WFSE Political Blog

Rep. Liias Says Nice Things About State Employees

2011-03-25T15:52:00.001-07:00

The War On Public Servants: Part IV

2011-03-12T12:57:00.000-08:00

[The following is Part IV of a staff report presented to the WFSE Legislative & Political Action Committee on 3/11/11. Go to Part I. Go to Part II. Go to Part III.]Make a DifferenceFight back against the corporate interests attacking your collective bargaining rights by making a donation to PEOPLE.Stand with your sisters and brothers in Wisconsin by making a donation to AFSCME Wisconsin Council

The War On Public Servants: Part III

2011-03-12T12:26:00.000-08:00

[The following is Part III of a staff report presented to the WFSE Legislative & Political Action Committee on 3/11/11. Go to Part I. Go to Part II.]Washington State ResponseInterview with Gov. Christine Gregoire on NPR (Feb 27):“HANSEN: Budget deficits are the primary focus of many state legislatures across the country. Many governors are taking a get-tough approach with public employee unions.

The War On Public Servants: Part II

2011-03-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

[The following is Part II of a staff report presented to the WFSE Legislative & Political Action Committee on 3/11/11. Go to Part I.]What Is the Reaction?USA Today/Gallup (Feb 21, adults nationwide): “Additionally, the new poll finds Americans opposed to their own state adopting a deficit-reduction proposal, like the one that has triggered a legislative standoff in Wisconsin, that eliminates

The War On Public Servants: Part I

2011-03-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

[The following is Part I of a staff report presented to the WFSE Legislative & Political Action Committee on 3/11/11.]What Is the Latest In Wisconsin?“Gov. Scott Walker signed his bill Friday repealing most collective bargaining by public employee unions, dealing a blow to the labor movement that turned out massive demonstrations in an effort to kill the proposal…In addition to ending most

Labor Ads Go On the Attack In Wisconsin

2011-03-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

From Greg Sargent's Plum Line Blog in the Washington Post:"Unions are going up with a hard-hitting new ad in Wisconsin, a labor source says, that takes direct aim for the first time at Republican state senators who continue to stand by Governor Walker, even as he sinks in the polls and the unpopularity of his budget repair proposal continues to mount.The ad, which is paid for by the labor-backed

A Message From AFSCME President McEntee

2011-03-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

Dear AFSCME Sisters and Brothers,There are new developments in Ohio and Wisconsin that we want to share with you. As you know, what happens in the coming weeks and months in Columbus and Madison will be critical to the future of our union, our jobs, and the services that we provide everywhere.In Ohio yesterday, after more than 20,000 Ohioans rallied on Tuesday to save the middle class, the State

Rally For the American Dream

2011-02-28T16:26:00.000-08:00

2,500 union members and supporters decended on the State Capitol last Saturday. My feet didn't thaw out for hours -- and it was worth it!

On Wisconsin!

2011-02-28T15:58:00.000-08:00

President's Day, 2011

Rachel Maddow: The Republican War On Public Employees

2011-02-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

In a recent installment of her show, Maddow takes a look at Republican attacks on public sector jobs. "It has become mainstream, centrist Republican policy -- a mainstream, centrist Republican point even in punditry -- to congratulate any Republican politician who declares war on people who work in the public sector," she said.Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the

Introducing the Electronic Bill Book

2011-01-31T16:46:00.000-08:00

If you've been to the Legislature for a public hearing lately you might have noticed that copies of bills, bill reports, fiscal notes, and other supporting documents are no longer provided. That's because all of that, and more, is available online in the Electronic Bill Book. Legislators and lobbyists are using the EBB and so can you.The House Democratic Caucus' official blog recently offered a

We're Dismantling Government All Across America

2011-01-21T13:34:00.000-08:00

The Daily Show reports on the budget crisis facing state and local governments throughout the nation:The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cMain St. Anytown U.S.A.www.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook

New Political Strategy: Blame Public Employees

2011-01-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

During the first Rachel Maddow Show of the new year, guest host Chris Hayes looked at the new scapegoat for our nation’s economic woes: public workers. Check it out:Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy-- Dennis

Stop the Lies!

