Under the theme, “Building Bridges: Labor and Community,” the convention will feature many distinguished guest speakers and educational workshops focused on organized labor’s efforts to build community coalitions to achieve broadly shared prosperity for working families. (And to build bridges… in Vancouver.) Panels will address creating environmentally sustainable jobs, comprehensive immigration reform, implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, and other labor-community partnerships.

In addition, delegates will have the opportunity to participate in an AFL-CIO Listening Session about the future of the labor movement. Delegates’ input will be critical this September, when the AFL-CIO — the union federation uniting more than 12 million working men and women — will convene in Los Angeles to make big decisions about new ways to help working people gain a voice. These will include new forms of representation for workers, new approaches to politics and the global economy, new community partnerships, and more.

The official photo of the 2012 WSLC Convention held in Wenatchee. (Click to enlarge.)

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to be a part of the evolution of the state and national labor movements! Ask your local union or council about how you can serve as a delegate or alternate to the WSLC Convention in Vancouver. Delegates can register online.

Rooms at the Vancouver Hilton, the only unionized hotel in the city, were sold out shortly after the convention call was mailed to affiliated unions. However, a block of rooms are also being held until June 23 at the nearby Red Lion Vancouver at the Quay, 360-694-8341. There may not be many of those left, so call today!

RESOLUTIONS

The Washington State Labor Council’s Constitution says that proposed resolutions should be submitted 30 days prior to convention (in this case, June 25). However, “late” resolutions are routinely accepted right up until the first day of convention and also will be considered by delegates. Affiliates are urged to submit these resolutions at the earliest possible time to facilitate reproduction and distribution to the convention body.

These resolutions are a key part not just of the WSLC Convention, but of the organization itself. It is through their debate and passage that WSLC positions and policies are established. Any WSLC-affiliated union may submit resolutions. See the resolutions approved in 2012 for examples of the diverse issues that are covered. The resolutions are first referred to various committees that will meet Thursday afternoon and consider whether to recommend changes or corrections. Debate and voting on the resolutions, and any committee amendments, will take place Saturday.

EVENTS

This convention is a great opportunity for union officers, staff and rank-and-file delegates to hear from political and labor leaders, attend informative workshops, develop relationships with other unions — and have some fun. The action actually begins on Wednesday, July 24. In addition to the actual agenda of the plenary sessions and workshops, special convention events include:

10th Annual WSLC Golf Invitational

Delegates who plan to attend the convention should make plans to come a day early on Wednesday, July 24 for the 10th Annual WSLC Golf Invitational hosted by the WSLC, Labor 1992 Corp., Foundation for Working Families, and Union Home Services. It will be held at the Camas Meadows Golf Course, which is a 20-minute drive from the Vancouver Hilton. Download the tournament brochure for more info, including sponsorship opportunities and registration.

All tournament proceeds benefit the Foundation for Working Families disaster relief funds, as well as community service agencies in Washington State. This past year, the Foundation helped many union members and their families facing serious hardships and there is a great need to rebuild those funds for members in need. Not a golfer? Please consider donating to the Foundation for Working Families by sending your generous tax-deductible contributions to the Foundation for Working Families, c/o the Washington State Labor Council, 906 Columbia St. S.W. #330, Olympia, WA, 98501. For more information, call the Foundation for Working Families at 360-570-5169.

“Tools of the Trade” exhibit

The Southwest Washington Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, has been working with the Clark County Historical Museum for months to bring labor’s history in Southwest Washington to light and to the public. The museum will open an exhibit on July 11 entitled “Tools of the Trade: A History of Labor in Southwest Washington,” which will be on display for 18 months. (Learn more about exhibit sponsorship opportunities.)

In conjunction with the WSLC Convention, an open house at the exhibit will be hosted by Washington Young Emerging Labor Leaders (WA YELL) from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 24 — see the event flier — which is the evening preceding the start of the convention.

Women’s Committee Auction

The WSLC Women’s Committee holds a silent auction every year during the annual convention to raise money for scholarships for rank-and-file women to attend various labor-oriented institutes and schools throughout the summer months. This year the scholarship fund will be able to send five women to the 32nd Annual Western Regional Summer Institute for Union Women being held this year at the University of Washington in Seattle. This summer school offers a series of in-depth courses, workshops, and other useful information.

