Day on the Presidents’ Day Holiday, Monday, Feb. 15.
The rally will be at noon on the Capitol steps. But you can a pre-rally briefing, lunch and lobbying appointments. Register here now.
DON’T FORGET: SAVE RAINIER SCHOOL/SAVE RHCS RALLY THIS SUNDAY
Rainier School Local 491 members will rally this Sunday, Jan. 24, to save their facility from the chopping block. You’re invited. The “Save Rainier School” rally will be 12-4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 24, at Buckley Park, at the corner of Highway 410 and Ryan Road in Buckley.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: The Federation’s Ton Johnson testified Thursday against the closures of Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima and Pine Lodge Corrections Center in Medical Lake before the House General Government Appropriations Committee. Joining him: John Higgins, mayor of Medical Lake, who said Pine Lodge’s inmates are an asset to the community, running the recycling center, growing produce donated to local food banks and making quilts for local charities. The Yakima City Council previously voted to urge legislators to save Ahtanum View.
Nugget No. 2: Michele Fukawa, a social worker 3 and member of Local 313 in Vancouver, urged the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee on Thursday to save vital programs, like secured crisis residential centers, from the budget ax. “Our jobs are pretty difficult as they are” without further cutting such resources, Fukawa said.
Nugget No. 3: Bills to give DSHS interpreters collective bargaining rights have been introduced: Senate Bill 6726, assigned to the Senate Labor, Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee; and House Bill 3062, which has a hearing next Tuesday in the House Commerce and Labor Committee. The interpreters are some of the most underappreciated and poorly treated workers in the state. They came to the Federation for help winning them a fair helping of decency and respect. As you recall, hundreds of Federation members this past Monday joined with them to bring that message to legislators. The Federation initiated HB 3062 and SB 6726.
Nugget No 4: Another Federation-initiated bill would help longtime employees facing the need for more than the current limit of 261 total shared leave days. Under HB 3063 and SB 6695, employees with between 10 and 20 years of service could receive 522 days of shared leave. Those with more than 20 years of service, 788 shared leave days.
Nugget No. 5: Finally, your message about repealing or suspending some of the $14.8 billion in tax loopholes is getting through, and there is some small movement. The Senate Ways and Means Committee discussed information provided to them by Federation members yesterday, so they are aware of the facts. And with our use of the gold bullion dealers’ tax break example, the Senate on Friday introduced SB 6713 to roll back a few preferential tax breaks. First on the list: gold bullion dealers. But, sadly, no mention of the tax breaks for the Seattle sports stadiums, condominium maintenance fees and hundreds of others.
Get on the bus and come to Olympia for the Presidents' Day Rally and Lobby Day
Join thousands of other public employees at noon on Monday, February 15, on the Capitol steps in Olympia to rally the legislature for revenue to protect our future.
Cuts to safety net programs are unjust. Safety net programs have already been cut to the bone. We're urging legislators to support raising new revenue and closing some of the $14.8 billion tax loopholes to help save our safety net.
We must show legislators how much is at stake if huge proposed cuts go through. Anti-state employee forces will also be rallying that day, so we must be there to counter their wrong-headed message.
RSVP here - REGISTER today:Send us the letter below to tell us your plans for the day. When you RSVP, we'll arrange for your lunch and make appointments for you to meet with your legislators.
Here's what you can do:
- Attend the rally at noon on Monday, February 15 - President's Day holiday.
- Schedule to meet with your legislators while you're at the Capitol.
- Can't attend the rally? Call the legislative hotline at 800-562-6000 on February 15th and leave them a message urging them to support revenue options that include closing tax loopholes.
But if you can't make the briefing, you can join us at the rally.
Green it up! Wear your green AFSCME t-shirt. Don't have one? Pick one up at the AM briefing.
Schedule:
- 9 AM - Briefing at the Natural Resources Building Cafeteria.
- 9:30 to Noon - Opportunity for appointments with your legislators.
- Noon Rally - Capitol steps.
- 1:30 - Opportunity for afternoon appointments with legislators.
January 21, 2010
UPDATE: Keep calls coming to urge a "No" vote on SB 6503, the 5% paycut (furlough) bill
The 5 percent pay cut/furlough bill passed committee Thursday and is set for a vote of the full Senate Friday. Continue to call legislators!
URGENT CALL TO ACTION!
Call the Legislative Message Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Tell your senator to vote NO! on SSB 6503, the state employee furlough bill. Its unintended consequences cost more, not less. (You can also go to the Federation website at www.wfse.org to send an e-mail to your senator.)
UPDATE
The Senate Ways and Means Committee held a hastily called lunchtime meeting Thursday to pass out the furlough bill. It was amended somewhat, but is still a bad bill that needs to be opposed. The committee added a few more groups of employees exempted from furloughs, like revenue collections. And it calls on agencies to achieve an overall savings of $69 million in compensation costs through furloughs, layoffs and other measures. If agencies don’t come up with a plan by May 15, those agency employees will face 13 mandatory furlough days.
SSB 6503 is still a bad bill.
Get those calls in. Call 1-800-562-6000. Tell your senator to vote NO! on SSB 6503, the furlough bill.
That’s it for now. Call late Friday for the next message, but this hotline may be updated sooner as events warrant.
URGENT CALL TO ACTION!
Call the Legislative Message Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Tell your senator to vote NO! on SSB 6503, the state employee furlough bill. Its unintended consequences cost more, not less. (You can also go to the Federation website at www.wfse.org to send an e-mail to your senator.)
UPDATE
The Senate Ways and Means Committee held a hastily called lunchtime meeting Thursday to pass out the furlough bill. It was amended somewhat, but is still a bad bill that needs to be opposed. The committee added a few more groups of employees exempted from furloughs, like revenue collections. And it calls on agencies to achieve an overall savings of $69 million in compensation costs through furloughs, layoffs and other measures. If agencies don’t come up with a plan by May 15, those agency employees will face 13 mandatory furlough days.
SSB 6503 is still a bad bill.
Get those calls in. Call 1-800-562-6000. Tell your senator to vote NO! on SSB 6503, the furlough bill.
That’s it for now. Call late Friday for the next message, but this hotline may be updated sooner as events warrant.
UPDATE: $14.8 billion - we did not pull this out of thin air
Calls and emails from members to legislators yesterday generated skeptical comments about the validity of our assertion that $14.8 billion in tax loopholes should be considered to address the shortfall. So, here's the facts:
From Department of Revenue's Tax Exemptions Report 2008, A Study of Tax Exemptions, Exclusions,Deductions, Deferrals, Differential Rates and Credits for Major Washington State and Local Taxes - Director's coverletter:
From Department of Revenue's Tax Exemptions Report 2008, A Study of Tax Exemptions, Exclusions,Deductions, Deferrals, Differential Rates and Credits for Major Washington State and Local Taxes - Director's coverletter:
"The estimated taxpayer savings are not necessarily synonymous with the amount of potential revenue that might be realized if the statute were to be repealed. For the current study we have devoted more effort to identifying those exemptions which represent potential revenue collections. In the aggregate this amounts to $14.8 billion for the current biennium."
January 20, 2010
URGENT: Call to action to oppose SB 6503, the 5% paycut (furlough) bill
BULLETIN: We have just received word that SB 6503, the furlough bill, will be voted on by the Senate Ways and Means Committee Thursday afternoon and by the full Senate on Friday.
It is critical you contact your senator to oppose SB 6503.
CALL TO ACTION:
So, call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 or go here to send an email message.
Urge your senator to oppose SB 6503, the state employee furlough bill. Savings are questionable, it increases the costly overtime problem and jeopardizes the quality services the public expects and deserves. Repeal tax loopholes instead.
Again, if you say nothing more than oppose SB 6503, say that. Call 1-800-562-6000.
BACKGROUND:
FYI: SB 6503 does not mean if you take the temporary layoff and 5 percent pay cut that you will save the job of a co-worker targeted for layoffs. Massive layoffs will still come.
SB 6503 cut your pay 5 percent via temporary layoffs on 16 days between March 2010 and June 2011. The temporary layoffs would come by closing offices and some operations one day a month.
You can also go to the Federation website at www.wfse.org and send an e-mail to lawmakers.
BILL TO BOOST LABOR REPS ON BOARDS OF TRUSTEES BOOSTED
"House Bill 2751 will bring a new level of equity and collaboration to the governance of our community colleges," Franco told the House Higher Education Committee. "Too often, boards of trustees act in a vacuum and make decisions without all the facts about what it takes on the front line to keep our colleges safe, clean and a good environment for the students to learn.
"Many conflicts can be avoided by simply giving labor a voice at the trustees' table. Without that, classified staff can often get left out and many great money-saving ideas are lost."
HB 2751 is sponsored by Rep. Mike Sells, D-38th Dist.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nugget No. 1. Federation Lobbyist Alia Griffing testified Wednesday morning that a bill refocusing the Department of Commerce and transferring some duties to other agencies must retain language protecting bargaining rights of employees who move with the work. HB 2658 came before the House Community and Economic Development and Trade Committee.
Nugget No. 2. The bill to transfer the state School for the Blind and the state School for the Deaf (now called the State Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss) to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction was opposed by advocates for the blind and deaf. SB 6491 came before the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee Wednesday morning.
It is critical you contact your senator to oppose SB 6503.
CALL TO ACTION:
So, call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 or go here to send an email message.
Urge your senator to oppose SB 6503, the state employee furlough bill. Savings are questionable, it increases the costly overtime problem and jeopardizes the quality services the public expects and deserves. Repeal tax loopholes instead.
Again, if you say nothing more than oppose SB 6503, say that. Call 1-800-562-6000.
BACKGROUND:
FYI: SB 6503 does not mean if you take the temporary layoff and 5 percent pay cut that you will save the job of a co-worker targeted for layoffs. Massive layoffs will still come.
SB 6503 cut your pay 5 percent via temporary layoffs on 16 days between March 2010 and June 2011. The temporary layoffs would come by closing offices and some operations one day a month.
