PAGE 10 | October 21, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
A Union Guide to the Washington Ballot
Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO,
representing 600 local unions and 400,000
Washington workers, is making the following
recommendations, each of which was
approved by a two-thirds majority of rank-
and-file delegates.
YES on I-1433 for minimum wage
increase and sick leave: Currently, over 1
million Washington workers have no paid sick
time, and an estimated 730,000 workers earn
less than $13.50 an hour. I-1433 would
gradually raise the state minimum wage from
$9.47 to $13.50 by 2020, and provide up to
seven paid safe and sick leave days for all
workers in Washington state.
Yes on I-1501 to protect homecare
workers and seniors: Sponsored by SEIU
775, the union that represents state-paid
homecare workers, I-501 would exempt from
public disclosure the names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of in-home caregivers
and the clients they serve. It would also
increase civil penalties on those who defraud
senior citizens and other vulnerable people.
The measure is a response to the anti-union
Freedom Foundation, which uses publicly
disclosed contact information to try to
convince homecare workers to stop paying
union dues (with the ultimate goal of
weakening the union and the policies it
stands for.)
NO on I-732 carbon tax: WSLC favors a
serious response to global warming, but has
concluded that I-732 is the wrong way to do
it. I-732 would put a carbon emission tax on
the sale or use of fossil fuels and fossil-fuel-
generated electricity, but rather than use the
funds raised to build clean energy
infrastructure and increase conservation, it
uses it to lower other taxes. The carbon tax
would start at $15 per metric ton of
emissions in July 2017, rising to $25 in July
2018, and then annually by 3.5 percent plus
inflation until it reaches $100 per metric ton.
Meanwhile, the measure would lower the
state sales tax from 6.5 to 5.5 percent,
increase the Working Families Tax Credit for
low-income families, and reduce the business
and occupation tax rate on manufacturers
from 0.484 to almost nothing – 0.001
percent [Hi Boeing!]. The tax cuts are in the
measure because for political reasons,
measure sponsors wanted I-732 to be
revenue neutral. But it now appears they
miscalculated, and I-732 actually would
result in a cut in state funding for schools and
services of over $100 million a year.
YES on I-735 to repeal Citizens United:
In its 2010 Citizens United decision, the U.S.
Supreme Court eliminated limits on corporate
expenditures for political candidates and
opened the floodgates for corporate cash to
influence elections. I-735 decision would
urge the Washington state congressional
delegation to propose a federal constitutional
amendment that constitutional rights belong
only to individuals, not corporations, and
constitutionally-protected free speech
excludes the spending of money.
U.S. CONGRESS
Third Congressional District — Jim Moeller
STATEWIDE RACES
Governor — Jay Inslee
Lt. Governor — Cyrus Habib
Insurance Comm. — Mike Kreidler
Attorney General — Bob Ferguson
Lands Commission — Hilary Franz
Secretary of State — Tina Podlodowski
State Auditor — Pat McCarthy
State Treasurer — Duane Davidson
Supt. of Public Instruction — Chris Reykdal
STATE SUPREME COURT
Pos. 1 — Mary Yu
Pos. 5 — Barbara Madsen
Pos. 6 — Charles Wiggins
LEGISLATURE, SW WASHINGTON
17th Legislative District
Senate — Tim Probst
House 1 — Sam Kim
19th Legislative District
Senate — Dean Takko
House 1 — Teresa Purcell
House 2 — Brian Blake
49th Legislative District
Senate — Annette Cleveland
House 1 — Sharon Wylie
House 2 — Monica Stonier
BALLOT DEADLINES
Washington ballots are mailed out
Oct. 21 and should be received no
later than Oct. 25. They must be post-
marked no later than Nov. 8 – Elec-
tion Day – or returned to a ballot drop
box by 8 p.m. Election Day.
NATIONAL
Workers at Jim Beam go on
strike over forced overtime
Chicago teachers avert
strike with 11th-hour deal
On Oct. 15, 252 members of
United Food and Commercial
Workers Local 111D went out
on strike at Jim Beam plants in
Clermont and Boston, Ken-
tucky. The key issue is a union
demand that the company hire
more workers so current em-
ployees can spend more time
with their families — instead
of continuing to work up to 80
hours a week. Amid a nation-
wide revival of interest in Ken-
tucky bourbon, workers at the
two plants are working 12-
hour shifts six or seven days a
week. Jim Beam, the world’s
largest bourbon producer, is
owned by Suntory Holdings
Ltd., a Japanese beverage
company. The two sides had
been bargaining since April,
and the previous contract ex-
pired in August. The strike
comes after workers voted
201-19 to reject a contract pro-
posal that included substantial
wage increases and eliminated
a two-tier wage system but
didn’t solve the overtime issue.
Just before midnight Oct. 10
— six hours before 29,000
teachers were set to go on
strike — the Chicago Teachers
Union and the city school
board agreed on a tentative
four-year contract. The con-
tract provides 3.5 percent
raises for new hires in January
and July 2017, and cost-of-liv-
ing raises totalling 4.6 percent
in its third and fourth years.
Union members will pay 0.8
percent more for health care
coverage. But the new contract
adds enforceable limits on
class sizes. The school board
also promised huge new in-
vestments in schools and
teachers. Teachers had been
without a contract since July 1,
2015. In 2012, teachers made
gains after a week-long strike
that shut schools for an esti-
mated 350,000 students.