2010-12-17T12:19:00.000-08:00

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee recently announced the union is launching a "Stop the Lies" campaign aimed at those who seek to degrade public servants in pursuit of their own agendas. In a column posted on the AFSCME Greenline Blog, McEntee described the union's campaign as follows:"...By blaming public service workers and working families, the right wing tries to divert attention from the

AFSCME Takes On the Lying Liars

2010-11-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

One Theory About Why Democrats Lost

2010-11-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

Tim Eyman Wants You To Stay Home On Saturday

2010-10-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

Tim Eyman and his corporate cronies are waging a war on public servants, as well as public services, on the ballot in 2010. If some of the initiatives on the ballot this year come to pass it will have a devastating affect on the entire state. But, thanks to the power of solidarity, we can join other union members all across the state to show ol' Eyman that we've got a lot of fight left in us. As

AFSCME Rocks the 2010 Elections

2010-10-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that AFSCME is "now the biggest outside spender of the 2010 elections..." In a year when independent expenditures have dominated the election landscape, it's heartening to know that AFSCME is in there swinging on behalf of our members.According to the Journal, "the 1.6 million-member AFSCME is spending a total of $87.5 million on the elections after

More Endorsements In Legislative Races

2010-07-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

Our union has continued to interview candidates for the Legislature, and some additional endorsements have been made, although it hasn't always been easy. We've had interview sessions where members have met with all the candidates and then decided not to support anyone at this time. In other instances, endorsements have only been agreed to after lengthy discussion. It's a strange year.The new

More WFSE Endorsements

2010-06-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

The reader(s) of this blog know that there were only a handful of politicians receiving an early endorsement at the WFSE Endorsements Conference in April. Our rules allow for additional endorsements, but it's a labor-intensive process.There were a few candidates we endorsed for the House and who are now running for open Senate seats, and a phone poll of the appropriate local Presidents was

WFSE Rocks COPE -- Now What?

2010-05-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

WFSE members made a huge impact at the WA St Labor Council’s biennial COPE Convention. COPE is where political endorsements on behalf of the entire state federation are debated and voted, and we had 90 members there, representing 26 different locals and over 32,000 votes. We didn’t have enough votes by ourselves to block an endorsement, but our delegates where highly motivated to send a message

Reactions To WFSE's Endorsement Conference

2010-05-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't commented on the decisions made at WFSE's biennial Endorsement Conference, held on April 17, because Tim covered it well in the Hotline. The bottom line is out of more than 130 races considered, delegates voted to make just 27 endorsements -- including just 18 incumbent House members and one incumbent Senator.Olympian reporter Brad Shannon wrote about our early endorsements in his blog,

Our Candidate Endorsement Process

2010-04-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

WFSE's biennial Endorsements Conference will be held Saturday, April 17, in Seattle. This conference will serve as the beginning of our process for making our union's endorsement decisions for candidates running for office this year.There are a variety of ways that our union can make an endorsement in a political campaign, but each method is built on two common principles:- All endorsements are

Questions To Ponder For Political Junkies

2010-02-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

It's the time of session where we spend hours standing in the hallway. I might as well post some items of interest while I'm waiting.> Can Democrats win back the support of labor?Following up on a story I've mentioned before, NPR's Austin Jenkins reports that relationships remain uneasy between legislative Democrats and the labor movement. "The trick for Democrats is striking the right balance,"

Rep. Williams Proposes Reducing Legislative Per Diem

2010-02-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

SB 6503, the "furlough bill," has been sitting on the House floor calendar for several days now and could be brought up for a vote by the full House at any time. A couple of different amendments have been submitted but the most provocative is the amendment proposed by Rep. Brendan Williams (D-22).Williams' amendment would "reduce the per diem compensation paid to legislators during the 2011