You can also go to the Federation website at www.wfse.org and send an e-mail to lawmakers.
BILL TO BOOST LABOR REPS ON BOARDS OF TRUSTEES BOOSTED
The Federation on Wednesday strongly supported HB 2751 to add a labor representative to the board of trustees of every state community college.
Rodolfo Franco, who works for the Seattle Community College District and is president of Local 304, said HB 2751 would bring boards in line with technical colleges, which already have labor reps.
"House Bill 2751 will bring a new level of equity and collaboration to the governance of our community colleges," Franco told the House Higher Education Committee. "Too often, boards of trustees act in a vacuum and make decisions without all the facts about what it takes on the front line to keep our colleges safe, clean and a good environment for the students to learn.
"Many conflicts can be avoided by simply giving labor a voice at the trustees' table. Without that, classified staff can often get left out and many great money-saving ideas are lost."
HB 2751 is sponsored by Rep. Mike Sells, D-38th Dist.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nugget No. 1. Federation Lobbyist Alia Griffing testified Wednesday morning that a bill refocusing the Department of Commerce and transferring some duties to other agencies must retain language protecting bargaining rights of employees who move with the work. HB 2658 came before the House Community and Economic Development and Trade Committee.
Nugget No. 2. The bill to transfer the state School for the Blind and the state School for the Deaf (now called the State Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss) to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction was opposed by advocates for the blind and deaf. SB 6491 came before the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee Wednesday morning.
WFSE/AFSCME leads opposition as furlough bill garners no support in first Senate hearing
The bill that would force you to take a 5 percent pay cut through 16 forced-furlough days hit a wall of opposition in its first Senate hearing Tuesday (Jan. 19) with the Federation leading the way.
Federation Executive Director Greg Devereux said state employees had already given up the equivalent of 4 percent in pay.
“This legislation (Senate Bill 6503) would take that to 9 percent per state employee,” Devereux told the Senate Ways and Means Committee. “Few jurisdictions around the country have taken health care and wage cuts.”
King County enacted furloughs but also pay increases and those furlough days will be returned in 2010 and 2011, he said.
The bill has some exemptions, for instance for institutions, Child Protective Services and corrections.
“The disparate treatment between furloughed and furloughed exempt employees invites lawsuits,” Devereux said. He noted a judge in California recently struck down the Sunshine State’s furlough program.
“When you add the 3,000 layoffs and $300 million in pension diversion to the aforementioned cuts, I think it is obvious that state employees have done their share and it’s time to look at shared sacrifice,” Devereux said.
“There are 567 tax exemptions in this state totaling $96 billion. Fourteen billion dollars of that is easily accessible. The governor in her budget only talked about $55 million out of $14 billion. I think if state employees are taking the cut here, it’s time to look at tax exemptions on a temporary basis and look at an overall revenue solution.”
Devereux’s testimony sparked a testy retort from the committee’s ranking Republican member, Sen. Joseph Zarelli of the 18th District.
Zarelli has launched a number of attacks against state employee pay and benefits, including step increases, in recent weeks.
He told Devereux the pension cuts did not hit state employees in the pocketbook and pooh poohed the suggestion that state employees have sacrificed to help rebuild our economy.
“When is not getting a pay increase getting a pay cut?” Zarelli said. “There’s a lot of people across the state who saw no pay increase. In fact have seen significant pay decreases and the loss of jobs. To equate (that) as participating in solving our budget problem I would not look at those in the same fashion.”
Devereux respectfully disagreed.
“Diverting $300 million that should have gone into the pension fund this year as you know will substantially drive up the cost in later years and put incredible pressure on the pension system, which will lead to a Plan 4, a Plan 5, which is a diminution from the current pension system, so I think that is taking away from state employees,” Devereux said.
“Secondly, state employees across the board started last biennium 14 percent behind the private sector. So to take away a 2 percent wage increase that doesn’t even make up the pay gap that exists I would say is taking away from state employees.”
Of the more than a dozen others who testified, no one spoke in favor of SB 6503. The strongest opposition came from higher education, nurses and wheat and cattle producers who rely on state inspectors and would by stymied if they were laid off one day a month. Even the governor’s budget office raised concerns about the level of possible savings and other “unintended consequences,” such as Department of Transportation Highway Maintenance, which is not explicitly exempted in the bill.
PARKS MEMBERS OPPOSE BILL TO REPLACE STAFF WITH VOLUNTEER PARK HOSTS
“There are 567 tax exemptions in this state totaling $96 billion. Fourteen billion dollars of that is easily accessible. The governor in her budget only talked about $55 million out of $14 billion. I think if state employees are taking the cut here, it’s time to look at tax exemptions on a temporary basis and look at an overall revenue solution.”
Devereux’s testimony sparked a testy retort from the committee’s ranking Republican member, Sen. Joseph Zarelli of the 18th District.
Zarelli has launched a number of attacks against state employee pay and benefits, including step increases, in recent weeks.
He told Devereux the pension cuts did not hit state employees in the pocketbook and pooh poohed the suggestion that state employees have sacrificed to help rebuild our economy.
“When is not getting a pay increase getting a pay cut?” Zarelli said. “There’s a lot of people across the state who saw no pay increase. In fact have seen significant pay decreases and the loss of jobs. To equate (that) as participating in solving our budget problem I would not look at those in the same fashion.”
Devereux respectfully disagreed.
“Diverting $300 million that should have gone into the pension fund this year as you know will substantially drive up the cost in later years and put incredible pressure on the pension system, which will lead to a Plan 4, a Plan 5, which is a diminution from the current pension system, so I think that is taking away from state employees,” Devereux said.
“Secondly, state employees across the board started last biennium 14 percent behind the private sector. So to take away a 2 percent wage increase that doesn’t even make up the pay gap that exists I would say is taking away from state employees.”
Of the more than a dozen others who testified, no one spoke in favor of SB 6503. The strongest opposition came from higher education, nurses and wheat and cattle producers who rely on state inspectors and would by stymied if they were laid off one day a month. Even the governor’s budget office raised concerns about the level of possible savings and other “unintended consequences,” such as Department of Transportation Highway Maintenance, which is not explicitly exempted in the bill.
PARKS MEMBERS OPPOSE BILL TO REPLACE STAFF WITH VOLUNTEER PARK HOSTS
Statewide Parks Local 1466 activists Brian Yearout and Don Hall on Tuesday opposed House Bill 2333, the bill recruiting voluntary park hosts to possibly replace park rangers and other staff.
Hall (left) and Yearout.
Hall (left) and Yearout.
The bill came before the House Ecology and Parks Committee. It aims to recruit more voluntary park hosts. But it would require those volunteers to work eight hours a day (instead of the current four), solicit monetary donations from campers and, worst, supplant bargaining unit staff.
“Park hosts are volunteers, many of them retirees,” Yearout said. “They help and assist campers and give a lot of tender loving care. But they are not trained in how to run a park, including all aspects of programming, maintenance and law enforcement.
“To allow the use of park hosts to replace trained staff sets the state up for huge liability problems and would actually lower the quality of services for the public.”
HB 2333 appears to professionalize volunteer hosts and undercut the current “opt out” funding plan by soliciting donations from campers, Hall told the committee.
“Most hosts are retired and would not warm to becoming full-time employees,” Hall said.
VALIDITY OF CONSULTANTS REPORT CLOSING RHCS RAISED AT HOUSE HEARING
“Most hosts are retired and would not warm to becoming full-time employees,” Hall said.
VALIDITY OF CONSULTANTS REPORT CLOSING RHCS RAISED AT HOUSE HEARING
The House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee heard all sides of the consultants’ recommendation to close Frances Haddon Morgan Center and Rainier School.
Federation Executive Director Greg Devereux and Local 1326 President Julianne Moore made up a panel at the Tuesday morning work session.
Devereux (left) and Moore.
Devereux (left) and Moore.
The report came about in 2009 because of a last-minute budget proviso that had very little thought behind it, Devereux said.
There was no analysis on the capacity for the community to absorb those released from residential habilitation centers, he said. The report did not look at flaws in non-state community-based programs and did not take into account the growing demand for the kind of services provided to those with autism by the Morgan Center, Devereux said.
Moore said RHCs are homes for its residents and not the 1940s stereotype of institutions spread by opponents.
Some community programs can’t serve needs, so moving residents only sets them up for failure, she said.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nugget No. 1. The bill that would have frozen pay for a wide number of higher paid, exempt employees has been replaced by a substitute that simply extends the current ban on salary and wage increases for exempt and Washington Management Service (WMS) employees. Substitute Senate Bill 6382 was introduced Tuesday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nugget No. 1. The bill that would have frozen pay for a wide number of higher paid, exempt employees has been replaced by a substitute that simply extends the current ban on salary and wage increases for exempt and Washington Management Service (WMS) employees. Substitute Senate Bill 6382 was introduced Tuesday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Nugget No. 2. But over in the House, HB 2998 was introduced today that would suspend special lump sum recognition pay and “growth and development” increases for those in Washington Management Service. The bill came from a bipartisan trio of legislators: Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-26th Dist.; Rep. Mike Armstrong, R-12th Dist.; and Rep. Sam Hunt, D-22nd Dist.
January 19, 2010
More than 400 turn out for holiday lobby day as union blasts furloughs, calls for shared sacrifices
MORE THAN 400 TURN OUT FOR HOLIDAY LOBBY DAY AS UNION BLASTS FURLOUGHS, CALLS FOR SHARED SACRIFICES
After just a week, the 2010 legislative session has already turned brutal with lawmakers taking direct aim at state employees with a plan to inflict a 5 percent pay cut through furloughs and legislation to erase all five residential habilitation centers with a simple stroke of the pen (see story below).
Meanwhile, the governor's "Book 2" budget with revenue proposals to buy back some services chopped in her first all-cuts budget still targeted institutions and rolled back only a token number of the $14 billion in tax loopholes.
