2/17/09

    This is the Federation Hotline for Tuesday, Feb. 17.

MORE THAN 100 WFSE/AFSCME MEMBERS BRING THE “FIGHT THE ALL-CUTS BUDGET” TO CAPITOL ON PRESIDENTS’ DAY HOLIDAY

    More than 100 Federation members from across the state converged on the Capitol Campus in Olympia on Monday’s Presidents’ Day holiday to fight the governor’s “all-cuts budget.”

    Locals from the entire I-5 corridor, Yakima and the Olympic Peninsula met one-on-one with legislators to give first-hand accounts of the devastating effects of the governor’s proposed budget on the vulnerable, public safety, health, recreation and the environment.

    It comes during a week when an unprecedented early preview of the next revenue forecast comes out. Also up are several hearings on higher education cuts and a major legislative attack on your health benefits.

    The highlight of Monday’s action came at a coalition rally organized by Seattle Local 304, which includes Seattle Community College.

    “This is not the time to cut jobs,” Federation President Carol Dotlich told the Local 304 rally. “When you’re trying to save the economy, preserving a job costs far less than creating an entirely new job….

    “This is the quality of your life. This is the quality of life for your neighborhoods, your communities and your entire state….

    “We have to fight the all-cuts budget.”

    “It hurts all over the place as far as I’m concerned,” said Janice Melrose, a fiscal technician 1 at the Seattle Vocational Institute and a member of Local 304.

“The cuts will hurt public safety,” said Judy Kuschel, a Community Corrections officer 3 in Vancouver and member of Local 313. “They’re going to make a lot of criminals unsupervised and victims of violence won’t have offenders monitored.”

“The cuts disproportionately affect weaker members of society in order to protect the richest members of society,” said Dan D’Haem, a WorkFirst program specialist in Seattle and member of Local 843. “So it’s like the anti-Robin Hood.”

“There’s 60,000 state employees who are all taxpayers and voters in this state and we contribute to the economy and we work, we pay taxes and we provide services in all agencies,” said Diane Rauschenberg, an adult training specialist 2 at Rainier School in Buckley and a member of Local 491.


MEMBERS URGED TO OPPOSE THE HEALTH INSURANCE TAKEAWAY BILL

    A bill that could make you pay much more for health insurance in return for phony “health savings accounts” comes up for a hearing Wednesday in the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee.

    Senate Bill 5898 would “temporarily adjust the state share of spending” on state employee health insurance “to better reflect the difficult budget choices being made in every department and agency of state government while allowing the flexibility of state employees to select different benefit designs that would present no additional financial burden.”

    Those “different benefit designs” would be health savings accounts where you’re given a certain allotment of funds for health care. If you’re healthy, no problem. If you or your family has health issues, you could end up paying much more out of your pocket.

    So, we need to get calls into your senator to oppose SB 5898.

CALL TO ACTION 2/17/09:

• Call your state senator at 1-800-562-6000.

• Urge him or her to reject the health insurance takeaway bill, SB 5898.

• You have a negotiated health insurance package that’s reasonable and responsible.

• State employees are leading the way on cutting health expenses and increasing wellness programs. You shouldn’t be penalized for those efforts.

• Respectfully ask for a response.

• Call on your own time and on your own cell phone.


ALSO:

    We told you that Rep. Ruth Kagi’s reasonable alternative to the Senate’s Child Welfare Services privatization bill comes up for a hearing Tuesday.

    But now another group of Republican senators has introduced another measure that not only privatizes Child Welfare Services but also carves out a new Department of Family and Children’s Services out of DSHS. That bill, SB 6031, was introduced Monday. It’s been assigned to the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee.

    That’s it for now. Call Wednesday for the next message.