The Women’s Committee is seeking donations of union memorabilia, goods and services that can be offered at this year’s silent auction to raise money for these important scholarships. For further details or if you have questions, email Kairie Pierce or call her at 360-570-5167.

AWARDS

WSLC Standing Committees also present awards at the annual convention for distinguished service. Nominations for those awards are now being accepted. See these previous stories for more information about each award:

Name nominations for Mother Jones awards (deadline July 1)

Nominees sought for 2013 Bruce Brennan apprenticeship award (deadline June 7)

Women’s Committee seeks awards nominees (deadline June 1 for Elsie Schrader Award)

There are other great events planned in conjunction with the WSLC’s 2013 Convention, including of course, the COPE Barbecue where delegates can meet and mingle with lawmakers and candidates. Contact your local union about serving as a delegate or alternate, and come see for yourself!

For more information, call the WSLC Seattle office at 206-281-8901.

UPDATE — A public memorial service for Kenney will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 1 at the Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way N.E., in Seattle.

A memorial for Parry is planned for Saturday, June 29, 2-5 p.m. in Hall 1 of the Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 First Avenue. Donations in his name may be made to Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action at 2800 1st Ave. #262, Seattle, WA, 98121, to continue his work.

Lawrence Kenney, former president of the Washington State Labor Council, passed away Tuesday at his home in Seattle after a long illness. He was surrounded by his wife, former Rep. Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney, and his children. He was 82.

Born May 15, 1930, in Chicago, Kenney was raised in the Bremerton area, where he graduated from Bremerton High School in 1947. He worked for 17 years as a newspaper and job shop printer. He was an activist in his union, the International Typographical Union. He served a six-year apprenticeship at the San Francisco Chronicle and worked in Seattle at The Seattle Times and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. While working at the P-I, Kenney attended the University of Washington where he earned his degree in economics. After graduation, he worked as a certified public accountant.

Kenney was hired by the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, in 1969 to serve as Research Director. He was elected to serve as Secretary-Treasurer from 1980 to 1986, serving with then-President Marvin Williams. In 1986, Kenney was elected WSLC President, a position he held until 1993, working alongside Secretary-Treasurer Al Brisbois. After retiring from the WSLC, Kenney served on the Washington State Board of Tax Appeals from 1993-99 and on the Executive Board of Energy Northwest since 2000.

WSLC President Jeff Johnson called Kenney “mentor”

I first met Larry Kenney in 1986. I had just moved to the state, was looking for work and thought it would be a good thing to pay a courtesy visit to the President of the WSLC. That visit turned into the first of two interviews, a consulting project, and then the offer of Research Director and lead lobbyist position for the Council. Larry was smart, articulate, did not suffer fools lightly, could not do small talk to save his life, was rough around the edges, but he was endowed with a sharp intellectual curiosity and a penchant for problem solving. Larry always said to look at the assumptions, the argument hangs together or not right there. Larry’s analytical acumen made him one of the best I have ever seen testifying before a legislative committee.

And Larry was a trade unionist through and through. Larry committed the moral support and resources of the WSLC to the emerging farm workers movement in Washington State in 1987 even though some affiliates, at the time, saw no particular value in these activities. Larry was committed to doing the right and just thing.

Larry Kenney was a boss, a mentor, and most importantly he was a friend. I last spoke to him six weeks ago when he called me to lobby me to support an individual for state government board position — I agreed. Larry Kenney’s work and life made a difference to the labor movement whether it was through strengthening the workers’ compensation system, running the first minimum wage initiative in 1988, which included farm workers and tipped employees, or reminding us of the importance of the judicial system on working peoples’ lives. I will miss Larry Kenney. He will be missed.

A longtime member of the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, Kenney previously served on Governor Gardner’s Council of Economic Advisors, the Governor’s Commission on Accountability and Efficiency in State Government, the Economic Development Alliance of Washington, and many other boards, commissions and civic organizations. He was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Point of Personal Privilege — Larry Kenney was WSLC President when The Entire Staff of The Stand was first hired in 1992. Larry was always kind, gracious and patient with us, despite our limited experience and knowledge of organized labor. And Larry always remembered to inquire about our beloved Baltimore Orioles whenever we saw him, including in recent years as he enjoyed retirement with his wonderful wife, Phyllis. We will always remember him for his commitment to working families, to effective government, and to his community.