Added up, that pointed to lower quality services and set the hair of hundreds of WFSE/AFSCME members on fire.
"State workers have already given up $1 billion taken out of their wages, benefits, pensions and jobs," WFSE/AFSCME Executive Director Greg Devereux told the Senate Ways and Means Committee Jan. 18.
"Piling on future state employee health costs and furloughs makes no sense.
"It is pennywise and pound foolish. Such strategies will only send state employees to the foreclosure line and compound our problem."
Throughout the first week, members descended on the Capitol and packed hearings on the budget.
And more than 400 trekked to the Capitol yesterday on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday to tell lawmakers enough is enough.
They included some 150 DSHS interpreters fighting for the right to a union and against cuts in their program that would save $4 million but sacrifice $12 million.
AFSCME Green shirts filled a hearing room that day as Devereux summed up the members' anger and concern over the budget at the Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on the budget.
"Eliminating programs and 1,500 family wage state worker jobs to potentially created 40,000 new jobs (in the private sector) only exacerbates the recessionary pressures," Devereux said.
"We need to preserve critical safety net services while keeping workers in their current jobs."
The closure of institutions recommended by the governor would only add to economic problems, he said.
"Little money is saved by closing Ahtanum View Corrections Center and Pine Lodge Corrections Center while quality programs are thrown out," Devereux told the Senate budget writers.
"The recommended closures of Frances Haddon Morgan and Rainier State School actually cost the state money. To us, an unwise investment at this juncture.
"Moreover, cuts to JRA (juvenile rehabilitation) facilities and Community Corrections are equally harmful."
"It's time for shared services and not balancing the budget on the backs of state employees and quality services, he said.
"We too urge you to consider all revenue options" including closing a significant number of tax loopholes that divert tens of billions of dollars away from the state treasury, Devereux said.
HERE ARE THREE ISSUES THAT OUGHT TO SET YOUR HAIR ON FIRE
Besides the budget cuts, here are other hot issues that ought to set your hair on fire:
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Federation Lobbyist Matt Zuvich testified Jan. 15 in favor of two bills supported by our Ecology members to better fund the water rights permitting program. The bills are Senate Bill 6267 and House Bill 2591.
REGISTER TO ATTEND A LOBBY DAY
Register online to attend a lobby day. There are many special interest group days scheduled - or schedule one particular to your schedule.
After just a week, the 2010 legislative session has already turned brutal with lawmakers taking direct aim at state employees with a plan to inflict a 5 percent pay cut through furloughs and legislation to erase all five residential habilitation centers with a simple stroke of the pen (see story below).Meanwhile, the governor's "Book 2" budget with revenue proposals to buy back some services chopped in her first all-cuts budget still targeted institutions and rolled back only a token number of the $14 billion in tax loopholes.
Added up, that pointed to lower quality services and set the hair of hundreds of WFSE/AFSCME members on fire.
"State workers have already given up $1 billion taken out of their wages, benefits, pensions and jobs," WFSE/AFSCME Executive Director Greg Devereux told the Senate Ways and Means Committee Jan. 18.
"Piling on future state employee health costs and furloughs makes no sense.
"It is pennywise and pound foolish. Such strategies will only send state employees to the foreclosure line and compound our problem."
Throughout the first week, members descended on the Capitol and packed hearings on the budget.And more than 400 trekked to the Capitol yesterday on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday to tell lawmakers enough is enough.
They included some 150 DSHS interpreters fighting for the right to a union and against cuts in their program that would save $4 million but sacrifice $12 million.
AFSCME Green shirts filled a hearing room that day as Devereux summed up the members' anger and concern over the budget at the Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing on the budget.
"Eliminating programs and 1,500 family wage state worker jobs to potentially created 40,000 new jobs (in the private sector) only exacerbates the recessionary pressures," Devereux said.
"We need to preserve critical safety net services while keeping workers in their current jobs."
The closure of institutions recommended by the governor would only add to economic problems, he said.
"Little money is saved by closing Ahtanum View Corrections Center and Pine Lodge Corrections Center while quality programs are thrown out," Devereux told the Senate budget writers.
"The recommended closures of Frances Haddon Morgan and Rainier State School actually cost the state money. To us, an unwise investment at this juncture.
"Moreover, cuts to JRA (juvenile rehabilitation) facilities and Community Corrections are equally harmful."
"It's time for shared services and not balancing the budget on the backs of state employees and quality services, he said.
"We too urge you to consider all revenue options" including closing a significant number of tax loopholes that divert tens of billions of dollars away from the state treasury, Devereux said.
HERE ARE THREE ISSUES THAT OUGHT TO SET YOUR HAIR ON FIRE
Besides the budget cuts, here are other hot issues that ought to set your hair on fire:
- Furlough bill. The bill to inflict a 5 percent pay cut on state employees through 16 mandatory furlough days comes up for a hearing today in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Sen. Margarita Prentice, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, introduced the bill, SB 6503. It would close state agencies on 16 days from March 12, 2010 (the day after the Legislature adjourns) to June 10, 2011. Employees would be temporarily laid off on those days and lose pay. Collective bargaining rights would be honored. Still, that amounts to a 5 percent pay cut. That would be on top of what amounted to a 4 percent cut in pay when pay raises were cancelled and $300 million in pension contributions were diverted. With a couple of exceptions, most jurisdictions have not asked for more than a 5 percent total sacrifice. SB 6503 would make it 9 percent!
- RHCs wiped out with a the stroke of a pen? The governor and two top senators introduced legislation that would wipe out the statutory authority for all residential habilitation centers that provide quality care to some of this state's most severely developmentally disabled citizens.
Gov. Chris Gregoire requested Senate Bill 6423, co-sponsored by Sen. Darlene Fairley of the 32nd District and Sen. Jim Hargrove of the 24th District. Fairley chairs the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee. Hargrove heads the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee. Gregoire's proposed budget would shutter Frances Haddon Morgan Center in Bremerton and Rainier School in Buckley. But SB 6423, by authorizing DSHS to run RHCs without specifying where if at all, puts Lakeland Village, Fircrest School and Yakima Valley School also at risk.
The bill is now due for a hearing soon in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
- Tax breaks for gold bullion dealers or saving quality services? You've sacrificed $1 billion out of your own pocket. Programs have been cut to the bone. But yet the governor and lawmakers seem to want to protect big tax breaks that take some $98.5 billion from the state treasury. Some $14.8 billion are ready targets for suspension or elimination, but the governor is proposing changes that will bring in just $16 million this biennium and $64 million the next. And what are those sacred cows that sap the state of its revenue: tax breaks for the Seattle Seahawks' and Seattle Mariners' stadiums; gold bullion dealers; and condominium maintenance costs. And that's just a few.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Federation Lobbyist Matt Zuvich testified Jan. 15 in favor of two bills supported by our Ecology members to better fund the water rights permitting program. The bills are Senate Bill 6267 and House Bill 2591.
REGISTER TO ATTEND A LOBBY DAY
Register online to attend a lobby day. There are many special interest group days scheduled - or schedule one particular to your schedule.
January 15, 2010
Members who lost family to gang violence urge changes; institutions members testify at hearings; Prentice introduces furlough bill
If lawmakers have a hard time viewing state employees as real people, they got a jolt Thursday morning when two Federation members who have lost family members to gang violence in Yakima urged new laws to choke off the profit motive for that criminal activity.
PICTURED right (from left):Maria Maravilla, Rebecca Withrow and Tammy Masters hold up photos of loved ones lost to gang violence.
Rebecca Withrow, a Community Corrections officer for the Department of Corrections in Yakima and a member of Local 1326, lost her nephew Jason Baldoz, an innocent bystander shot to death this past October outside a Halloween party.
A gang member was later arrested for what Withrow called the execution of Baldoz, 34.
“I never thought in a million years this would happen,” Withrow said.
“And it is something you will never forget.”
Her nephew’s widow, Maria Maravilla, broke down when testifying before the House Judiciary Committee.
Maravilla called Baldoz the “heart and security” of her and their four children.
“After he was taken from us, everything fell apart,” she said.
“What haunts me every night and day is knowing that he will never be in our lives again,” Maravilla said. “Also, that my kids will have to grow up without their dad by their side.”
Joining Withrow and Maravilla was Tammy Masters, an attendant counselor 3 at Yakima Valley School in Selah and a member of Local 1326.
Her 18-year-old son, Mo Adams, was shot and killed Feb. 19, 2008, by gang members outside a Yakima home. He, too, was an innocent bystander who had no connection to the gang members.
“As a mother, I relive the scenario over and over in my mind -- I will for the rest of my life,” Masters said.
“My life and my family’s life will never be the same.”
Masters, Withrow and Maravilla joined to support a pair of bills (HB 2413 and HB 2414) allowing greater authority to seize property and goods used for street gang-related offenses.
The bills’ sponsor Rep. Norm Johnson, R-14th Dist., said the bills aim to “hit gangs in the pocketbook” and remove the “profit motive out of gang activity.”
“These are senseless acts of violence,” Master said. “These people are terrorizing our neighborhoods….I believe this is a stepping stone in controlling these senseless acts of violence on innocent people.”
“I am in support of the proposed gang bill that will be an effort to limit the illegal gang activities,” Maravilla said.
“Hopefully, it will prevent another senseless act of violence like the one that happened to Jason.”
Passage of the bills would be some consolation to Jason Baldoz’s aunt, Rebecca Withrow, who passes the site of his murder every day on her way to work at the Yakima Community Corrections office.
“Please, I’m begging you…give the law enforcement officers and the courts the tools to do something about this,” Withrow said.
INSTITUTIONS MEMBERS AGAIN UNITE TO OPPOSE CLOSURES
The governor’s plan to close state institutions and an almost parallel consultants report came up for a series of additional hearings the last few days.
