King County Labor Council

Labor's Voice
February 2002

L&I issues new policy on rest periods
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries has issued a new administrative policy on meal and rest periods, stating explicitly that "employees may not waive their right to a rest period" and that collective bargaining agreements may not lower the rights set forth in the regulation. The current rest period requirement states that employees shall be allowed a rest period of not less than ten minutes, on the employer’s time, for each four hours of working time. Employees may not waive their right to a rest period.

However, variances from required rest periods may, for good cause due to the nature of the work, be applied for by an employer.

Pre-apprenticeship program receives honorable mention in Mayor’s speech
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels highlighted the importance of pre-apprenticeship programs like ANEW (located at Renton Technical College) in his 2002 State of the City Address. Mayor Nickels recognized ANEW graduate Tammy McKinzie as an example of the value of such training, noting that she now makes over $24 an hour as an iron worker apprentice and is better able to support her three children, compared with her pre-ANEW job as a telemarketer for just $9 an hour.

Mayor Nickels went on to say that in his tenure as mayor, he will do everything he can at the city level to increase family wage jobs and support programs like ANEW.

Executive Secretary’s Report
Tim Eyman says our tax structure is broken, and he’s right. But he’s wrong when he tries to fix it by defunding state government through initiatives.

It could be Tim is sliding into irrelevance now, and that would be gratifying. But that still leaves us with a broken tax structure that puts needed services and public workers at risk.

It’s broken when business gets tax breaks from the state totaling well over $1 billion during the 1990s. Those giveaways are coming home to roost in the form of service cuts and worker layoffs. By itself this is maddening, but when we understand that we have no objective data demonstrating that the business giveaways generated any family wage jobs, it is outrageous.

In King County, the budget is just as bad, perhaps worse. The reasons for the deficits are different, but the effect on county services and workers is just as real.

Happily, voices calling for long term tax reform are starting to be heard, and it’s a welcome, if still dim, chorus. It may be that Tim Eyman’s simplistic tinkering by initiative is being exposed for the manipulation it always was, and the time to seek meaningful tax reform is upon us.

Our duty is to seize this moment, consult thoughtfully among our own organizations and in partnership with our allies, and frame the alternatives that create a just tax system. If we don’t, Tim, or another of his ilk, will rise again because the people are on to the unfairness of our tax system.

Out of the anger at manipulation by initiative, a just tax system could be born if we articulate an alternative vision. — Steve Williamson

Delta flight attendants organizing update
On February 1st, after a heroic four-year effort by the Delta flight attendants, assisted by AFA staff and AFA flight attendant member organizers, the votes were counted in the first ever union representation election for the flight attendants at Delta Air Lines. For AFA to be certified as the Delta flight attendants’ representative under National Mediation Board (NMB) rules, 50 percent plus one of the 19,033 flight attendants eligible to vote had to return their ballots. When the votes were counted, just 5,609 had the courage to return their ballot, not enough to finally achieve a voice at work. Of the votes cast, 5,520 were for AFA, while just 89 votes were cast for "other". That means AFA received 98 percent of the votes cast and under any other election procedure would have been the winner, but not under NMB rules.

Delta management’s multi-million dollar illegal campaign of intimidation, fear and harassment succeeded in interfering with the flight attendants’ legal right to choose a union, and silenced their voices. That campaign included tactics like Delta’s management lying to over 3,000 furloughed flight attendants by falsely saying they weren’t eligible to vote. That lie potentially kept over 3,000 flight attendants from returning their ballots. In fact, these flight attendants were eligible to vote and had sufficient motivation to return their ballots after being furloughed with no real recall rights.

On the Delta flight attendants’ behalf, AFA has already filed charges of illegal interference with the NMB. The NMB is the government agency with the responsibility to conduct elections for union representation and to ensure that the workers’ right to vote is protected. They have conducted a preliminary investigation and already found that the evidence against Delta presents a prima facie case of interference by Delta management.

Government figures show union membership remains stable
Union membership grew slightly in 2001 despite a year of recession and uncertainty, according to new data released last month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While there have been slight rises and dips in union membership in recent years, the number of union members has shown an overall five-year growth of 180,000.

The data also reveals the number of women who are union members is at an all time high of 6.77 million. According to the AFL-CIO, the membership numbers remained steady due in part to the continuing efforts of unions to organize new members.

Dates to remember...
February 18, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. - Presidents’ Day Rally on the Capitol steps sponsored by the Save Our State coalition, a group of unions, faith organizations, community-based organizations, social service advocates and others concerned about poor and working families. Everybody is encouraged to attend!

February 20, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. - KCLC Delegates Meeting, Hall One of the Seattle Labor Temple.

February 24, 2002 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. - Seattle Labor Chorus Family Sing-A-Long will be held at Tully’s in the former Rainer Brewery, 3100 Airport Way South. Suggested donation is $10 each; kids, 65+ and unemployed get in free. Admission includes a potluck dinner and song sheets. Additional musical instruments welcome! Call Sue at (206) 723-6511 for information or reservations.

February 27, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. - The King County Labor Film Series presents Salt of the Earth, a documentary exploring free speech issues in our country, at the Seattle IMC, 1415 Third Avenue. Sponsored by CWA Local 37082/Newspaper Guild.