December 2001

Welcome to the first electronic issue of Labor's Voice! Until last Spring, Labor's Voice was published quarterly and sent to members and friends of the King County labor community. In an effort to better support our affiliates and their members, we decided to change to an electronic format and send out our newsletter each month. Please let us know what you think - there is always room for improvement in any project.

After a few weeks of nervous nail biting, we can finally call it a clean sweep for KCLC! Last week's final vote count confirmed that we won all three of our targeted races: Greg Nickels for Mayor: won by 3,158, with 50.93% of the vote, Lawrence Molloy for Port Commission: won by 3,549, with 50.54% of the vote, Julia Patterson for King County Council District 13: won by 4,643, with 58.45% of the vote.

Labor's impact on electoral politics this year is astonishing, and we should all recognize our tremendous gains in this cycle. Between KCLC and the Washington State Labor Council we were five for five in our targeted races. We elected a friend of labor over a notorious union buster for Seattle Mayor. We won our first majority on the County Council in nearly a decade. We broke the 49-49 tie in the legislature. We ousted a 28-year incumbent on the Port, making workers' issues the critical ground on which that race was fought.

The media has recognized our role in helping Greg Nickels overcome Mark Sidran's heavily financed TV campaign with a "textbook" GOTV drive over the last four days of the campaign. What is probably labor's most remarkable victory, however, won't gain much public notice: the successful campaign to unseat incumbent Port Commissioner Jack Block. The decision to enter the race was carefully debated by KCLC and Port union leaders this summer. Many were nervous about taking on a county-wide campaign on a down-ballot race, which 40% of the voters historically ignore. But Port workers took their contract and organizing fights directly to union members across the county, joined forces with Washington Conservation Voters and allies in the environmental community, and were able to oust a 28-year incumbent endorsed by every major media outlet and establishment organization in the county. It is this race, even more than our successful work in the Mayor's race, which marks a new beginning for political action within the King County Labor Council.

This is just the beginning for KCLC's Labor to Labor political program; it is a beginning we can be proud of. Listed below are our successful endorsed candidates:

Lawrence Molloy for Port of Seattle Commissioner, District 2
Tom Carr for Seattle City Attorney
Richard Conlin for Seattle City Council, Position 2
Jan Drago for Seattle City Council, Position 4
Nick Licata for Seattle City Council, Position 6
Richard McIver for Seattle City Council, Position 8
Mary Bass for Seattle School Director, District 5
Jan Kumasaka for Seattle School Director, District 7
Rich Hildreth for Pacific City Council, Position 2
David Duff for N. Highline Fire Commissioner
John Rickert for Federal Way Fire Commissioner

A huge thanks goes out to all the volunteers who helped with phonebanking and the labor-to-labor walks. There is no doubt we positively affected this election, helping to ensure the election of worker-friendly candidates. Many of the winners, including Greg Nickels, celebrated with the Council at the annual Meet the Winners fundraiser for the King County Labor Agency's holiday assistance program, which was held on November 7th. (Pictured, l to r: Lawrence Molloy, Tom Carr and Julia Patterson at Meet the Winners.)

The 20,000 flight attendants at Delta Airlines are the last non-union flight attendant workforce at a major U.S. airline. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) has been helping Delta flight attendants to change that and gain a voice at work. Delta management has run an aggressive, not to mention illegal and expensive, anti-union campaign. They have conducted massive captive audience meetings and pressured and intimidated union activists.

The King County Labor Council has been working with Delta flight attendants and the AFA to further their campaign, including organizing three very successful sticker-up days at Sea-Tac Airport. Election ballots will be mailed December 7th - let's support these workers! You can find out more at http://www.deltaafa.org.

Starbucks Workers get contract!

17 maintenance mechanics and technicians at the Starbucks roasting plant in Kent have ratified a contract after exhaustive negotiations with the company. Starbucks management worked tirelessly to resist the efforts of these workers, who initially organized over two years ago, to join Operating Engineers Local 286. Congratulations to the roasting plant workers and Local 286 on their victory!

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Dates to remember...

KCLC Delegates Meeting - Wednesday, December 5th, 7:00 p.m., Hall One, Seattle Labor Temple

KCLC Annual Holiday Party - Friday, December 7th, 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Hall One, Seattle Labor Temple

Labor's Voice Online December 2001

Labor's Voice Online
December 2001