Ahtanum View and Pine Lodge
Julianne Moore, an activist out of Yakima Valley School in Selah and Local 1326, and Ton Johnson of state Community Corrections Local 308 in King County, joined Wednesday night to urge lawmakers to slow down the train already speeding down the tracks to close Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima and Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women in Medical Lake.
Ahtanum View was opened to house vulnerable offenders and that need hasn’t gone away, Moore said.
Now the governor is using her administrative authority to shut it down by March. The Legislature needs to review it as part of the overall budget debate, Moore said. The closure will likely raise costly liability issues for the state, she said.
The Ahtanum View workers are members of her local. “So we would ask that somebody, somehow have the Department of Corrections slow down, take a look at what they are doing (because) it really doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“Ahtanum View is very cost-effective. They have an excellent staff there.” Johnson echoed Moore’s comments when opposing the fast-track closure of Pine Lodge, due to close this spring.
The consultants report did not recommend closing Pine Lodge.
“We are concerned at the rate of which they are closing it,” Johnson said. “One, it wasn’t in the (consultants’) recommendations and now the Department of Corrections isn’t giving you the time to even consider closure before they consider the process.”
Besides, Pine Lodge is unique, Johnson said. “It has successfully integrated the co-occurring disorder and chemical dependency program with a mental health component,” he said. Plus, it has “the lowest per offender cost of any female institution in the state,” Johnson said.
Moore and Johnson testified before the House General Government Appropriations Committee Jan. 13.
Frances Haddon Morgan Center and Rainier School
Closing residential habilitation centers makes no fiscal sense, Federation members testified at two budget hearings.
The governor’s closure plan for Frances Haddon Morgan Center and Rainier School will cost $1.8 million just for starters, and consultants never identified the costs “to provide comparable care in the community,” said Sola Raynor, a Spokane Local 1221 member who gave up her day to speak on behalf of RHC members who couldn’t make the hearings because they had to work.
The governor’s plan relies on moving residents to a non-existent community supported provider network that consultants said would require “substantial refinancing” to create, Raynor said.
The downsizing of Fircrest School in 2003 that moved 61 residents cost $10 million and cost six lives.
With 370 at Rainier School and more than 50 at the Morgan Center, Raynor asked: “How much is it going to cost to move over 400 people?”
She testified Thursday (Jan. 14) before the House Ways and Means Committee.
Earlier, Julianne Moore of Local 1326, said if there is no cost savings, “then this must be a policy decision, a decision to close and downsize the institutions at any cost. We need to put an end to this destructive ‘community’ versus RHC debate.”
Moore testified Jan. 14 before the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee.
FEDERATION BOOSTS HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
The governor is proposing to buy back the state need grants in higher education but more needs to be done to save state colleges and universities in these times, Federation staffer and former Centralia College activist Pam Carl told the House Ways and Means Committee Jan. 13.
“Does it make sense to give a tax break for maintenance costs of condominiums and yet cut $90 million in programs that will mean fewer course offerings and larger class sizes and cut the many support services that make our colleges and universities first-class institutions,” Carl said.
“The truth is when the economy is bad, people go back to school. And currently, we are at record enrollments at a majority of colleges.”
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Sen. Margarita Prentice, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, today introduced a bill that would force state employees, with some exceptions, to give up 16 days of pay. SB 6503 would close state agencies on 16 days from March 12, 2010 (the day after the Legislature adjourns) to June 10, 2011. Employees would be temporarily laid off on those days and lose pay. Collective bargaining rights would be honored. It’s unclear if the bill covers colleges and universities—it speaks to bargaining rights there as well.
Nugget No. 2: Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, but hundreds of Federation members are taking a “day on” to bring their message to Olympia. It’ll also be a busy day for hearings. The Senate Ways and Means Committee holds a 3:30 hearing on the governor’s proposed supplemental budget and the House Ways and Means Committee takes up natural resources and general government parts of the governor’s budget, also at a 3:30 hearing.
Nugget No. 3: Also on Monday, Rep. Christopher Hurst, chair of the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee, holds a work session looking at the events surrounding the murder of the four Lakewood police officers in November. Federation Corrections members are set to participate in the 6 p.m. hearing Monday in House Hearing Room A of the John L. O’Brien Building.
Nugget No. 4: The Federation’s Matt Zuvich testified in favor of HB 2403 that would grant military leave for state employees called up for duty with the National Guard. The measure would clear up “creative interpretations” by some agencies that have denied this leave. HB 2403 came before the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee Thursday (Jan. 14).
Nugget No. 5: The Federation’s Ton Johnson urged passage of HB 2447 to prohibit the release of photographs of state employees or their dependents that are in personnel records and other public employment documents. The bill gets at harassment by prisoners who make public records requests. The bill “reduces the potential for employees to be targeted or victimized because of performing the work of the state,” Johnson told the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee Thursday (Jan. 14).
PICTURED right (from left):Maria Maravilla, Rebecca Withrow and Tammy Masters hold up photos of loved ones lost to gang violence. Rebecca Withrow, a Community Corrections officer for the Department of Corrections in Yakima and a member of Local 1326, lost her nephew Jason Baldoz, an innocent bystander shot to death this past October outside a Halloween party.
A gang member was later arrested for what Withrow called the execution of Baldoz, 34.
“I never thought in a million years this would happen,” Withrow said.
“And it is something you will never forget.”
Her nephew’s widow, Maria Maravilla, broke down when testifying before the House Judiciary Committee.
Maravilla called Baldoz the “heart and security” of her and their four children.
“After he was taken from us, everything fell apart,” she said.
“What haunts me every night and day is knowing that he will never be in our lives again,” Maravilla said. “Also, that my kids will have to grow up without their dad by their side.”
Joining Withrow and Maravilla was Tammy Masters, an attendant counselor 3 at Yakima Valley School in Selah and a member of Local 1326.
Her 18-year-old son, Mo Adams, was shot and killed Feb. 19, 2008, by gang members outside a Yakima home. He, too, was an innocent bystander who had no connection to the gang members.
“As a mother, I relive the scenario over and over in my mind -- I will for the rest of my life,” Masters said.
“My life and my family’s life will never be the same.”
Masters, Withrow and Maravilla joined to support a pair of bills (HB 2413 and HB 2414) allowing greater authority to seize property and goods used for street gang-related offenses.
The bills’ sponsor Rep. Norm Johnson, R-14th Dist., said the bills aim to “hit gangs in the pocketbook” and remove the “profit motive out of gang activity.”
“These are senseless acts of violence,” Master said. “These people are terrorizing our neighborhoods….I believe this is a stepping stone in controlling these senseless acts of violence on innocent people.”
“I am in support of the proposed gang bill that will be an effort to limit the illegal gang activities,” Maravilla said.
“Hopefully, it will prevent another senseless act of violence like the one that happened to Jason.”
Passage of the bills would be some consolation to Jason Baldoz’s aunt, Rebecca Withrow, who passes the site of his murder every day on her way to work at the Yakima Community Corrections office.
“Please, I’m begging you…give the law enforcement officers and the courts the tools to do something about this,” Withrow said.
INSTITUTIONS MEMBERS AGAIN UNITE TO OPPOSE CLOSURES
The governor’s plan to close state institutions and an almost parallel consultants report came up for a series of additional hearings the last few days.
Ahtanum View and Pine Lodge
Julianne Moore, an activist out of Yakima Valley School in Selah and Local 1326, and Ton Johnson of state Community Corrections Local 308 in King County, joined Wednesday night to urge lawmakers to slow down the train already speeding down the tracks to close Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima and Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women in Medical Lake.
Ahtanum View was opened to house vulnerable offenders and that need hasn’t gone away, Moore said.
Now the governor is using her administrative authority to shut it down by March. The Legislature needs to review it as part of the overall budget debate, Moore said. The closure will likely raise costly liability issues for the state, she said.
The Ahtanum View workers are members of her local. “So we would ask that somebody, somehow have the Department of Corrections slow down, take a look at what they are doing (because) it really doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“Ahtanum View is very cost-effective. They have an excellent staff there.” Johnson echoed Moore’s comments when opposing the fast-track closure of Pine Lodge, due to close this spring.
The consultants report did not recommend closing Pine Lodge.
“We are concerned at the rate of which they are closing it,” Johnson said. “One, it wasn’t in the (consultants’) recommendations and now the Department of Corrections isn’t giving you the time to even consider closure before they consider the process.”
Besides, Pine Lodge is unique, Johnson said. “It has successfully integrated the co-occurring disorder and chemical dependency program with a mental health component,” he said. Plus, it has “the lowest per offender cost of any female institution in the state,” Johnson said.
Moore and Johnson testified before the House General Government Appropriations Committee Jan. 13.
Frances Haddon Morgan Center and Rainier School
Closing residential habilitation centers makes no fiscal sense, Federation members testified at two budget hearings.
The governor’s closure plan for Frances Haddon Morgan Center and Rainier School will cost $1.8 million just for starters, and consultants never identified the costs “to provide comparable care in the community,” said Sola Raynor, a Spokane Local 1221 member who gave up her day to speak on behalf of RHC members who couldn’t make the hearings because they had to work.
The governor’s plan relies on moving residents to a non-existent community supported provider network that consultants said would require “substantial refinancing” to create, Raynor said.
The downsizing of Fircrest School in 2003 that moved 61 residents cost $10 million and cost six lives.
With 370 at Rainier School and more than 50 at the Morgan Center, Raynor asked: “How much is it going to cost to move over 400 people?”
She testified Thursday (Jan. 14) before the House Ways and Means Committee.
Earlier, Julianne Moore of Local 1326, said if there is no cost savings, “then this must be a policy decision, a decision to close and downsize the institutions at any cost. We need to put an end to this destructive ‘community’ versus RHC debate.”
Moore testified Jan. 14 before the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee.
FEDERATION BOOSTS HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
The governor is proposing to buy back the state need grants in higher education but more needs to be done to save state colleges and universities in these times, Federation staffer and former Centralia College activist Pam Carl told the House Ways and Means Committee Jan. 13.
