King
County Labor CouncilKing
County Labor Council
Working families also scored huge victories in the Washington State Legislature. 19th Legislative District Senator Sid Snyder will be taking over as Senate majority leader. Our good friend, Frank Chopp (43rd District Representative), will share the position of speaker of the house with 12th District Representative Clyde Ballard since there are now equal numbers of democrat and republican representatives in the state house.
This infusion of new leader-ship in Washington state and nationwide is very good news for unions and their members. Lawmakers who are aware of the challenges faced by working families on a daily basis understand the importance of unions and the role they play in our economy.
Another big win was the passage of Initiative 688, raising the minimum wage in Washington state from $4.90 an hour to $5.70 this year, then up to $6.50 in 2000 with annual adjustments for inflation. I-688, introduced by the Washington State Labor Council and strongly supported by central labor councils and their affiliates around the state, will benefit all workers.
Most candidates who were endorsed by the King County Labor Council won their races, several in very tough districts and against strong incumbents. Listed on page seven are the KCLC endorsed candidates who were victorious in November. Congratulations to all of our candidates for a job well done. We look forward to working with you toward our common goals of justice and respect for workers and the work they do!
Key issues addressed in this first contract include a union security clause, wage increases totaling over nine percent for the next two years, improved health benefits, a new pension in the third year of the contract, and a Labor Management Committee that ensures health care workers a voice in how patient care is delivered.
"These health care workers showed that by standing together for principles, workers can win the right to have a union — a collective voice for workers and patients. Our members look forward to caring for their patients and working with management to secure funding for mental health services," said Diane Sosne, president of District 1199NW/SEIU.
"We are elated that our bargaining team representatives negotiated a great con-tract so we can start building a first rate psychiatric hospital. I’m looking forward to getting back to work," said Chrie Landerth, Mental Health Specialist.
More and more KCLC affiliates are "organizing for change" under the Union Cities plan, many with support from our office and the Seattle Union Now (SUN) project.
There are several exciting organizing projects in the works right now. The Seattle/King County Building & Construction Trades Council is working with the national Building & Construction Trades Department on laying the groundwork for multi-trade, market-wide workforce organizing involving rank-and-file workers like never before. King County has yet to experience organizing of this magnitude, so expect a groundbreaking campaign.
Another drive that is making news is a joint effort between SEIU Local 6 and District 1199NW/SEIU to work with employees at 45 Medalia Health Care System clinics from Tacoma to Monroe to gain union representation. Medalia workers presented cards to the NLRB on December 23rd, showing that a large majority of the system’s 750 employees support union representation. This organizing activity comes as doctors at Medalia clinics are negotiating their first contract after voting to join the United Salaried Physicians and Dentists (SEIU) last June.
There will be more in-depth coverage of these drives in upcoming issues. Is your local organizing for the future? If not, the time is right! Call the King County Labor Council’s Union Cities Organizer, Verlene Wilder, at 206-441-7102 if you need information or help getting started. Organize in 1999!
SEIU District 925’s Childcare Union Project (CUP) has set the goals of improving working conditions and getting better benefits for workers. The result, they believe, will be to raise standards and reduce teacher turnover and burnout. The union is also working with center directors, parents and child advocates to seek public funding for child care wage improvements, recognizing that both parents and center operators are hard-pressed to pay the wages these workers deserve.
Many talented child care teachers quit each year, feeling that they are not doing right by their own families by staying in a profession that pays experienced people (many with a masters degree) approximately $7.50 per hour. The current turnover rate of 40% has a negative impact on our kids’ long term ability to learn and bond. As word gets out about the benefits of joining a union and the possibility of really improving the quality of care provided, this movement is gaining momentum!
How can you help?
• Parents and other friends of small children can help support the union effort by speaking to teachers and directors about unionization.
• Support the Seattle-area union child care centers listed at right.
• Volunteer your time or make donations to these centers that have done the right thing by voluntarily recognizing their employees’ union.
• Join in a support network that will advocate legislation funding child care work. "Parent advocates working side-by-side with child care teachers will let the legislature know that our society values this work," says Kim Cook, SEIU District 925 Director.
To volunteer to help or find out how you can advocate for better child care, please call CUP at 206-328-7275.
