November 2003

Executive Secretary’s Report: KCLC Political program builds with record 400 volunteers
By combining our efforts in one labor to neighbor program, the King County Labor Council targeted three races in 2003. We knocked on union members’ doors and made phone calls for the NO on I-841 campaign, Tom Rasmussen for Seattle City Council, and Alec Fisken for Port of Seattle Commission. Over 400 shifts of volunteer participation helped to build our maturing political program. Despite a bitter loss statewide on I-841, local results were very good.

Workers will suffer with the passage of Initiative 841. Without protections, more workers will be needlessly injured because employers will not be required to prevent injuries like repetitive stress syndrome and musculo-skeletal disorders. In the end, workers will feel the bodily pain, but our economy will suffer as well with decreased productivity and higher medical costs. Worse, many voters said YES to I-841 out of the confused notion they were protecting jobs. What voters protected was corporate profits while preserving few if any jobs and safeguarding no workers. The passage of I-841 is a tough loss for all of us who care about workers’ health and safety and our economy.

Thanks in part to the participation of over 400 labor to neighbor volunteer shifts, both of the KCLC-targeted candidates won. Just as in our victories in 2001, the KCLC-targeted challengers took on status quo incumbents. Tom Rasmussen challenged and defeated Margaret Pageler for Seattle City Council and Alec Fisken defeated incumbent Port of Seattle Commissioner (and Commission Chair) Clare Nordquist.

Says Tom about our labor to neighbor program, “One of the most exciting days of my campaign was attending the morning sendoff of all those labor to neighbor volunteers. I know the labor to neighbor campaign was instrumental in my winning election to the Seattle City Council. Thank you labor to neighbor volunteers!”

In defeating Port Commissioner Clare Nordquist, Alec Fisken followed in the footsteps of Lawrence Molloy in 2001. By his win, Alec will join Lawrence in shaking up a Port Commission that has lately been focused on privatization and converting a working waterfront to condos and tourist shops.

Alec also credits the KCLC political program saying “The labor to neighbor program makes a huge difference in these elections. Unlike mail, yard signs or TV, labor to neighbor really gives voters reasons to select certain candidates. In my race it probably was the difference between winning and losing.”

In other races, almost every KCLC-endorsed candidate won. Each of our endorsed Seattle school board candidates won, three of the four ousting incumbents. Fire Commissioner candidates won, including our Boeing Machinist sister Ronnie Behnke. Other union members endorsed by the KCLC won too. Jack Block, Jr., one of the longshore members locked out last summer, won a seat on the Burien City Council, and Rich Hildreth, an IBEW member, is the new mayor of Pacific. Congratulations to all! Cass Prindle, a carpenter, ran a solid campaign to join the Highline School Board but lost to incumbent Matthew Pina.

Still another union member won a huge race as Jean Godden, longtime activist and member of The Newspaper Guild, defeated Seattle City Council incumbent Judy Nicastro. Jean lost her Sunday column in the Seattle Times and nearly her job because of her union activities during the 2000 newspaper strike. The King County Labor Council stayed out of the Nicastro-Godden race, but we heartily welcome union sister Godden to the Seattle City Council and look forward to working with her.

The King County Labor Council also endorsed Heidi Wills for the Seattle City Council, but Heidi was defeated by veteran community activist David Della. The endorsement decision was a close one but Heidi won our endorsement because she had been largely very supportive of our issues. David Della also has a long history as a union activist and we look forward to working with David because his commitment to workers’ issues is unquestioned. With the addition of David, Jean and Tom, Seattle wins with a more diverse City Council.

KCLC-endorsed Seattle Monorail Project board candidates Cindi Laws and Cleve Stockmeyer, also won the first elected seats on the Monorail board. I look forward to working with both of them in building the monorail and creating 2,100 new jobs.