Will Parry, President Emeritus of the Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action and longtime editor of the Retiree Advocate newsletter, passed away Tuesday in Seattle after a lengthy illness. He was preceded in death in 2006 by his companion over several decades of labor and social justice activism, his dear wife Louise Parry.

“Will Parry epitomized the best of the labor movement,” said Jeff Johnson, President of the Washington State Labor Council. “He believed in collective bargaining rights, but he also believed in our obligation to fight for social and economic justice for all people and all communities. Will was soft spoken but his words resonated loud and clear. I will remember his sense of humor, his sense of dignity, and his music. Will’s spirit remains with us each day we continue the good fight for the working class.”

A child of the Great Depression, Parry attended Washington State College (now Washington State University) and became active in the Communist Party. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, he lived in the Puget Sound area working as a journalist for progressive and Communist newspapers until he was driven out of the business as part of the Red Scare in the 1950s.

Parry then went to work at Longview Fibre’s corrugated box factory in South Seattle. Bill Farris, President of the Association of Western Pulp & Paper Workers Local 817, said Parry became a leader in the union during his 21 years working for Longview Fibre, eventually serving as the AWPPW’s first elected lobbyist in Olympia.

“He was an advocate for people who needed help, an advocate for the union,” Farris said in a 2010 interview. “I’ve lost count of the number of picket lines I’ve walked with Will.”

Parry later shared his experience and wisdom with future generations when he taught in the Shoreline College Labor Studies Program. In recent years, Will has worked tirelessly as the Editor of the Retiree Advocate, the monthly newsletter of the Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, an organization for which he also served as President.

“Will was a warrior for working people for more than seven decades,” said Robby Stern, President of PSARA. “His leadership, compassion and deep commitment to economic and social justice was an inspiration to several generations of labor union and progressive activists in the Puget Sound region. He was a highly skilled journalist whose passionate and entertaining writing reached across the country. In recent years he was not only a fierce voice for justice for working people but also became deeply concerned with the threat to our planet posed by the fossil fuel industry. He was an emotional and intellectual leader of PSARA and will be deeply missed.”

Parry was honored in 2002 with a special lifetime achievement award from the Washington State Labor Council for his continuous activism on behalf of working families. In 2010, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Parry was celebrated as a “hero of organized labor,” with more than 400 turning out at the Seattle Labor Temple to wish him a happy birthday. See a profile of Parry published in Real Change in 2010.

Dan Coffman, President of ILWU Local 21 in Longview, accepts the 2012 Mother Jones Award that was presented to his union.

The Mother Jones Award of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, has been recognized for more than 15 years as the state labor movement’s award that recognizes our own members in their struggle for dignity and respect for all working men and women in our state. The WSLC has traditionally presented two awards, one to an individual and one to an organization.

Since this award’s inception, the Economic Development, Job Retention and Transportation Committee has had the honor of recommending recipients to the WSLC Executive Board. All WSLC-affiliated unions are urged to consider whether they know an individual and/or a labor organization who meets the criteria described above and make nominations for these awards.

The committee is looking for candidates who best exemplify the tradition of Mary “Mother” Jones’ immortal statement, “Mourn for the dead, but fight like hell for the living!”

Please download the Mother Jones Award nomination form and return it by July 1. You can mail it to the address on the form or submit it electronically to Caitlyn Jekel or Bill Messenger. Each submission should include a memo to the committee (200 words or less), describing why the nominating organization believes the individual or organization deserves to be recognized.

In 2012, the Mother Jones organizational award was presented to International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 21 and the individual award was presented to Charlie Best (OPEIU Local 8), Director of the King County Reemployment Support Center, AFL-CIO. Here is TVW coverage of those award presentations.

If you have questions or need further information about the Mother Jones awards, please contact WSLC WIA Labor Liaisons Bill Messenger or Caitlyn Jekel. Bill can be reached at 360.357.8736 (bmessenger@wslc.org) and Caitlyn can be reached at 360.705.9469 (cjekel@wslc.org).