Unionized Child Care Centers
Able Child
5031 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 525-1440
AgapeAgape
7737 24th Avenue NW
Seattle, WA 98117
(206) 783-5967
Cooperative Children’s CenterCooperative Children’s Center
1604 NE 50th Street
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 522-5388
Emerald City Child DevelopmentEmerald City Child Development
7004 37th Avenue S
Seattle, WA 98118
(206) 722-8940
Hilltop Children’s CenterHilltop Children’s Center
2400 8th Avenue W
Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 283-3100
Interlake Child Care &
Learning CenterInterlake Child Care &
Learning Center
4927 Greenlake Way N
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 632-6479
Martin Luther King Day HomeMartin Luther King Day Home
1855 S Lane Street
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 328-5670 (Also Our Place, child care for homeless and transitional
housing families only)
Small FacesSmall Faces
9250 14th Avenue NW
Seattle, WA 98117
(206) 782-2611
Tiny Tots Development CenterTiny Tots Development Center
8302 ½ Renton Avenue S
Seattle, WA 98118
(206) 723-1590
Wallingford United Methodist
Child CareWallingford United Methodist
Child Care
2115 N 42nd Street
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 632-3200
We Are the WorldWe Are the World
2800 S Massachusetts
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 324-6113
Despite truly miserable weather, the unity rally took place the day before Thanksgiving, which is traditionally one of the busiest passenger traffic days of the year. The rally was a joint effort of union members from IAM Locals 2202 and 1040 at Alaska and Northwest Airlines, and Teamsters Local 2000 representing flight attendants at Northwest Airlines.
The sight of disgruntled airline employees at the Flag Pavilion at the entrance to Sea-Tac Airport waving signs, chanting and showing pride and enthusiasm for a common cause provoked an outpouring of support from cars passing by. Horns honked and thumbs went up, making the driving wind and rain more bearable and bolstering the morale of those in attendance. Karen Keiser, 33rd District Representative and media director for the Washington State Labor Council, rallied the crowd with a speech calling on the airlines to treat their employees fairly.
"These employees have worked hard to help their employers succeed and deserve to be treated fairly. Northwest Airlines employees made major concessions to keep Northwest afloat when the company faced almost certain bankruptcy. Now that it’s payback time, the employer seems to have suffered a lapse in memory," said Keiser.
The Alaska Airlines Ramp/Stores contract has been in negotiations for 15 months; the Northwest contracts for 25 months. This show of solidarity for the common issues of corporate greed, forced overtime, substandard pension packages and contracting out of union work resonated amongst all in attendance.
Alaska Airlines continues to make record profits year after year, yet starting pay borders on established United States poverty levels and many employees haven’t seen more than a 3% pay raise in 14 years. In addition, due to their difficulty in attracting competent help for these low wages, employees are forced to work involuntary overtime due to short staffing. The Sea-Tac ticket counter is routinely under-staffed. To add insult to injury, these lowest paid workers must purchase uniforms required by the company at a cost of almost $700.
Alaska Airlines employees continue to work under a tiered wage scale where workers doing the same job make vastly different wages and union work continues to be contracted out on a massive scale under concessionary contracts resulting from an unsuccessful strike in 1985.
At this time negotiations for two IAM contracts at Alaska Airlines are underway. In addition to the Ramp/Stores contract, negotiations for the Clerical, Office and Passenger Service employees contract have just started. Expect to see a coordinated campaign and strategy on both contracts to convince Alaska that their employees will do whatever is necessary to assure these unacceptable contracts are brought up to industry-wide standards. Members feel they have been patient for long enough.
If you would like more information, please contact IAM Local 2202 (Alaska, TWA and Southwest employees) at 206-878-5498.
Letters supporting employees can be sent to:
John Kelly
CEO and Chairman of the Board
Alaska Airlines
P.O. Box 68900
Seattle, WA 98168
206-431-7420
John Dasburg, CEO
Northwest Airlines
2700 Lone Oak Parkway
Eagan, MN 55121
612-726-2796
We appreciate any support you or your local can offer in our struggle for fair contracts!
Over 500 people strengthened the picket line at different times during the last five performances of CLO’s production of the musical Rags. The musicians union is known for its lively and spirited protests, and the CLO strike has been no exception. Union musicians played while protesters of all ages danced the hora on the picket line.
"Eighty percent of the musicians want union representation, but since last July the theater has consistently and adamantly refused to agree to a card-check or even the results of an election," said Motter Forman, secretary-treasurer of AFM Local 76-493 and a member of the KCLC executive board.
Because the theater’s $450,000 annual operating budget is slightly under the NLRB threshold for conducting elections, the government cannot compel the theater to come to the bargaining table.
The musicians decided to take matters into their own hands by going out on strike, backed by the labor community. The theater chose to use a skeleton scab band to accompany the production of Rags, which is a pro-union story that chronicles the activism of a Russian immigrant Jewish woman in New York City’s garment industry in 1910. Many articles in the local press noted the irony. (Copies of these articles can be found on the musicians’ website: <members.xoom.com/local76>). Patrons boycotted the show in droves.
As of press time, however, the theater continues to stonewall the union. There will be massive picketing at the opening of CLO’s next show, The Boyfriend, which opens February 11th. Picketing is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at the theater, which is located in Lake City at the Jane Addams/Summit School, 11051 34th Avenue NE.
