March 2009
4 posts
SEIU 925 gives up raises, wants savings spent on... →
Union drops contract lawsuit against Washington... →
UW staff: Forget the raise, and forget layoffs,... →
Emmert says his own salary is on the table as UW... →
February 2009
10 posts
State budget doom coming soon to the workplace →
State wins union lawsuit: Gregoire can shelve... →
Gov. Chris Gregoire should have done things differently in negotiating with state employee unions, but her decision to shelve new contracts with the unions stands, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch said Wednesday.
Gregoire: Combine small schools, overhaul biz tax →
Gov. Chris Gregoire pushed for more overhauls of state government today, asking business leaders for a plan to reform Washington’s main business tax and calling for consolidation of small public schools.
Poetry for a Recession →
There’s a Hole in the Middle of the State by Kurt Guenther
There’s a hole in the middle of the state/There’s a hole in the middle of the state/Where compassion used to be/Like fighting poverty/And making sure our kids are doing great
UW braces for 600 layoffs; deeper state cuts could... →
The University of Washington says it will need to cut 600 jobs under the budget proposed by Gov. Chris Gregoire — a number that could rise to 800 if lawmakers make deeper cuts.
NYT: Throwing schools out the window →
So this is what the Senate seems to be coming down to: keeping bridges and throwing students out the window. The effort to prune the stimulus package to make it more palatable to Republicans is focused on slashing money for education.
Obama's stimulus plan to boost economy begins at... →
President Barack Obama is pushing a different type of first aid for the ailing economy through Congress — one that sees families and their daily worries about child care and education as a key to our economic recovery.
Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Elma SDs face budget ax →
Aberdeen School District is looking at losing $600,000 in levy equalization money and Hoquiam is looking at losing $430,000. Elma stands to lose $786,000 in a single year out of a budget of $17 million.
Report: State has options to widen health care →
Washington could save money on health care by implementing an approach that’s already used for public employees, according to a consultant’s report.
Welfare Aid Not Growing As Economy Drops Off →
Despite soaring unemployment and the worst economic crisis in decades, 18 states cut their welfare rolls last year, and nationally the number of people receiving cash assistance remained at or near the lowest in more than 40 years.
January 2009
12 posts
Washington pension fund loses a fifth of its value... →
Washington’s public employee pension fund lost about a fifth of its value in 2008, bumping up the unfunded liability…likely requiring workers to pay more into the system.
Skyrocketing Health-Care Costs Could Double... →
Left unchecked, the costs of employer-paid health insurance will jump from $11,381 to $24,291 in the next seven years, according to the report, which was released Wednesday by the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).
Schools could get millions from federal stimulus... →
Whatcom school districts expressed optimism when they found out the U.S. House of Representatives had just thrown about $14 million their way.
“The House Democrats’ [2009 budget] plan would cut…less than Gregoire’s...”
– The Daily News: State’s House Democrats unveil savings plan
Robert Reich: The union way up →
Go back about 50 years, when America’s middle class was expanding and the economy was soaring. Paychecks were big enough to allow us to buy all the goods and services we produced. It was a virtuous circle. Good pay meant more purchases, and more purchases meant more jobs.
Health Insurance Premium Sucker Punch →
A quarter of officials from 350 large corporations said they had increased deductibles an average of 9 percent in 2008. And 30 percent of the employers said they expected to raise deductibles an average of 14 percent in 2009.
No new students at UW in Seattle this spring, says... →
The University of Washington has taken the drastic step of closing its doors to new students who want to start classes this spring.
Seattle biotech rewards execs after stock dropped... →
But the cash-strapped Seattle biotech’s top five executives had reason to celebrate Dec. 31: That day they were awarded year-end bonuses totaling more than $1 million.
WA goal to insure all kids could fall to budget ax →
The state budget problems threaten to halt Washington’s advance toward universal health care for children by 2010 — a cornerstone of Gov. Chris Gregoire’s first run for governor in 2004 and a pledge etched in law with the landmark Cover All Kids bill that passed in 2007.
Seattle Times: As stores close, Starbucks buys a... →
Starbucks bought a $45 million corporate jet last month at about the same time it told employees that it is reconsidering how much it will match in their 401(k) plans this year. The new jet, a Gulfstream 550, spent its first two weeks under Starbucks ownership in Hawaii, according to flight records at FlightAware.com.
“A new lawsuit was filed Tuesday by child care providers, asking a court to force...”