“Does it make sense to give a tax break for maintenance costs of condominiums and yet cut $90 million in programs that will mean fewer course offerings and larger class sizes and cut the many support services that make our colleges and universities first-class institutions,” Carl said.
“The truth is when the economy is bad, people go back to school. And currently, we are at record enrollments at a majority of colleges.”
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Sen. Margarita Prentice, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, today introduced a bill that would force state employees, with some exceptions, to give up 16 days of pay. SB 6503 would close state agencies on 16 days from March 12, 2010 (the day after the Legislature adjourns) to June 10, 2011. Employees would be temporarily laid off on those days and lose pay. Collective bargaining rights would be honored. It’s unclear if the bill covers colleges and universities—it speaks to bargaining rights there as well.
Nugget No. 2: Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, but hundreds of Federation members are taking a “day on” to bring their message to Olympia. It’ll also be a busy day for hearings. The Senate Ways and Means Committee holds a 3:30 hearing on the governor’s proposed supplemental budget and the House Ways and Means Committee takes up natural resources and general government parts of the governor’s budget, also at a 3:30 hearing.
Nugget No. 3: Also on Monday, Rep. Christopher Hurst, chair of the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee, holds a work session looking at the events surrounding the murder of the four Lakewood police officers in November. Federation Corrections members are set to participate in the 6 p.m. hearing Monday in House Hearing Room A of the John L. O’Brien Building.
Nugget No. 4: The Federation’s Matt Zuvich testified in favor of HB 2403 that would grant military leave for state employees called up for duty with the National Guard. The measure would clear up “creative interpretations” by some agencies that have denied this leave. HB 2403 came before the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee Thursday (Jan. 14).
Nugget No. 5: The Federation’s Ton Johnson urged passage of HB 2447 to prohibit the release of photographs of state employees or their dependents that are in personnel records and other public employment documents. The bill gets at harassment by prisoners who make public records requests. The bill “reduces the potential for employees to be targeted or victimized because of performing the work of the state,” Johnson told the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee Thursday (Jan. 14).
January 14, 2010
It's official: Gregoire, Fairley, Hargrove target all RHCs (SB 6423)
In the wake of an emotional hearing Wednesday afternoon where Federation members from targeted institutions defended their quality programs, the governor and two top senators today introduced legislation that would wipe out the statutory authority for all residential habilitation centers that provide quality care to some of this state's most severely developmentally disabled citizens.
Gov. Chris Gregoire requested Senate Bill 6423, co-sponsored by Sen. Darlene Fairley of the 32nd District and Sen. Jim Hargrove of the 24th District. Fairley chairs the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee. Hargrove heads the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee.
Gregoire's proposed budget would shutter Frances Haddon Morgan Center in Bremerton and Rainier School in Buckley. But SB 6423, by authorizing DSHS to run RHCs without specifying where - if at all- puts Lakeland Village, Fircrest School and Yakima Valley School also at risk.
INSTITUTION CUTS MAKE NO SENSE, WFSE/AFSCME MEMBERS TELL SENATE BUDGET WRITERS
The Senate Ways and Means Committee Wednesday afternoon got a lengthy briefing on the consultants report closing institutions and the governor's closure plan. They don't always match up, but Federation members said they were all bad.
David Niles, a corrections officer at Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima and a member of Local 1326, said the governor had already exerted her administrative authority and the aging and elderly inmates started moving out this week.
Niles urged lawmakers to slow down the closure until they can weigh it with all the other budget reductions. "We believe this should be placed in your hands," Niles said.
Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women in Medical Lake is also on the fast track for closure outside legislative review. "It would be completely unconscionable to let Pine Lodge close without investigating why," said Helen Biddulph, an administrative assistant 4 at Pine Lodge and a member of Local 782.
Pine Lodge is the only women's facility in Eastern Washington, has top accreditation scores in the state and nation and has the only therapeutic center for women in Washington, Biddulph said. Federation members from residential habilitation centers were out in force and they yielded their time to Pat Johnson, mayor of Buckley, home of Rainier School, which the governor targets for closure. "I'm about to lose 1,000 highly skilled jobs," the mayor said. "Four hundred citizens of my community (Rainier residents) are about to lose their home."
Jerry Elliott, a juvenile rehabilitation residential counselor at Naselle Youth Camp and a member of Local 2263, said Naselle and all other JRA facilities make up a continuum of care that aims to return youthful offenders to the community who will commit no more crimes. "We need everyone of them," Elliott said. "We have to find a way to save JRA." Otherwise, he said, "you might as well take the 'R' (rehabilitation) out of JRA." "We must remain intact to do our job," Elliott said.
Budget hearings continue today and next week.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Rainier School Local 491 members will rally Sunday, Jan. 24, to save their facility from the chopping block. You're invited. The "Save Rainier School" rally will be 1
Nugget No. 2: Make plans to come to Olympia for our big Public Employees/Revenue coalition rally next month. It will be next month on Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 15, 12 noon, on the Capitol steps in Olympia.
Watch for more information or call our Legislative and Political Action Department at 1-800-562-6002 or register online to attend Lobby Day.
KEEP GETTING YOUR HOTLINE MESSAGES
Call your legislators at 1-800-562-6000 and remind them: It's time for shared sacrifices on the budget. State employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, pension contributions, health care funding and layoffs. Now is the time to raise revenue and close tax loopholes. (Feel free to add the impact of cuts on your specific program.)
HOTLINE HOURS
The legislative message Hotline is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Gov. Chris Gregoire requested Senate Bill 6423, co-sponsored by Sen. Darlene Fairley of the 32nd District and Sen. Jim Hargrove of the 24th District. Fairley chairs the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee. Hargrove heads the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee.
Gregoire's proposed budget would shutter Frances Haddon Morgan Center in Bremerton and Rainier School in Buckley. But SB 6423, by authorizing DSHS to run RHCs without specifying where - if at all- puts Lakeland Village, Fircrest School and Yakima Valley School also at risk.
INSTITUTION CUTS MAKE NO SENSE, WFSE/AFSCME MEMBERS TELL SENATE BUDGET WRITERSThe Senate Ways and Means Committee Wednesday afternoon got a lengthy briefing on the consultants report closing institutions and the governor's closure plan. They don't always match up, but Federation members said they were all bad.
David Niles, a corrections officer at Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima and a member of Local 1326, said the governor had already exerted her administrative authority and the aging and elderly inmates started moving out this week.
Niles urged lawmakers to slow down the closure until they can weigh it with all the other budget reductions. "We believe this should be placed in your hands," Niles said.
Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women in Medical Lake is also on the fast track for closure outside legislative review. "It would be completely unconscionable to let Pine Lodge close without investigating why," said Helen Biddulph, an administrative assistant 4 at Pine Lodge and a member of Local 782.
Pine Lodge is the only women's facility in Eastern Washington, has top accreditation scores in the state and nation and has the only therapeutic center for women in Washington, Biddulph said. Federation members from residential habilitation centers were out in force and they yielded their time to Pat Johnson, mayor of Buckley, home of Rainier School, which the governor targets for closure. "I'm about to lose 1,000 highly skilled jobs," the mayor said. "Four hundred citizens of my community (Rainier residents) are about to lose their home."
Jerry Elliott, a juvenile rehabilitation residential counselor at Naselle Youth Camp and a member of Local 2263, said Naselle and all other JRA facilities make up a continuum of care that aims to return youthful offenders to the community who will commit no more crimes. "We need everyone of them," Elliott said. "We have to find a way to save JRA." Otherwise, he said, "you might as well take the 'R' (rehabilitation) out of JRA." "We must remain intact to do our job," Elliott said.
Budget hearings continue today and next week.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Rainier School Local 491 members will rally Sunday, Jan. 24, to save their facility from the chopping block. You're invited. The "Save Rainier School" rally will be 1
Nugget No. 2: Make plans to come to Olympia for our big Public Employees/Revenue coalition rally next month. It will be next month on Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 15, 12 noon, on the Capitol steps in Olympia.
Watch for more information or call our Legislative and Political Action Department at 1-800-562-6002 or register online to attend Lobby Day.
KEEP GETTING YOUR HOTLINE MESSAGES
Call your legislators at 1-800-562-6000 and remind them: It's time for shared sacrifices on the budget. State employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, pension contributions, health care funding and layoffs. Now is the time to raise revenue and close tax loopholes. (Feel free to add the impact of cuts on your specific program.)
HOTLINE HOURS
The legislative message Hotline is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
January 13, 2010
Institutions, jobs NOT on Governor's buy back list
Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday issued her list of "buy back" items to be financed by revenue increases, closing some tax loopholes and federal money.
This is her "Book 2" budget to counter the constitutionally required all-cuts budget she rolled out in December.
But the $778.9 million in restored programs does not include saving targeted institutions from closure or reductions.
The buy-back list does include the Basic Health Plan, a redesigned General Assistance-Unemployable program and the Higher Education State Need Grant program. Lawmakers still have to go along with those ideas.
But there was no reprieve for targeted state institutions, even when closure wouldn't save much money.
The governor in her "State of the State" address enthusiastically pressed forward with her plan to close all or part of 10 state institutions, including two residential habilitation centers (Frances Haddon Morgan Center in Bremerton and Rainier School in Buckley), two Corrections facilities (Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women in Medical Lake and Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima) and several units at Green Hill School in Chehalis, Maple Lane School in Grand Mound and Naselle Youth Camp.
"Now is the time to have the courage to close institutions that may be an important fixture in a community, but are no longer cost-effective, or whose services are no longer needed or can more effectively be provided elsewhere," the governor said in her speech to a joint session of the Legislature.
"Now is the time-this session-for us to demonstrate, as difficult as it is, that Washington state government makes good business decisions, not political ones."
Yet many legislators have said for months that contrary to what the governor says, the proposed institutions closures come because anti-institution forces are exploiting the economic crisis to shutter the doors, no matter what the cost.
