Labor groups blast top party

Former Ties: Organizations backing workers say Democrats take up corporations’ interests over theirs

BRAD SHANNON; The Olympian | • Published August 02, 2009

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A few of Washington’s major labor groups say they are mad as heck and don’t want to take it any longer – and this time, they’re talking about their friends in the Democratic Party.

Wounded by what they see as a Democratic majority co-opted by The Boeing Co. and other powerful business groups at the Legislature, Washington State Labor Council officials say they won’t give money as freely to Democratic groups in the future.

The council has formed a new political action committee dubbed DIME – Don’t Invest in More Excuses – that is designed to give the council and allies more control over who gets help. The council also is looking at its grassroots and endorsement policies, which likely will mean less manpower aid to candidates, less money for the state Democratic Party and less money for House and Senate caucus campaign committees run by Democrats.

“We want a little bit more control over where our dollars go,” said Rick Bender, president of the Washington State Labor Council, which provided money for independent ads helping Gov. Chris Gregoire’s re-election and an estimated 250,000 telephone calls to voters to help her. He said it is no more business as usual for labor.

The council holds its convention Friday and Aug. 8 in Wenatchee, and instead of celebrating victories in 2009 after helping to re-elect a governor and maintain huge Democratic majorities in the Legislature, labor is nursing its wounds, feeling burned by friends.

“Our relationship is not like it was before going into the 2008 election,” Bender said recently. “No question we’ve decided we are going to change the way we’re going to finance these campaigns.’’

Democratic Party and legislative leaders are taking labor’s rebuke in stride. Some lawmakers who abruptly killed labor’s priority – a worker- privacy bill – say they still might consider the bill in January.

The privacy measure is aimed at preventing employers from forcing workers to listen to political, religious or other issues of conscience in the workplace. Business groups led by Boeing made it a priority to kill it, claiming that it limited a business’ ability to communicate with workers.

The bill was tabled after a labor council lobbyist’s e-mail made a reference to the bill and campaign donations. But in a move that insulted labor, lawmakers asked for an investigation by the Washington State Patrol, which the patrol quickly rejected for lack of substance.

“A lot of us were disappointed we didn’t get worker privacy through, but I don’t think it’s dead,” said Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, who serves as the chairman of the House Democrats’ campaign committee that recruits and supports candidates it likes.

Labor also is bitter over lawmakers’ refusal to grant a permanent increase in jobless pay benefits or to find new resources to pay for government workers’ health care and salaries. Association of Washington Business President Don Brunell has said that labor is out of touch with business realities. He and Boeing have contended that costs of doing business are too high to allow for funding workers’ compensation, unemployment benefits and other costs.

Hunt, whose Democrats hold 63 House seats and 31 Senate seats, said Democrats did pass a number of labor-friendly bills, including a temporary increase in jobless benefits. Some labor bills passed in the House, only to die in the Senate, he said.

“All I can tell you is I understand there are raw feelings, and we are doing everything we can at the Democratic Party to restore the traditional alliance between labor and the Democratic Party,” state Democratic Party chairman Dwight Pelz said. Pelz planned meetings with House Speaker Frank Chopp, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and Gregoire “to urge them to sort of restore our traditional working relationship.’’

Brown said labor and Democrats are traditional allies that work toward a common goal to help working families, so she expects to find that common ground again.

Others said it’s too early to tell how Democrats might be affected. So far, labor groups are largely sitting out the 16th Legislative District race in which Rep. Laura Grant is running for the unexpired term left by her late father, longtime Democratic Rep. Bill Grant of Walla Walla.

Laura Grant is the top fundraiser in the race against five others, but she does not have donations from labor groups that gave to her father a year ago – including the teachers union, Washington Federation of State Employees, Public School Employees and technical engineers. Grant said the Public School Employees endorsed her, and she hopes for a labor council endorsement or support.

“I understand they are in a bit of a predicament. I of course need all the help I can get,” Grant said. “Without the support of labor, it’s a difficult race.”

Grant’s record on labor issues was only 14 percent in favor in 2009, which makes that unlikely, Labor Council spokeswoman Kathy Cummings said.

“We’re not holding her out as an example. We’re holding to our new prescribed strategy. We’re looking for champions. She obviously isn’t,” Cummings said.

The Washington Federation of State Employees also has donated to DIME PAC and is declining to help Grant.

The federation last stepped back like this in 1994, after saying large Democratic majorities failed to deliver for workers.

Republican Rep. Cary Condotta of Wenatchee said he thinks the Grant race is too close to call, and that he doesn’t think labor can make the difference. But he thinks labor’s threats to Democrats are real, and that division among Democrats over which of labor’s priorities to support is welcome for the minority party.

Brad Shannon: 360-753-1688

bshannon@theolympian.com

www.theolympian.com/politicsblog