– Spokesman.com | Blogs | Eye On Olympia | Third lawsuit filed by union members unhappy with Gregoire budget
Spokesman-Review: Gregoire's decision not to... →
The Service Employees International Union Local 925, which represents childcare workers, filed its suit today at the state Supreme Court, seeking a court order requiring the governor to include the contract in her budget request to lawmakers. Arbitrator had awarded 1.6 percent pay increases in 2009 and 2 percent in 2010.
December 2008
17 posts
NYT: Hilda Solis--Champion for Free Choice, if... →
There is no doubt that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen a labor secretary who could be a transformative force in a long-neglected arena. The question is whether he will let her.
Paul Krugman: Fifty Herbert Hoovers
→
Even as Washington tries to rescue the economy, the nation will be reeling from the actions of 50 Herbert Hoovers — state governors who are slashing spending in a time of recession, often at the expense both of their most vulnerable constituents and of the nation’s economic future.
NYTimes:Wal-Mart Settles 63 Lawsuits Over Wages →
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE and STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM Published: December 23, 200. Wal-Mart Stores, the nation’s largest retailer, said Tuesday that it would pay up to $640 million to settle some 63 wage-and-hour lawsuits that accused it of forcing employees to work off the clock and go without meal and rest breaks.
Early Ed Watch Blog: Stimulating Child Care →
Parents who’ve lost their jobs are pulling their children out of preschool and child care programs. Child care centers in hard-hit areas are struggling to stay afloat amid growing vacancies, threatening the care other families need to stay in the workforce.
Obama Bolsters Recovery Plans as Economic Outlook... →
Bob Herbert, NYT: Hope Amid the Gloom →
Is the end of the war in sight?
I don’t mean Iraq. I’m talking about the war against working people in the U.S. that has taken such a vicious economic toll over the past three decades.
Schwarzenegger orders mass layoffs, unpaid... →
Union leaders for state employees vow to challenge the legality of the mandatory time off, which amounts to about a 9% pay cut, according to the state’s finance department. By Patrick McGreevy and Jordan Rau, December 19, 2008. Sacramento — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday ordered mass layoffs and unpaid furloughs for state workers starting in February to address...
P-I: Frugal budget wins few friends
Gregoire... →
“For low income individduals and families, this is the nightmare before Christmas.”
Seattle Times: Gregoire releases slimmed-down... →
Gov. Christine Gregoire released an austere state budget proposal this morning that slashes more than $3.5 billion in funding for public schools, higher education, social services and other areas to help close the biggest budget shortfall in state history.
AP: Gregoire's budget to target kids' health plan →
By CURT WOODWARD, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. OLYMPIA — State payments for disabled people who can’t work and plans to increase health coverage for kids will be among the spending cuts in Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget proposal, a senior state official has told The Associated Press.
Olympian: Budget cuts to take toll on services →
By Adam Wilson | The Olympian. Tests for cancer, child care quality ratings for parents, health insurance for the working class — cutting back on any one of them would draw plenty of attention in good times.
WaPost: Obama Picks Chicago's Schools Chief For... →
By Anne E. Kornblut and Philip Rucker, Tuesday, December 16. President-elect Barack Obama nominated Chicago schools executive Arne Duncan as his education secretary this morning…
Seattle Times: State's jobless rate rises to 6.4%... →
Washington state’s unemployment rate rose to 6.4 percent in November from 6.3 in October as the retail and construction sectors suffered from the ongoing recession.
Seattle Times: Gov. Gregoire suggesting budget... →
The two-year budget that Gov. Chris Gregoire will propose to the Legislature is expected to have a number of spending cuts to address a revenue shortfall of more than $5 billion.
1 tag
Chopp: Washington's deficit not that bad →
By Michelle Dupler,Tri-City Herald. KENNEWICK — House Speaker Frank Chopp said Washington’s projected deficit may not be as bad as it looks.
2 tags
Olympian: Tax exemptions under microscope →
By Brad Shannon, The Olympian. If state lawmakers wanted to raise money by closing tax exemptions, there are 567 to choose from. Taken together, the tax breaks cut $53 billion in potential revenues that the state might have received and $45 million more to local governments.
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PI: Plan to rate day cares falls victim to economy →
By PAUL NYHAN, P-I REPORTER. Washington suspended work on its new child care rating program this month, as the deepening recession forced Gov. Chris Gregoire to halt one of her boldest proposals to improve the care of infants, toddlers and preschoolers.