Even state budget director Victor Moore told the Senate Ways and Means Committee Tuesday, "Not a lot of savings there" in reference to the RHC closures at Frances Haddon Morgan Center and Rainier School.
Senators politely grilled Gregoire and Moore on how they came to their decision to close institutions. And Federation members, parents and other supporters of institutions get their chance to rebut the governor and Moore in a series of public hearings over the next two days.
Finally, some of the Ways and Means senators again politely took the governor to task for not proposing closing more tax loopholes. Some $14.8 billion are ready targets for suspension or elimination, but the governor is proposing changes that will bring in just $16 million this biennium and $64 million the next.
The good news is: The Legislature doesn't have to accept all of the Gregoire plan and can find more revenue, close many more tax loopholes and save quality institutions and programs.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Senate Ways and Means Chair Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-11th Dist., today introduced SB 6382 to freeze pay for exempt employees, agency directors and other high-level state officials.
Nugget No. 2: Sen. Karen Fraser, D-22nd Dist., today introduced SB 6375 to grant paid leave to state employees for volunteer search and rescue activities.
KEEP GETTING YOUR HOTLINE MESSAGES
Call your legislators at 1-800-562-6000 and remind them: It's time for shared sacrifices on the budget. State employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, pension contributions, health care funding and layoffs. Now is the time to raise revenue and close tax loopholes. (Feel free to add the impact of cuts on your specific program.)
HOTLINE HOURS
The legislative message Hotline is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
This is her "Book 2" budget to counter the constitutionally required all-cuts budget she rolled out in December.
But the $778.9 million in restored programs does not include saving targeted institutions from closure or reductions.
The buy-back list does include the Basic Health Plan, a redesigned General Assistance-Unemployable program and the Higher Education State Need Grant program. Lawmakers still have to go along with those ideas.
But there was no reprieve for targeted state institutions, even when closure wouldn't save much money.
The governor in her "State of the State" address enthusiastically pressed forward with her plan to close all or part of 10 state institutions, including two residential habilitation centers (Frances Haddon Morgan Center in Bremerton and Rainier School in Buckley), two Corrections facilities (Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women in Medical Lake and Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima) and several units at Green Hill School in Chehalis, Maple Lane School in Grand Mound and Naselle Youth Camp.
"Now is the time to have the courage to close institutions that may be an important fixture in a community, but are no longer cost-effective, or whose services are no longer needed or can more effectively be provided elsewhere," the governor said in her speech to a joint session of the Legislature.
"Now is the time-this session-for us to demonstrate, as difficult as it is, that Washington state government makes good business decisions, not political ones."
Yet many legislators have said for months that contrary to what the governor says, the proposed institutions closures come because anti-institution forces are exploiting the economic crisis to shutter the doors, no matter what the cost.
Even state budget director Victor Moore told the Senate Ways and Means Committee Tuesday, "Not a lot of savings there" in reference to the RHC closures at Frances Haddon Morgan Center and Rainier School.
Senators politely grilled Gregoire and Moore on how they came to their decision to close institutions. And Federation members, parents and other supporters of institutions get their chance to rebut the governor and Moore in a series of public hearings over the next two days.
Finally, some of the Ways and Means senators again politely took the governor to task for not proposing closing more tax loopholes. Some $14.8 billion are ready targets for suspension or elimination, but the governor is proposing changes that will bring in just $16 million this biennium and $64 million the next.
The good news is: The Legislature doesn't have to accept all of the Gregoire plan and can find more revenue, close many more tax loopholes and save quality institutions and programs.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nugget No. 1: Senate Ways and Means Chair Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-11th Dist., today introduced SB 6382 to freeze pay for exempt employees, agency directors and other high-level state officials.
Nugget No. 2: Sen. Karen Fraser, D-22nd Dist., today introduced SB 6375 to grant paid leave to state employees for volunteer search and rescue activities.
KEEP GETTING YOUR HOTLINE MESSAGES
Call your legislators at 1-800-562-6000 and remind them: It's time for shared sacrifices on the budget. State employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, pension contributions, health care funding and layoffs. Now is the time to raise revenue and close tax loopholes. (Feel free to add the impact of cuts on your specific program.)
HOTLINE HOURS
The legislative message Hotline is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
January 12, 2010
Members go office to office with share sacrifices message
A couple dozen Federation members descended on legislators’ offices on the first day of session Monday to deliver messages calling for new revenue and closing tax loopholes to avoid devastating cuts.
They put a human face on the fight to save quality services. Their AFSCME Green shirts had a special message on the back: “WE ARE THE SAFETY NET.”
Their efforts let lawmakers know that state employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, benefits, pension funding and layoffs and are part of the solution to rebuilding our economic future.
Budget hearings start today. We should get a better idea on what revenue increases the governor may propose.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nugget No. 1: For the first time in the debate over the future of juvenile rehabilitation facilities, Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie has been targeted for closure by some key decision makers. A consultant’s report reluctantly recommended closing Maple Lane School in south Thurston County. The governor recommended no JRA closures, but some reductions in all JRA institutions. Now the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Gary Alexander, R-20th Dist., has proposed closing Echo Glen instead of the across-the-board reductions called for by the governor, according to the Centralia Chronicle.
Nugget No. 2: For the first time this recession, revenue collections are slightly better than what was predicted. That doesn’t mean there still isn’t a budget problem, but, according to TVW, “the state is collecting more money in revenues than they expected in the past two months.” We won’t know if this trend continues until the next revenue forecast comes out in February.
Nugget No. 3: Eleven bills responding to the recent cold-blooded murders or police officers—which is of prime interest to our public safety members in Community Corrections and elsewhere—were introduced today in the Senate. The package of bills (SB 6308 to SB 6318) include Senate Bill 6317, which would increase penalties for assaults on law enforcement employees with a deadly weapon.
Nugget No. 4: The Federation this morning reminded the House General Government Appropriations Committee that -- as it looks at the governor’s plan to move services in and out of the new Department of Commerce -- they need to be “mindful” that as programs move, workers’ contract protections go with them. Federation Lobbyist Alia Griffing said the union will be reaching out to the state to work together on any of those transition issues.
MEMBERS RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT IT SHARED SERVICES RECOMMENDATIONS
The state Auditor’s Office is recommending consolidating information technology services in the departments of Corrections, Information Services, Revenue and Transportation and the Office of Financial Management. The Auditor’s Office told the House General Government Appropriations Committee Tuesday morning that such a move would save between $6.6 million and $9.7 million.
But a member of the Federation’s shared services task force told the committee that might require an investment of $70 million to $90 million, based on the experience in other states.
“We have major concerns over the costs of implementing the recommendations,” said Tim Young, a geographic information systems manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife and a member of Local 443.
“This is not a short-term proposition. And undertaking it now may be a significant risk given the current state of our budget.
“To ask for $70 million to $90 million of new money…at a time when our vital state programs are already on the chopping block would negatively impact the ability of services the state could provide and further erode existing programs.”
Young said many of the Auditor’s Office recommendations are flawed because in many places they are based on assumptions that were then matched with the private sector.
“So now we have a guestimate compared with something somewhat similar but not quite the same and then they go on to make recommendations from that mismatched data,” Young said.
KEEP SENDING YOUR HOTLINE MESSAGES
Call your legislators at 1-800-562-6000 and remind them: It’s time for shared sacrifices on the budget.
State employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, pension contributions, health care funding and layoffs. Now is the time to raise revenue and close tax loopholes. (Feel free to add the impact of cuts on your specific program.)
HOTLINE HOURS
The legislative message Hotline is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
REGISTER ONLINE TO ATTEND A LOBBY DAY
Meet face-to-face with your legislators and deliver the message. Register today online here.
They put a human face on the fight to save quality services. Their AFSCME Green shirts had a special message on the back: “WE ARE THE SAFETY NET.”
Their efforts let lawmakers know that state employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, benefits, pension funding and layoffs and are part of the solution to rebuilding our economic future.
Budget hearings start today. We should get a better idea on what revenue increases the governor may propose.
CAPITOL NUGGETS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nugget No. 1: For the first time in the debate over the future of juvenile rehabilitation facilities, Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie has been targeted for closure by some key decision makers. A consultant’s report reluctantly recommended closing Maple Lane School in south Thurston County. The governor recommended no JRA closures, but some reductions in all JRA institutions. Now the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Gary Alexander, R-20th Dist., has proposed closing Echo Glen instead of the across-the-board reductions called for by the governor, according to the Centralia Chronicle.
Nugget No. 2: For the first time this recession, revenue collections are slightly better than what was predicted. That doesn’t mean there still isn’t a budget problem, but, according to TVW, “the state is collecting more money in revenues than they expected in the past two months.” We won’t know if this trend continues until the next revenue forecast comes out in February.
Nugget No. 3: Eleven bills responding to the recent cold-blooded murders or police officers—which is of prime interest to our public safety members in Community Corrections and elsewhere—were introduced today in the Senate. The package of bills (SB 6308 to SB 6318) include Senate Bill 6317, which would increase penalties for assaults on law enforcement employees with a deadly weapon.
Nugget No. 4: The Federation this morning reminded the House General Government Appropriations Committee that -- as it looks at the governor’s plan to move services in and out of the new Department of Commerce -- they need to be “mindful” that as programs move, workers’ contract protections go with them. Federation Lobbyist Alia Griffing said the union will be reaching out to the state to work together on any of those transition issues.
MEMBERS RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT IT SHARED SERVICES RECOMMENDATIONS
The state Auditor’s Office is recommending consolidating information technology services in the departments of Corrections, Information Services, Revenue and Transportation and the Office of Financial Management. The Auditor’s Office told the House General Government Appropriations Committee Tuesday morning that such a move would save between $6.6 million and $9.7 million.
But a member of the Federation’s shared services task force told the committee that might require an investment of $70 million to $90 million, based on the experience in other states.
“We have major concerns over the costs of implementing the recommendations,” said Tim Young, a geographic information systems manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife and a member of Local 443.