ALSO at The Stand:

Nominees sought for 2013 Bruce Brennan apprenticeship award (deadline June 7)

Women’s Committee seeks scholarship, awards nominees (deadlines are May 9 for Summer Institute for Union Women scholarships, and June 1 for Elsie Schrader Award)

“Rebecca has been a fierce and articulate advocate in the Legislature for workers and the council’s affiliated unions these past five years,” said WSLC President Jeff Johnson. “She has become an expert on workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, employment standards, and so much more. Under Rebecca’s leadership we have significantly improved our affiliates’ exposure to the legislative process and have won both legislative and administrative gains for the labor movement. Her steady hand and wise counsel will be missed.”

Arledge said, “I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to work for the 400,000 working families we represent and to be a part of awesome United Labor Lobby. I’m looking forward to working together on progressive causes in the future.”

Effective today, WSLC Legislative and Policy Director Teresa Mosqueda will serve as Government Affairs Director and continue to work with the council’s core lobbying team in Olympia. Since joining the WSLC in 2011, Mosqueda has been the lead on health care policy and has served as Chair of the Healthy Washington Coalition, the state’s largest health advocacy group.

Teresa was appointed by the Governor to represent workers in Washington and the Healthy Washington Coalition on the Health Insurance Exchange Board and now serves as Chair of the Exchange Public Policy Committee.  Teresa represents the labor council on the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Committee, the Human Trafficking Task Force, and works with affiliates and community partners to staff the Stop Wage Theft Coalition and the Farmworker Coalition.

“Over the last two years I have had the honor to work along side affiliated unions and community partners in the fight for social justice and workers’ rights,” Mosqueda said. “I look forward to continuing this work and advancing our priorities together in this new role.”

After the 2013 legislative sessions conclude, the WSLC will begin its search for a new Legislative and Policy Director. In the meantime, the council is fortunate to be able to retain intern Katie Garrow through June 2013.

The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, is the largest union organization in the state, representing the interests of more than 600 local unions with approximately 400,000 rank-and-file union members. For more information, visit www.wslc.org.

Don Guillot of IBEW Local 77 won the 2012 Bruce Brennan Memorial Award.

(April 26, 2013) — Since 1999, the Washington State Labor Council’s Education, Training and Apprenticeship Committee (ETA) has honored the lifetime achievements of Bruce Brennan by giving an award in his name to the individual who has contributed the most to furthering the cause of apprenticeship, education and training in Washington State.

The ETA Committee is now seeking nominations for the 2013 Bruce Brennan Memorial Award, which will be presented at the presented at the WSLC’s 2013 Convention to be held July 25-27 at the Vancouver Hilton Hotel. Nominees for this award must exhibit leadership, commitment and dedication to the principles of apprenticeship, education and training for the people of Washington State.

Download the nomination form and return it no later than Friday, June 7. Feel free to submit the form via email to Jan Hays, or if you have questions about the award, contact Jan Hays at 206-281-8901.

In 2012, the Bruce Brennan Memorial Award was presented to Don Guillot of IBEW Local 77. Here is TVW coverage from that presentation:

The committee is offering four scholarships to the 32nd Annual Western Regional Summer Institute for Union Women (SIUW) being held this year at the University of Washington in Seattle on June 25-29. Sponsored by the AFL-CIO and the United Association for Labor Education, this week of in-depth courses, workshops, solidarity and fun will honor, strengthen, and support women in the labor movement.

At least 125 union women from the western United States will attend SIUW 2013, which will feature core classes on collective bargaining, labor’s legislative agenda, organizing, strategic campaigns and labor law, plus workshops on everything from civil disobedience to women’s labor history to the Affordable Care Act. Learn more, including how to register, here.

The WSLC Women’s Committee scholarships include tuition, room-and-board provided at the facility, and reasonable travel expenses. No time loss will be paid. Participants must be able to take vacation or union leave. Download the scholarship application and return it, along with a 100-word or less letter from the applicant explaining why you’d like to attend. The deadline for submissions is May 9.

In addition, the WSLC Women’s Committee is seeking nominees for the 2013 Elsie Schrader Award for the advancement of women in leadership roles and/or for activism on behalf of women within the labor movement. Nominees for this award must meet at least three of the following criteria:

• Served a minimum of two years in a leadership/activism with their local union;
• Performed an outstanding service, which commands recognition, within the labor community;
• Served in a leadership role on the passage of legislation benefiting organized labor and/or the community;
• Took a leadership role in advanced critical issues such as worker safety, minimum wage, comparable worth, human services/needs, environmental health, prevailing wage
• Participated in educational projects either through their local union or through some other labor organization
• Served as a leader in organizing either through their local union or through some other labor organization.