Call the union office at 206-441-7600 to find out how you can support this effort, especially if you belong to any senior citizens’ groups, or north end neighborhood, religious or political organizations. Frequent updates will be posted on the website to keep members and friends informed. Checks for the strike defense fund can be made out to AFM 76-493 and sent to the musicians at 2620 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98102.
Teamsters continue their fight: The AFL-CIO sanctioned boycott of Jet Equipment and Tool in Auburn shifted into high gear just before Christmas when nearly one thousand boycott packets were mailed out to building trades councils and local unions across the United States and Canada.
Included in the packet was a brief summary of the issues in the strike, along with a set of boycott stickers, leaflets and suggestions on how to implement the boycott throughout North America. Copies of the packet were also sent to Jet Tool management in Auburn, Walter Meier (their parent company in Switzerland) and our Swiss trade union allies.
The actual strike is over, although some displaced Jet workers are still walking the line in their free time to demonstrate continued solidarity in the face of such a disreputable employer. Teamsters Local 117 was able to place some of the workers in other jobs, and in other cases the workers were able to find other employment on their own. The workers got together for a reunion breakfast in December to catch up.
There was a victory on the legal front when the NLRB issued an Unfair Labor Practice complaint against the company for paying the scab workers a bonus when the strike first started. The remedy has been to pay all the striking workers the same bonus, which for some strikers was over one thousand dollars.
The fight against Jet will continue and is not expected to end any time soon. Boycott packets and stickers are available from Teamsters Local 117 at 206-441-4860 x.237. Thanks are in order for all the support from our local labor community throughout this struggle. Your help makes us all stronger!
Welcome to WashTech!:
The King County Labor Council would like to welcome our newest affiliate, CWA Local 37083, better known as WashTech. WashTech is a new local formed to serve high tech workers and fight for the rights of temporary workers in this field. Information about WashTech and their activities can be found on their website: <washtech.org>.New additions at Local 699
: Sprinkler Fitters Local 699 would like to welcome two new contractors who have recently signed on with the local. The McLeod Corporation (a Native American-owned company) and Fire Shield, Inc. They would also like to welcome the many new members who have joined the local to improve their future as well as their family’s future through fair wages and benefits paid by good union contractors.
But the time has come for the ULP to look toward new and varied sources of funding. As we learned last year, depending on public funds and grants has become an increasingly uncertain gamble. While our grant from King County was renewed for 1999, we are concerned that the future of public funds for legal services is in jeopardy.
The ULP depends on grants, contributions and volunteers to be able to provide free legal representation for workers who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. Employers spend a lot of money fighting unemployment benefits. In Washington state, many unemployment compensation hearings are held each year. The project provides representation at approximately 450 of them. Conversely, employer representatives are present at 35% of all hearings. The Project is one of the few resources available to help our members secure the benefits they deserve.
Some of the ULP’s funding is provided by the Legal Foundation of Washington. These funds are contingent upon our raising matching money, which means the Project must raise $15,000 from local unions in order to receive matching funds from the Legal Foundation. To that end, we would like to encourage you to approach the leadership of your union and ask them to consider making a contribution to the Unemployment Law Project. We also ask you to consider making a contribution yourself. Contributions to the Project are essential to its success in continuing to provide legal advocacy to our union brothers and sisters. Please call Pam Crone, attorney/director at 206-441-9178 if you have any questions. Contributions can be sent directly to: The Unemployment Law Project, 2800 First Avenue, Suite 216 Seattle, WA 98121.
Thank you for your generosity!
Since the general election last November, I have had time to reflect on labor’s many victories and the struggles still before us. What exactly have we gained?
• The opportunity to form tighter coalitions of supporters of affirmative action. The fight against Initiative 200 brought together unprecedented numbers of people (many for the first time) who realized the benefits of affirmative action.
• New friends in Congress who will, hopefully, unite with incumbents to fight for HR1200, a real health care bill introduced by 7th Congressional District Representative Jim McDermott. Many incumbents returning to Congress will welcome any who come to join their struggles to stop the HMO insurance companies’ destruction of working people’s health care.
• The opportunity to turn around members of Congress who want to "save social security" by advancing the retirement age, increasing the FICA tax or putting social security funds into the stock market.
How can we continue to win?
• Write letters, make phone calls and visit your congressional representatives to pressure Congress to tax everyone’s full income by removing the FICA tax cap. We all need to pay our share of running a democratic government, educating our young people, providing jobs when corporations run away to sweatshop areas, stopping insurance company profits on national health care and protecting our environment.
• Continue building the movement in support of HR950, Congressman Martinez’s bill for restoration of the infrastructure of our country. The bill was introduced several sessions ago with many co-sponsors. There could be many more co-sponsors in this next Congress, depending on how much pressure people put on their representatives and senators. It will also depend on whether we, the voters, let the corporations and their lobbyists buy their "profits before people" votes.
I hope you will celebrate our victories by continuing to work for working people!