Tell Olympia: No fiscal cliffs in THIS Washington!

OLYMPIA (June 11, 2013) — On the cusp of a second “special” legislative session, the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is urging all union members and community supporters to contact their state legislators immediately — even if you already have in recent days — to send a new message urging them to reject all policy bills, avoid a state government shutdown, and pass the operating, capital and transportation funding budgets. Here’s how to take action:

1)  Click here to send that message to your legislators, AND

2)  Call the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and leave that message for your legislators, AND

3)  Share this message and/or this link — http://tinyurl.com/mdwl8hf — with your fellow union members, your family and your friends around Washington State via email, Facebook, Twitter or whatever means you choose, so they can contact their legislators, too.

So far, legislators in the House have stood strong against the Senate’s efforts to hold the budgets hostage unless they first get contentious policy bills that would harm working families. Lawmakers in both houses need to hear from their constituents that the game of chicken has gone on long enough. Our state can’t risk a costly Washington, D.C.-style government shutdown over political gamesmanship. The time for passing policy bills is long over. The Senate needs to stop holding budget negotiations hostage to unrelated policy bills, and seriously negotiate and approve the budgets necessary to avoid a government shutdown.

For more information, read WSLC President Jeff Johnson’s column, Senate brings toxic destructive, D.C.-style mentality to state. For information about one of the anti-labor policy bills the Senate is trying to force through, see Phantom workers’ comp tax hikes threaten state government shutdown.