“This is not a short-term proposition. And undertaking it now may be a significant risk given the current state of our budget.
“To ask for $70 million to $90 million of new money…at a time when our vital state programs are already on the chopping block would negatively impact the ability of services the state could provide and further erode existing programs.”
Young said many of the Auditor’s Office recommendations are flawed because in many places they are based on assumptions that were then matched with the private sector.
“So now we have a guestimate compared with something somewhat similar but not quite the same and then they go on to make recommendations from that mismatched data,” Young said.
KEEP SENDING YOUR HOTLINE MESSAGES
Call your legislators at 1-800-562-6000 and remind them: It’s time for shared sacrifices on the budget.
State employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, pension contributions, health care funding and layoffs. Now is the time to raise revenue and close tax loopholes. (Feel free to add the impact of cuts on your specific program.)
HOTLINE HOURS
The legislative message Hotline is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
REGISTER ONLINE TO ATTEND A LOBBY DAY
Meet face-to-face with your legislators and deliver the message. Register today online here.
January 11, 2010
Register to attend a Lobby Day!
Member Lobbyists make WFSE happen!Lobby Days are scheduled for:
- 1/18/10: Martin Luther King Jr. Lobby Day
- 1/22/10: SPSCC/TESC Lobby Day
- 1/25/10: Conservative Caucus Lobby Day
- 1/27/10: Parks Lobby Day
- 1/27/10: CWS Lobby Day
- 1/28/10: Local 793 (PALS)
- 1/29/10: Next Wave Lobby Day
- 2/01/10: DOC Lobby Day
- 2/01/10: JRA Lobby Day
- 2/09/10: Local 793 (WSH) Lobby Day
- 2/15/10: Public Employees/Revenue Rally
Need more information? Contact April Sims, LPA Field Coordinator at 800-562-6002 or register online here.
Session starts today; send a HOTLINE message to today
Legislators convene at noon today for the start of the 60-day session where they will deal with the new $2.6 billion deficit. The governor delivers her annual “State of the State” address tomorrow at noon where we hope to get details on what new revenue she may propose to avoid devastating cuts. She also testifies tomorrow on her budget before the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Key budget hearings take place Wednesday and Thursday.
COALITION STRENGTH GROWS
The coalition of groups supporting revenue options and closing tax loopholes that the Federation has joined has raised public awareness already. The Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition will deliver more than 14,200 petition signatures and postcards to lawmakers today—all gathered in just the past few days. The coalition has now grown to 99 groups.
MEMBERS FIGHT BACK IN THE MEDIA
And you’re fighting back against the anti-state employee think tanks that have been spreading their poison on newspaper editorial pages across the state. Many of you have submitted letters to the editor that have been published—too many to acknowledge here.
And you, through your Executive Director Greg Devereux, have gotten the message out through guest columns, including this weekend in the Seattle Times and the Vancouver Columbian.
Here’s an excerpt from The Columbian:
It is clear we have reached a defining moment for our generation. We need to raise revenue and close appropriate tax loopholes. There are numerous ways to equitably raise revenue. Similarly, of the $98.5 billion in tax exemptions given in this state, $14.8 billion could easily be eliminated or suspended, according to the state Department of Revenue’s latest report on tax exemptions. That includes tax breaks for: stadiums for the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Mariners; dealers in precious metals and bullion; and condominium maintenance fees.
Continue to let us know when a nasty editorial or op-ed crops up in your local newspaper or local radio or TV station. And don’t hesitate to write a letter to the editor and/or add online comments and blog responses.
MORE THAN 100 MEMBER LOBBYISTS IN TRAINING GAIN SUPPORT FROM TOP HOUSE MEMBER
Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, D-43rd Dist., told more than 100 member lobbyists at training Saturday in Seattle that he will work against his colleagues’ attempts to cut institutions and programs and forget the human element.
“Put people first,” Chopp said, describing his philosophy.
He said Federation members will gain traction by speaking the truth to legislators—facts and the human impact they’re not getting anywhere else.
Federation President Carol Dotlich told those at lobbying training that members need to resist the temptation to be discouraged.
“We need to be ready to rock and roll,” Dotlich said. Much can be done “if you use your power and use it well.”
CALL TO ACTION
We have to continue to send the message to legislators. Many lawmakers cannot resist the temptation to balance the budget on the backs of the quality services you provide. But we must from Day 1 RESIST those cuts and keep that resistance going all session long.
So, call your legislators at 1-800-562-6000 and remind them: It’s time for shared sacrifices on the budget. State employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, pension contributions, health care funding and layoffs. Now is the time to raise revenue and close tax loopholes. (Feel free to add the impact of cuts on your specific program.)
HOTLINE HOURS
The legislative message Hotline is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
COALITION STRENGTH GROWS
The coalition of groups supporting revenue options and closing tax loopholes that the Federation has joined has raised public awareness already. The Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition will deliver more than 14,200 petition signatures and postcards to lawmakers today—all gathered in just the past few days. The coalition has now grown to 99 groups.
MEMBERS FIGHT BACK IN THE MEDIA
And you’re fighting back against the anti-state employee think tanks that have been spreading their poison on newspaper editorial pages across the state. Many of you have submitted letters to the editor that have been published—too many to acknowledge here.
And you, through your Executive Director Greg Devereux, have gotten the message out through guest columns, including this weekend in the Seattle Times and the Vancouver Columbian.
Here’s an excerpt from The Columbian:
It is clear we have reached a defining moment for our generation. We need to raise revenue and close appropriate tax loopholes. There are numerous ways to equitably raise revenue. Similarly, of the $98.5 billion in tax exemptions given in this state, $14.8 billion could easily be eliminated or suspended, according to the state Department of Revenue’s latest report on tax exemptions. That includes tax breaks for: stadiums for the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Mariners; dealers in precious metals and bullion; and condominium maintenance fees.
Continue to let us know when a nasty editorial or op-ed crops up in your local newspaper or local radio or TV station. And don’t hesitate to write a letter to the editor and/or add online comments and blog responses.
MORE THAN 100 MEMBER LOBBYISTS IN TRAINING GAIN SUPPORT FROM TOP HOUSE MEMBER
Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, D-43rd Dist., told more than 100 member lobbyists at training Saturday in Seattle that he will work against his colleagues’ attempts to cut institutions and programs and forget the human element.
“Put people first,” Chopp said, describing his philosophy.
He said Federation members will gain traction by speaking the truth to legislators—facts and the human impact they’re not getting anywhere else.
Federation President Carol Dotlich told those at lobbying training that members need to resist the temptation to be discouraged.
“We need to be ready to rock and roll,” Dotlich said. Much can be done “if you use your power and use it well.”
CALL TO ACTION
We have to continue to send the message to legislators. Many lawmakers cannot resist the temptation to balance the budget on the backs of the quality services you provide. But we must from Day 1 RESIST those cuts and keep that resistance going all session long.
So, call your legislators at 1-800-562-6000 and remind them: It’s time for shared sacrifices on the budget. State employees have already sacrificed more than $1 billion in pay, pension contributions, health care funding and layoffs. Now is the time to raise revenue and close tax loopholes. (Feel free to add the impact of cuts on your specific program.)
HOTLINE HOURS
The legislative message Hotline is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
January 7, 2010
Session starts Monday; you'll play an important role
The 2010 legislative session starts Monday. You know this will be a brutal—and quick—session. In just 60 days, from Jan. 11 to March 11, lawmakers will decide how to deal with the additional $2.6 billion deficit: cut, cut, cut; or craft common sense solutions that include revenue increases and closing tax loopholes.
These hotlines again will become daily with a combination of unvarnished information you need to know—the facts you can use in talking to legislators and friends and in letters to the editor to make the case against more devastating cuts.
They will also include frequent calls to action. We have one later in this message. Your participation with phone calls and e-mails will back up the constant presence of AFSCME green shirts at the Capitol.
Legislators by human nature look to the path of least resistance in finding solutions—and if they don’t see or hear from our members about the human impact of the proposed cuts on the vulnerable, public safety and this state’s quality of life, they will cut, cut, cut.
So for this last pre-session hotline, here are some facts you can use, followed by a rundown of key hearings on the budget and other issues next week and then a call to action.
JUST THE FACTS: TAX LOOPHOLES
Momentum is building to close or suspend some of the $14.8 billion (yes, billion with a B) in likely tax breaks to help solve our budget problem without resorting to devastating cuts. See for yourself. Read state Department of Revenue's latest Tax Exemption report.
Do we really need tax exemptions for gold bullion dealers and for condominium maintenance when programs and institutions that provide quality services are on the chopping block?
By the way, other cities, counties and states are looking at closing loopholes or finding other ways to ease the burden.
From DeKalb, Ill., to Texas to St. Louis to Detroit to Topeka, governments are looking at recapturing tax incentives to companies that had asked for the tax breaks but did not create promised jobs—or are actually slashing their workforces. (SOURCE: Associated Press, 1/3/10)
And in California, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking the Obama Administration to waive rules requiring that the state spend its own money on programs in order to receive federal funds. That could save the state billions of dollars. (SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, 12/31/09)
Here, there is now talk there may be additional federal stimulus money and that could certainly ease our budget situation. But at a press forum in Olympia yesterday, Gov. Chris Gregoire said any influx of federal dollars wouldn’t necessarily translate into saving programs, institutions and jobs here. It could mean less of an appetite to raise revenue. She’ll announce her tax package next week, but it may not be fully fleshed out until the end of the month when the U.S. Congress finishes work on jobs package.
The Longview Daily News also reports today that at the forum Gregoire “defended her proposal to close parts or all of 10 state institutions, including part of the Naselle Youth Camp for young offenders.
“’I've yet to meet a legislator who says, “Close the institution in my backyard,”’ Gregoire said. ‘We have to make some tough business decisions.’”
So, we have to continue to make the case that even there may be no silver bullet even with federal help, quality services shouldn’t be targeted just for the sake of making cuts.
