Washington State Labor Council Convention In Session Now

Washington State Labor Council Convention August 6, 2009


Delegates from Council 28 Locals all around the state gathered early in the morning to discuss the issues that they will vote on during the Washington State Labor Council Convention beginning at 9am today and wrapping up on Friday August 7th.

The keynote Speaker was Arlene Holt Baker, AFL-CIO Executive VICE President, an AFSCME sister. Delegates of Locals affiliated with Council 28 served as her escort committee. Since I was with her as part of the escort committee, I was unable to capture parts of her speech which I had hoped to do. One of the memorable statements she made is : “The road to success can be found at the intersection of Preparation, Perspiration and Inspiration.”

Greg Devereux, Executive Director, gave a report on Initiative 1033. The “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” passed in Colorado some years back and it set an arbitrary cap on revenue that strangled the economy of Colorado. It was later overturned by the citizens of Colorado who had suffered under its impact. Initiative 1033, a TABOR style concept, is now before the citizens of Washington State. The revenue will be set on our current economy which is a 9 billion dollar deficit. The impact will go far beyond the damage done in Colorado in those years. The entire labor movement must unite with firefighters, police, teachers, college faculty and staff, as well as state, county and city employees to fight the passage of Initiative 1033. The Washington State Labor Council has taken a strong stand against Initiative 1033.

A panel gave a presentation on Cap and Trade to educate delegates on the topic. On Carbon Pricing Policies a government carbon tax/fee is used to change behavior. The price of Carbon-intensive goods goes up. It puts a cap on carbon emissions. Every company that emits carbon has to buy a carbon allowance and each year that allowance goes down. If it doesn’t reduce the emissions, it must buy the allowance from government or another company. There are a number of controversial issues that will affect labor. Among them, the impact of the emissions on our planet and our future and the potential loss of American jobs in the metals industry, pulp and paper mills, cement and others. There was discussion of making green jobs good outlining a strategy for success. That brings us close to lunch break. More later.