Though we’re disappointed by the passage of I-841 we are proud of our growing political program; the successes of our two targeted candidates, Tom Rasmussen and Alec Fisken; and we’re getting ready for 2004. Watch out, George Bush, we’ll be ready for you in King County come 2004! - Steve Williamson

South Seattle Community College honors King County Labor Council
On October 15th, South Seattle Community College held an Appreciation Dinner for members of the college's technical advisory committees. The college presented a plaque and award to the King County Labor Council "In recognition of the on-going support and direction provided to South Seattle Community College's Technical Instructional Programs." This award is testimony to the value of the partnership between organized labor and the college. It is also tangible evidence of the importance of the work of the King County Labor Liaison in recruiting union members to participate on the various advisory committees that serve the college's professional and technical programs.

Larry Nelson, a member of SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 and a labor representative on the Computer Technology Advisory Committee, was able to step in and accept the award at the last minute when Joan Weiss was called out of town on a family emergency. KCLC thanks Larry for accepting this award.

If you or members of your union are interested in becoming labor representatives on any of the advisory committees that serve the King County Community and Technical Colleges or if you would like more information about these committees, please contact Joan Weiss, CTC Labor Liaison, at (206) 441-8408 x 16 or jweiss@wc-kclc.org

Building Trades step up to active ownership role
Building Trades’ pension funds are among the largest owners of U.S. corporations. Combined assets of Building Trades and Teamsters funds are approximately $300 billion – almost three quarters of all Taft-Hartley funds. In the past ten years the Trades have become leading advocates for corporate reform. Before Enron imploded, the Trades were calling for reforms in corporate audit and accounting practices. In the summer of 2003, Washington State affiliates of the Laborers, Carpenters, Teamsters, Sheet Metal Workers and Plumbers & Pipefitters took a critical step to actively engage companies headquartered and operating in Washington State. They combined resources to form the Worker Owner Council of Washington and hired Executive Director Doug Kilgore. The Worker Owner Council of Washington State is a shareholder advocacy organization representing pension funds’ ownership interests. The Council projects a worker-owner perspective of the corporation that stresses long-term corporate value-building through responsible corporate behavior that responds to the full range of important corporate constituents, including workers and communities.

• In 2003, Building Trades filed shareholder resolutions at Amazon.com, Starbucks, Washington Mutual, Safeco and Weyerhaeuser. One resolution filed by the Teamsters on expensing stock options at Weyerhaeuser won a majority vote.
• In September, the WOC published a study and scorecard of Executive Compensation at Washington Companies. The average grade was D+.
• Following that survey, the WOC met with companies to discuss reforms to their compensation and audit practices. Louisiana Pacific, Frontier Bank, Labor Ready and Amazon.com are among the companies that have agreed to reforms.
• At the Microsoft Shareholders meeting in November the Council went public with its critique of the company’s executive compensation policies. (Click here to see the Seattle Times write-up.)
• For 2004, the Council is preparing about 30 shareholder resolutions to be filed at about 25 Washington companies.

The Council’s overall mission is to shape up corporate governance practices and to create opportunities to shape up those companies’ community and construction practices as well. Membership is open to all Building Trades unions in Washington.

Online Resources
The AFL-CIO’s website is full of great resources! Here are some must-visit links:
— See the Bushwatch site for the latest on President Bush’s assault on working families.
— Take the sweat(shop) out of holiday shopping with these links.
— The new Voice@Work section features valuable information on employers’ interference with workers’ freedom to join a union and the difference a union makes in workers’ lives.

Upcoming Events
Wednesday, December 10th, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Be part of an International Day of Action by joining thousands of activists at the Federal Building at Second and Marion in Downtown Seattle for a huge rally on the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The specific focus will be on the right to organize as a basic human right and a call for stricter enforcement of labor laws. Visit the WSLC website to fill out the online “I’ll Be There” form today!

Friday, December 12th, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Celebrate the holidays with the King County Labor Council and the Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council. Our annual holiday party will be held in Hall One of the Seattle Labor Temple and is open to our union members and supporters. Entertainment by union musicians and refreshments provided.