Other legislative leaders, too, did talk about additional sacrifices they may ask state employees to make. But The Olympian newspaper reports that the top Senate leader, Sen. Lisa Brown of Spokane, “wants a conversation with the Washington Federation of State Employees” on common sense solutions.
“I would like to work with the federation and with state employees knowing that there are jobs on the line,” Brown told The Olympian. “I would like to work with them on what they think are the least-worst options.”
The Olympian added that state workers are “not keen” about temporary layoffs, like closing offices one day a month, without a “clear nexus between saving jobs and, in effect, pay cuts” – given the fact that state employees “already gave up $1 billion in pay, jobs, health care and other benefits in budget cuts last year.” For instance, layoffs still came with the $300 million cut from pensions funding—the money was diverted elsewhere. There was no connection between saving jobs and that state employee sacrifice.
KEY HEARINGS NEXT WEEK
Several hearings on the governor’s proposed—and constitutionally required—all-cuts budget take place during the first week of session. They include:
JAN. 12
Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee holds a work session on the governor’s proposed supplemental budget, 10 a.m., Senate Hearing Room 3, John A. Cherberg Building.
Senate Ways and Means Committee holds a work session on the supplemental operating and capital budgets, 3:30 p.m., Senate Hearing Room 4, John A. Cherberg Building.
JAN. 13
House General Government Appropriations Committee holds a work session and public hearing on the parts of the supplemental budget covering General Government, Natural Resources and Corrections, 6:30 p.m., House Hearing Room C, John L. O’Brien Building.
House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee also holds a work session and public hearing, on health and human services parts of the budget, 6 p.m., House Hearing Room B, John L. O’Brien Building.
House Ways and Means Committee holds a work session on the governor’s budget, 3:30 p.m., House Hearing Room A, John L. O’Brien Building.
Senate Ways and Means Committee is set to meet, but the agenda hasn’t been set. Watch for update is it’s a budget hearing.
JAN. 14
House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee continues its public hearing, on health and human services parts of the budget, 1:30 p.m., House Hearing Room B, John L. O’Brien Building.
House Higher Education Committee holds a work session on higher education budget issues, 1:30 p.m., House Hearing Room D, John L. O’Brien Building.
House Ways and Means Committee holds a public hearing on the health and human services parts of the budget, 3:30 p.m., House Hearing Room A, John L. O’Brien Building.
Senate Ways and Means Committee is set to meet, but the agenda hasn’t been set. Watch for update is it’s a budget hearing.
OTHER HEARINGS OF INTEREST INCLUDE:
Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee, review of the Maurice Clemmons case, 8 a.m., 1/15/10, Senate Hearing Room 1, John A. Cherberg Building.
House General Government Appropriations Committee, public hearing on the State Auditor’s Office State Government Performance Review, 8 a.m., 1/12/10, House Hearing Room C, John L. O’Brien Building. The House Ways and Means Committee holds a work session on the same topic, 3:30 p.m., 1/11/10, House Hearing Room A, John L. O’Brien Building.
CALL TO ACTION
As we begin the new year our state is faced with some stark choices about our future and the things we value.
These are the types of choices legislators will face when they return to Olympia on Jan. 11 to decide how to close the $2.6 billion deficit the state faces due to the recession.
We need to send a loud and clear message that legislators should not balance the budget on the backs of working families, our kids, the most vulnerable, and the environment.
That is why we are joining organizations across the state to deliver thousands of petitions to the Capitol on the first day of session.
To sign it, go to www.wfse.org > Take Action > Take Action to Prevent Devastating Cuts.
Last year the legislature cut $3.6 billion from the state budget for 2009 -2011.
These substantial spending reductions have cut into the muscle and bone of our education and healthcare systems, programs that support kids, the elderly and disabled, and projects that clean up toxic waste sites and protect clean air and water.
These hotlines again will become daily with a combination of unvarnished information you need to know—the facts you can use in talking to legislators and friends and in letters to the editor to make the case against more devastating cuts.
They will also include frequent calls to action. We have one later in this message. Your participation with phone calls and e-mails will back up the constant presence of AFSCME green shirts at the Capitol.
Legislators by human nature look to the path of least resistance in finding solutions—and if they don’t see or hear from our members about the human impact of the proposed cuts on the vulnerable, public safety and this state’s quality of life, they will cut, cut, cut.
So for this last pre-session hotline, here are some facts you can use, followed by a rundown of key hearings on the budget and other issues next week and then a call to action.
JUST THE FACTS: TAX LOOPHOLES
Momentum is building to close or suspend some of the $14.8 billion (yes, billion with a B) in likely tax breaks to help solve our budget problem without resorting to devastating cuts. See for yourself. Read state Department of Revenue's latest Tax Exemption report.
Do we really need tax exemptions for gold bullion dealers and for condominium maintenance when programs and institutions that provide quality services are on the chopping block?
By the way, other cities, counties and states are looking at closing loopholes or finding other ways to ease the burden.
From DeKalb, Ill., to Texas to St. Louis to Detroit to Topeka, governments are looking at recapturing tax incentives to companies that had asked for the tax breaks but did not create promised jobs—or are actually slashing their workforces. (SOURCE: Associated Press, 1/3/10)
And in California, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking the Obama Administration to waive rules requiring that the state spend its own money on programs in order to receive federal funds. That could save the state billions of dollars. (SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, 12/31/09)
Here, there is now talk there may be additional federal stimulus money and that could certainly ease our budget situation. But at a press forum in Olympia yesterday, Gov. Chris Gregoire said any influx of federal dollars wouldn’t necessarily translate into saving programs, institutions and jobs here. It could mean less of an appetite to raise revenue. She’ll announce her tax package next week, but it may not be fully fleshed out until the end of the month when the U.S. Congress finishes work on jobs package.
The Longview Daily News also reports today that at the forum Gregoire “defended her proposal to close parts or all of 10 state institutions, including part of the Naselle Youth Camp for young offenders.
“’I've yet to meet a legislator who says, “Close the institution in my backyard,”’ Gregoire said. ‘We have to make some tough business decisions.’”
So, we have to continue to make the case that even there may be no silver bullet even with federal help, quality services shouldn’t be targeted just for the sake of making cuts.
Other legislative leaders, too, did talk about additional sacrifices they may ask state employees to make. But The Olympian newspaper reports that the top Senate leader, Sen. Lisa Brown of Spokane, “wants a conversation with the Washington Federation of State Employees” on common sense solutions.
“I would like to work with the federation and with state employees knowing that there are jobs on the line,” Brown told The Olympian. “I would like to work with them on what they think are the least-worst options.”
The Olympian added that state workers are “not keen” about temporary layoffs, like closing offices one day a month, without a “clear nexus between saving jobs and, in effect, pay cuts” – given the fact that state employees “already gave up $1 billion in pay, jobs, health care and other benefits in budget cuts last year.” For instance, layoffs still came with the $300 million cut from pensions funding—the money was diverted elsewhere. There was no connection between saving jobs and that state employee sacrifice.
KEY HEARINGS NEXT WEEK
Several hearings on the governor’s proposed—and constitutionally required—all-cuts budget take place during the first week of session. They include:
JAN. 12
Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee holds a work session on the governor’s proposed supplemental budget, 10 a.m., Senate Hearing Room 3, John A. Cherberg Building.
Senate Ways and Means Committee holds a work session on the supplemental operating and capital budgets, 3:30 p.m., Senate Hearing Room 4, John A. Cherberg Building.
JAN. 13
House General Government Appropriations Committee holds a work session and public hearing on the parts of the supplemental budget covering General Government, Natural Resources and Corrections, 6:30 p.m., House Hearing Room C, John L. O’Brien Building.
House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee also holds a work session and public hearing, on health and human services parts of the budget, 6 p.m., House Hearing Room B, John L. O’Brien Building.
House Ways and Means Committee holds a work session on the governor’s budget, 3:30 p.m., House Hearing Room A, John L. O’Brien Building.
Senate Ways and Means Committee is set to meet, but the agenda hasn’t been set. Watch for update is it’s a budget hearing.
JAN. 14
House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee continues its public hearing, on health and human services parts of the budget, 1:30 p.m., House Hearing Room B, John L. O’Brien Building.
House Higher Education Committee holds a work session on higher education budget issues, 1:30 p.m., House Hearing Room D, John L. O’Brien Building.
House Ways and Means Committee holds a public hearing on the health and human services parts of the budget, 3:30 p.m., House Hearing Room A, John L. O’Brien Building.
Senate Ways and Means Committee is set to meet, but the agenda hasn’t been set. Watch for update is it’s a budget hearing.
OTHER HEARINGS OF INTEREST INCLUDE:
Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee, review of the Maurice Clemmons case, 8 a.m., 1/15/10, Senate Hearing Room 1, John A. Cherberg Building.
House General Government Appropriations Committee, public hearing on the State Auditor’s Office State Government Performance Review, 8 a.m., 1/12/10, House Hearing Room C, John L. O’Brien Building. The House Ways and Means Committee holds a work session on the same topic, 3:30 p.m., 1/11/10, House Hearing Room A, John L. O’Brien Building.
CALL TO ACTION
As we begin the new year our state is faced with some stark choices about our future and the things we value.
These are the types of choices legislators will face when they return to Olympia on Jan. 11 to decide how to close the $2.6 billion deficit the state faces due to the recession.
We need to send a loud and clear message that legislators should not balance the budget on the backs of working families, our kids, the most vulnerable, and the environment.
That is why we are joining organizations across the state to deliver thousands of petitions to the Capitol on the first day of session.
To sign it, go to www.wfse.org > Take Action > Take Action to Prevent Devastating Cuts.
Last year the legislature cut $3.6 billion from the state budget for 2009 -2011.
These substantial spending reductions have cut into the muscle and bone of our education and healthcare systems, programs that support kids, the elderly and disabled, and projects that clean up toxic waste sites and protect clean air and water.
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