Nicole Grant of IBEW Local 46 won the 2011 Elsie Schrader Award.

Download a nomination form for the Elsie Schrader Award. The deadline for nominations is June 1. The award will be presented at the WSLC’s 2013 Convention to be held July 25-27 at the Vancouver Hilton Hotel.

If you have questions about the scholarships or the award, please contact Women’s Committee staff liaison Kairie Pierce (via email) at 360-943-0608.

MayWorks, the annual month-long celebration of workers’ culture and history first organized in 2012 by Washington’s labor movement, is just two weeks away and you should mark your calendars to attend the many great events planned for May 2013, including many events at the Northwest Folklife Festival on Memorial Day Weekend.

MayWorks has a new website — MayWorksWA.org — that includes everything you need to know, including a growing calendar of events and even a MayWorks 2013 reading list. Here are a few of the highlights (check back at the site as more events are added):

MAY 3-5 – Pacific Northwest Labour History Association Conference in Portland OR — The PNLHA’s 45th Annual Labor History Conference, under the theme “Labor Under Attack: Learning from the Past and Preparing for the Future,” will be held in Portland. Click here for the event brochure for event details and locations.

SATURDAY, MAY 4 – MayWorks Kickoff Concert at the Seattle Labor Temple (2800 1st Ave.), 7 to 9 p.m. –  Washington YELL presents the MayWorks 2013 Kickoff Concert featuring hip-hop artists RA Scion (formerly of Common Market) and John Crown (with Jasper T. & the Homies), and R&B singer Camila Recchio. Tickets are $12 at the door. Call 206-281-8901 for more information. This all-ages event is sponsored by the Washington State Labor Council, the MayWorks Committee, and the Washington Federation of State Employees Next Wave.

MONDAY, MAY 6 — Deadline to enter the 2013 MayWorks video contest! — Participants will submit 3- to 5-minute films with the theme “We Do the Work.” Winners will receive cash prizes and have their videos screened at the NW Folklife (as well as posted here at The Stand). Submit video contest entries — including the film’s title, filmmaker’s name and union affiliation –  to Kamaria Hightower, c/o Washington State Labor Council, 314 1st Ave. West, Seattle, WA, 98119. Entries can be submitted electronically via email but must be in a form that can be transferred to DVD for screenings. The winners will be announced at NW Folklife on Sunday, May 26. For more information, see the video-contest flyer.

FRIDAY, MAY 10 — Women in Trades Conference at the Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. — Many women have never considered career options such as welding, electricity or carpentry, but these opportunities are available, and even more so as baby boomer workers are nearing retirement. This free event is a prime opportunity for women of all ages to meet recruiters and tradeswomen such as carpenters, electricians, painters and bricklayers, then learn about wages and salaries, training and necessary skills.

SATURDAY, MAY 11 — TPP Forum at the Central CO-OP/Madison Market Annex, 2 to 5 p.m. — May 11 is World Fair Trade Day & International Day of Action against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Find out why the TPP matters to you and what you can do about it at this forum at the Central CO-OP/Madison Market Annex, 1900 E. Madison in Seattle (corner of 19th & Madison).

SATURDAY, MAY 18 — Tacoma Labor History Walks at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. — As part of MayWorks, the Pierce County Central Labor Council has organized these two walks. To participate, meet on the steps of UW Tacoma on Pacific Avenue across from the State History Museum. One walk will be led by State Sen. Steve Conway (D-Tacoma) and the other by PCCLC Secretary-Treasurer Patty Rose. For more info, email Ross Rieder or call him at 206-406-2604.

TUESDAY, MAY 21 – Bill Fletcher, Jr. at the Vancouver Hilton, 5 p.m. — Join Bill Fletcher, Jr., a well-known social movement theorist and activist, for a discussion about the current state of the economy, the labor movement and next steps for rebuilding the labor movement — and America. A former senior staff member of the AFL-CIO, Fletcher is the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum; a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies; an editorial board member of BlackCommentator.com; and in the leadership of several other projects. This event is free and open to the public.

