Unions file suit to stop Washington liquor initiative
SEATTLE — United Food and
Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local
21 and Teamsters Local 174 have filed a
lawsuit to invalidate the recently passed
Initiative 1183, which privatized liquor
sales in the state of Washington. The
unions say the measure is unconstitu-
tional because it violates the “single
subject” rule.
Approximately 700 members of
UFCW who work in state liquor stores
and 300 Teamsters who distribute
liquor, wine, and beer under the current
If you worked for Wonder Bread
Bakery out of Portland, OR, from
1970-1985, please contact Zac
Cooper at 800-479-9533.
If you worked for Davidson/
Sunbeam Bakery out of Portland,
OR, from 1950-1975, please con-
tact Zac Cooper at 800-479-9533.
If you worked for Columbia Sign
out of Portland, OR, from
1947-1957, please contact
Zac Cooper at 800-479-9533.
If you worked for Kaiser Shipyard
out of Vancouver, WA, from
1943-1945, please contact
Zac Cooper at 800-479-9533.
DECEMBER 16, 2011
system stand to lose their jobs.
The initiative — written by Costco
Wholesale Corp., which contributed a
state record $22 million to help get it
passed — must be implemented by
June 2012.
The unions claim that while the vast
majority of the campaign around I-1183
was on the question of privatization of
the state liquor system, the initiative ac-
tually contains several other fundamen-
tal provisions, such as changing the
laws for the distribution and sale of
wine; changing the ability of the state
Liquor Control Board to regulate alco-
hol advertising; and creating new fran-
chise protections for distributors.
“Our democracy is threatened when
one corporation like Costco can write a
complex initiative, pay for the signa-
tures, pay for the ads that control the de-
bate, all the while avoiding discussion
on the other parts of the proposal that
are the true motivations by the corpora-
tion in the first place,” said Tom Geiger,
communications director of UFCW 21.
The complaint states that the Wash-
ington Constitution says that every bill
(including initiatives) may contain only
a single subject and that the single sub-
ject must be reflected in the bill or ballot
title.
“The object of this constitutional
provision is threefold: (1) to prevent
hodgepodge or ‘logrolling’ legislation;
(2) to prevent surprise or fraud upon
voters by means of provisions in bills of
which the titles gave no intimation, and
which might therefore be overlooked
and carelessly and unintentionally
adopted; and (3) to fairly apprise the
people through such publication of leg-
islative proceedings as is usually made
of the subjects of legislation that are be-
ing considered,” the complaint states.
Geiger said I-1183 changes state law
in a way that leaves Costco “particularly
well-positioned to make huge profits in
the future.”
The unions acknowledge that it isn’t
illegal for a private company to pay for
an initiative and spend unlimited funds
to get it passed. However, they say it is
illegal for the company to abuse the sys-
tem by loading an initiative with too
many changes to the law.
“The reason for the single rule clause
in the Constitution is to prohibit this
very thing,” Geiger said.
The unions sued the state and Gov.
Chris Gregoire in King County Court.
They want the initiative declared “null
and void” and an injunction preventing
enforcement.
AFSCME sets up fund for murder victim
A memorial fund has been estab-
lished for the family of Buddy Herron,
an Oregon AFSCME member and fa-
ther of four who was murdered Nov. 28.
Herron was a corrections officer at
Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution
and a member of AFSCME Local 3361.
He was on his way to work from Helix
to EOCI in Pendleton shortly before
midnight when he stopped to help an
apparent stranded motorist. But 22-
year-old Joshua Charles Weeks of Port-
land stabbed Herron and stole his
pickup. Herron managed to call 9-1-1
for help; he died later at a local hospital.
Weeks was apprehended and is in cus-
tody facing a murder charge.
Local 3361, in conjunction with Ore-
gon AFSCME Council 75 and the Ore-
gon Department of Corrections, set up a
memorial fund at U.S. Bank and
launched it with a $3,000 donation.
You can contribute through any
branch of U.S. Bank in the United
States. The account name is Buddy Her-
ron/AFSCME Local 3361.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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