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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 4, 2014)
Washington State Labor Council issues political endorsements SEATTLE — Several hundred dele- gates to the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) met at the Machinists 751 Hall in Seattle in June to determine endorsements for the August 2014 pri- mary elections. Endorsement requires a two-thirds majority vote. For Southwest Washington, WSLC endorsed Democrat Bob Dingethal in his challenge to unseat Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler for the 3rd U.S. Congressional District. Herrera Beut- ler was first elected to the House in 2010. Since that time she has operated in near lock-step with John Boehner and the Republican leadership. In 2013 she voted for a bill that Low Prices! Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 would have effectively shut down the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB is the one agency workers whose rights have been violated can turn to for relief. The agency remedies unfair labor practices and defends the right of employees to join a union. Herrera Beutler supported Wiscon- sin U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan that called for large cuts in Medicaid, ending Medicare as we know it by con- verting it into a voucher program, and repealing the Affordable Care Act. It was estimated the plan could give tax cuts as high as an average of $330,000 for households with incomes of more than $1 million a year, and for house- holds with incomes more than $200,000, the tax cut would be nearly $34,500. Families with children and in- comes under $200,000 would have seen their taxes go up by an average of more than $3,000. In addition, it would have required deep cuts to job training, education, food, housing, legal services and advanced technology vehicles manufacturing programs. She also supported the so-called Working Families Flexibility Act, leg- islation that was all about flexibility for employers, not employees. The bill al- lowed employers to provide workers with compensatory time off in lieu of time and half overtime pay. The “comp time” could only be used at the em- ployer’s discretion, and the bill pro- vided no protection for workers who would rather be paid overtime instead of “comp time,” from employer dis- crimination, or for workers whose em- ployers cheat them out of earned comp time. This year, Herrera Beutler joined other Republicans in voting against an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have discouraged the fed- eral government from giving contracts to companies that have committed wage theft. The amendment would have disqualified certain federal con- tracts to any corporation that commit- ted wage theft or had other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The idea was to ensure public dollars don’t go to companies that have documented histories of denying workers their right- fully earned pay. The amendment was defeated on a 196-211 vote, with all Democrats and 10 Republicans voting “yes.” During consideration of a 2014 Mil- itary Construction/Veterans Adminis- tration appropriations bill, Herrera Beutler voted in favor of an amend- ment to bar the use of funds to enforce Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage re- quirements. The Davis-Bacon law en- sures that workers on public construc- tion projects funded by taxpayer dollars are paid a wage comparable to the local standard or “prevailing” wage. It pre- vents unscrupulous contractors from low-balling bids and undercutting com- munity wages with cheap, unskilled la- bor. The amendment failed by a vote of 192-231. As Herrera Beutler wraps up her third term in Congress, she has com- piled a 17 percent voting record as tracked by the national AFL-CIO on is- sues it deems important to working people. Other endorsements by the Wash- ington State Labor Council included: S TATE S UPREME C OURT Mary Yu, Pos. 1; Mary Fairhurst, Pos. 3; Charles Johnson, Pos. 4; Debra Stephens, Pos. 7. Delegates opposed Initiative 1325, sponsored by Tim Eyman, which would amend the state constitution to require a two-thirds supermajority of the Legislature in order to increase taxes of any kind. They resolved to support Initiative 1351, which would dramatically re- duce class sizes in K-12 schools. Delegates will consider additional endorsements at the WSLC’s 2014 Constitutional Convention July 22-24 in Wenatchee. IRS PROBLEMS? District 49 Position 1 Rep. Sharon Wylie (D) Position 2 Rep. Jim Moeller (D) • Haven’t filed for ... years? • Lost records? • Liens - Levies - Garnishments? • Negotiate settlements. • Prepare offer in Compromise. D ISTRICT 17 Position 1 Rep. Monica Stonier (D) Call Nancy D. Anderson Enrolled Agent NPTI Fellow/America’s Tax Expert LTC-1807 D ISTRICT 18 Position 1 Rep. Michael Briggs (D) Position 2 Rep. Maureen Winning- ham (D) www.nancydanderson.com 503-244-2577 THANK YOU! Labor Appreciation Night Contributors Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757; Multnomah County Employees (AFSCME) Local 88; American Income Life; ciation Local 43; Roofers Local 49; Sunrise Dental; Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Teamsters Local 162; Teamsters Local 223; Millers Local 114; Creative Designs by Becky; UFCW Local 555; Unions For Kids; United Steel- IBEW Local 48; Ferguson Wellman Capital Man- workers Local 330; Dave Davalos; U.S. Senator agement; Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Work- Jeff Merkley; and John & Shirley Vandermosten. ers Local 36; Hilton Portland & Executive Tower; Hollywood Impress Printing; I.A.T.S.E. Local 28; Bambi Ooley, I.A.T.S.E. Local B20; IBEW & United Workers Federal Credit Union; Operating Engineers Local 701; Laborers Local 296; Machinists District Lodge W24; Machinists Local Lodge 1005; Machinists Local Lodge 1432; Machinists Local Lodge 63; Northwest Labor Press; Office and Professional Employees Local 11; Oregon Alliance for Retired Americans; PCC Federation of Classified Employees Local 3922; Portland Federation PAGE 8 of School Employees Local 111; Portland Fire Fighters Asso- NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUNTEERS Belinda Reagan, Portland Federation of School Personnel Local 111; Michelle Batten, Local 111; Kathy Muir, Local 111; Eryn Byram, Labor’s Community Service Agency; Vickie Burns, Labor’s Com- munity Service Agency; Lori Vaughn, American Income Life; Jenny & An- thony Gray, Bakers Local 114; Bob & Deborah Petroff, Machinists District Lodge W24; Will & Jill Lukens, Machinists District Lodge W24; Leanna Hakala, American Federation of Teachers, Oregon Retirees, and Karen Carlson, Northwest Oregon Labor Council. JULY 4, 2014