MAY 24-27 – Northwest Folklife Festival at the Seattle Center — Washington Works, inspired by MayWorks, will be the central cultural focus at the festival, which will feature performances, exhibits, panels, presentations, labor folklore videos, films, and demonstrations of craft traditions from a wide range of trades and local communities. Exhibits will include “Images of Labor and Social Justice: The Art of Richard V. Correll;” “Journey for Justice: 223 Years of Asian Pacific American Labor History in the Puget Sound;” and “Men Along the Shore and the Legacy of 1934 (ILWU).” Films will include the documentary, “Shift Change: Dignified Jobs in Democratic Workplaces.” The festival’s Narrative Stage will feature presentations about labor education in Washington State, immigration and work in the Pacific Northwest, “Service With a Smile” by representatives of UNITE HERE and UFCW, the work and history of the IBEW, women in non-traditional occupations, and much, much more.

Check MayWorksWA.org and click on the calendar for the latest, including times/locations for the May 24-27 Folklife Festival events.

BACKGROUND — Historically, the labor movement has been a driving force in the production of arts and culture, both in the United States and throughout the world. Working people have used art and music to celebrate and affirm the many facets of the work they do — on the job, raising children, serving as volunteers and activists in our communities and unions.

But there has been a long-term trend to “professionalize” the arts, and high-tech media has taken over the delivery of our cultural activities and identities. So much so that many of us have become less likely to make the art and culture of our everyday lives — something that we create for ourselves. But as the great songwriter Charlie King wrote — “Our life is more than our work, and our work is more than our job.”

Delegates to the 2011 Convention of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, voted to establish a new tradition called MayWorks to find and celebrate the culture of workers — our art, music, dance, poetry, and stories. Riffing on the theme of “Bread and Roses” to celebrate the centennial of that pivotal strike of 1912, the first MayWorks celebration occurred throughout the state in 2012.

For more information, check out the MayWorks Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mayworkswa. The MayWorks Planning Committee urges those interested in attending or organizing events to “Like” the page and share it with their friends and organizations.

Also, union organizations are urged to help promote MayWorks activities. Here’s how:

Promote the video contest  — See last year’s video contest winners, please distribute the video-contest flyer (please use a union printer!), and direct people to the MayWorks Facebook page (see above).

Assign a representative to the MayWorks Committee — The WSLC is looking for more people to help plan and coordinate this year’s events.

Plan a local event — It could be as simple as a labor movie night, or as complex as a reception and concert.

Donate to MayWorks — Your donation will help defray production, performer, and publicity costs for this year’s MayWorks activities. Send your contributions to the WSLC at 314 First Ave. West, Seattle, WA, 98119.

For more information email Kamaria Hightower or call her at 206.254.4913.

Find out more by attending a Worker Cooperative Training Workshop, featuring special guest speaker Roy Messing of the Ohio Employee Ownership Center, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23 at the Machinists 751 Hall “A,” 9125 15th Pl. South in Seattle. (Download and distribute the workshop flier.) This event is co-hosted by the Washington State Labor Council and the Northwest Cooperative Development Center.

Attend this important workshop and you will learn:

– The use of cooperatives as a succession planning tool for existing businesses

– The potential partnership role of institutions like hospitals, manufacturers and universities

– The role and benefit of union involvement

The content is tailored for small business owners, policymakers, union representatives and members, and others interested in worker cooperatives. The workshop fee of $15 includes a box lunch. Click here to register today!

Messing has been responsible for the development of worker-owned cooperatives and involved in the Business Succession Planning Program. He came to the Ohio Employee Ownership Center with a background as a community-based lender, having provided financial services to the cooperative member/owners of Farm Credit Services of West Michigan. He served as CFO for Montville Plastics and Rubber Company, and spent 23 years in finance/commercial banking.

In addition to the co-hosting organizations, the April 23 workshop is sponsored by the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, SLICE, Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, Pacific Coast Bank, BECU, Central Co-op, and Equal Exchange.

For more info, contact the NW Cooperative Development Center at 360-943-4241.

Nicole Grant is introduced Mar. 7 to WSLC Legislative Conference delegates as the newest member of the WSLC Executive Board.

OLYMPIA (Mar. 12, 2013) — There was a new face in town at last week’s quarterly Executive Board meeting of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, the largest labor organization in Washington State. It was Nicole Grant, Executive Director of the Certified Electrical Workers of Washington, representing the Washington Young Emerging Labor Leaders. Voted in by the WA YELL Executive Board, Grant will represent the interests of YELL members and young workers in Washington.

Grant has a long history of service in the labor movement. She was a working student for years, always with a union job. In this way, she was able to meld campus activism with being a young union worker. When she was 25, Grant began an apprenticeship with IBEW Local 46 and was ready to get serious about serving her union and developing her leadership skills.

As Executive Director of the Certified Electrical Workers of Washington, Grant runs political programs and lobbies in support of pro-working family legislation in Olympia. During the past four legislative sessions, she and her team have supported the passage of multiple bills to strengthen apprenticeship and to create jobs in Washington.

Grant received the Elsie Schraeder Award in 2011.

As a young woman in a nontraditional trade for women, she was drawn to the Electrical Workers’ Minority Caucus, where she became immersed in “the spirit of service, education and lifting each other up.” In 2011, Grant’s inspiring idealism and commitment to social justice earned her the WSLC Women’s Committee Elsie Schraeder Award for advancing women’s causes.

Grant says that as a Vice President of the Washington State Labor Council, she aims to help secure YELL’s future by making sure that young workers’ interests and vision are captured in the WSLC policy and actions. She says that young workers share the most urgent issues of all working Washingtonians: employment, wages & benefits.

“Many young workers don’t have immediate, obvious access to union work,” she said. “We must show young workers what unions can do for them, and how they can empower themselves through the union. We need simplified, streamlined ways for workers to organize and build momentum.”

After being sworn in as WSLC Vice President at her first meeting on March 7, Grant spoke passionately about young workers’ needs at the WA YELL South Puget Sound Chapter launch party later that evening.

When not fighting on behalf of working families, Grant can be found relaxing with her husband and two boys, admiring union-made 747s flying overhead and enjoying lunch at the union-staffed Chelan Cafe in Seattle.

OLYMPIA (Mar. 8, 2013) — The time for all-cuts austerity budgets has passed. Now Washington state must begin investing in its economy and its future.

That was one of the consistent themes that hundreds of union leaders and rank-and-file members heard from Gov. Jay Inslee and state lawmakers at the Washington State Labor Council’s 2013 Legislative Conference on Thursday. In particular, elected officials discussed the need to raise revenue for the education and transportation systems.

“We (in Washington) recognize the power of investing in our state… we need to invest in ourselves again,” Inslee said. “We need to invest in our schools so every single kid has a shot at a job in the 21st Century. And at the same time, we need to invest in our transportation infrastructure, which may be the single most important thing we can do to create jobs in the state of Washington.”

It was a sentiment echoed by WSLC President Jeff Johnson in his opening remarks and was also in synch with the conference ‘s “Invest in Washington” theme.

“Investments in education and transportation will not only enhance much-needed public services, but also create tens of thousands of jobs,” he said.

Naturally, if you ask people whether they want to pay higher taxes, they tend to say “no.” A recent Elway Poll suggested this was the case on gas taxes and motor vehicle fees. But several of Thursday’s speakers pointed out that once people understand what that revenue will pay for and the importance 0f those investments in our state’s jobs, economy and future, they have proven time and again that they are willing to pay their fair share.

“That (Elway Poll) was not a shock, nobody wants to pay higher taxes,” said Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-Mercer Island), the chair of the House Transportation Committee who is sponsoring the revenue package that has begun the discussion in Olympia. “But if we explain that this will protect people’s jobs and create new ones, they will. … You can’t fund projects just with efficiencies, you need revenue.”

Johnson warned against “distraction” bills coming out of the Republican-controlled Senate, such as legislation to replace state employees’ defined-benefit pensions with 401(k)-style savings plans and bills to lower workers’ compensation benefits and give employers more control over injured workers’ treatment. He said that it’s past time for the Senate to set aside these distraction bills and step up to the important challenges Washington voters are waiting for them to tackle: funding our schools and our transportation infrastructure.

Here is a summary of some of the key issues discussed at Thursday’s conference:

State revenue — A panel featuring Senate Democratic Leader Ed Murray (D-Seattle), House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan (D-Covington), House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt (R-Chehalis) and Ted Sturdevant, the Governor’s Legislative Affairs Director, discussed the issue in detail. (Senate Republican leadership declined the WSLC’s invitation to participate.)

Sturdevant said “in the next few days” the governor would be releasing a package of tax loopholes that he will recommend closing to help raise revenue.

Sullivan estimated that once the negative impact of federal sequestration cuts are factored into the next revenue forecast, the state’s biennial budget hole could be as high as $3 billion. He then reminded all that when you eliminate aspects of the budget that can’t be cut, such as basic education, debt service, pensions and other federally mandated obligations, you’re left with about $9 billion in discretionary spending.

“Are we really going to cut $3 billion from that?” he asked. Ticking of budget items that have already been “cut to the bone,” including corrections, services for the developmentally disabled and higher education, Sullivan added, “I agree with the governor. The first thing we have to look at is tax exemptions. Is a tax exemption for a particular business more important than K-12 education?”

Republican DeBolt said that after decades of “one-party control of state government,” regulatory issues such as the backlog of environmental permits, are costing our state the jobs needed to increase economic activity and revenue without raising taxes. He specifically cited the state’s Growth Management Act as hampering the economy and adding to transportation woes because people are forced to commute so far to work rather than have good jobs in their own communities. (DeBolt later thanked the WSLC for inviting him to represent the Republican perspective and got a laugh from labor delegates when he quipped, “I’m actually nervous. I’m never nervous.”)

Sullivan was quick to respond to DeBolt: “Gutting the GMA is not going to solve our transportation challenges.”

Sen. Murray said he had proposed a 5% state capital gains tax that would affect only the top 3% of Washingtonians with the highest incomes but would raise some $600-700 million per year to fund education. He acknowledged that his idea has a slim chance of passing this year, but he said that won’t stop him from proposing it and waiting for other legislators to gradually come around, as they have on other issues.

Workers’ compensation — Rep. Mike Sells (D-Everett) confirmed that the aforementioned labor-opposed workers’ compensation bills that have already passed the Senate, will go nowhere in the Democratic-controlled House.

“It’s pretty clear on the workers’ compensation bills, the governor’s with us (in opposing them) so why bother?” Sells said. “We’re not going to be hearing those bills.”

Later, a frustrated Sen. Steve Conway (D-Tacoma) said that if employers keep trying to absolve themselves of their responsibility to maintain a strong safety net for workers injured on the job, that perhaps it’s time to revisit the compromise of 1912, and put forward an initiative that restores the right of workers to sue their employers over their injuries suffered at work.

Medicaid expansion — WSLC President Johnson said that expanding Medicare under the federal health care law this session will cover 350,000 low-income Washington residents, save the state $225 million in this biennium, and create some 10,000 jobs.

Gov. Inslee expressed optimism that this will happen in a bipartisan fashion in 2013, saying, “We are going to celebrate this year when both Republicans and Democrats fully finance the expansion of Medicaid in this state.”

When the legislative panel was asked to respond with a simple “yes” or “no” on the question of whether they support Medicaid expansion, all answered in the affirmative, including the GOP’s DeBolt.

Wage Theft and Employee Misclassification — Delegates were urged to meet with their legislators in the afternoon after the conference and urge State Representatives to support a floor vote on HB 1440, sponsored by Rep. John McCoy (D-Tulalip). This underground economy legislation would address wage theft and employee misclassification by cracking down on businesses that cheat workers — and state and local governments — out of the money they are owed.

Delegates watched this video produced by WSLC Communications Director Kathy Cummings:

Build in Washington laws for ferry construction — Acknowledging a recent state audit that found our state is paying more to build Washington State Ferries vessels than they would out of state, Clibborn stressed that apprenticeship standards and the Build in Washington laws are working exactly as planned to maintain good jobs and a vibrant shipbuilding industry in this state.

“We did that on purpose,” she said, blaming change orders and the rush job required to replace the Steel Electric ferries for higher than normal costs. “I will stand up to any auditor and any legislator who wants to criticize Build in Washington.”

Delegates also got updates from WSLC and various unions’ legislative staff on the many other issues on labor’s agenda — many of which are listed in the most recent WSLC Legislative Update, “A Tale of Two Chambers.” In addition, they got to meet and ask questions of new Labor & Industries Director Joel Sacks and Employment Security Commissioner Dale Peinecke.

TVW recorded the entire conference, and when it becomes available online, it will be embedded here in this story.