Olympia Business Watch

Unions' Anti-Employer Gag Rule Drawing More Fire

Showing that the strength of one's argument is often inversely proportionate to the excess of one's rhetoric, the principal pushers of the anti-employer gag rule have taken to the blogosphere this week with some surprising statements in an effort to rehabilitate their troubled, and troubling, "top priority": the attempt to take away employers' long-held, federally protected right to communicate with workers during labor organizing campaigns. 

Of course, readers would have to think back some to remember that's what this national AFL-CIO model bill is all about -- employer opposition to union organizing -- because beyond secreting "labor or other mutual aid organizations" within the definition of forbidden speech on "political matters," the bill is sold as an innocuous protection against forced indoctrination of political or religious opinions.

The proponents don't talk much about that core purpose anymore -- and for good reason.  Federal labor law has long protected an employers' right to engage in free speech, even in a called staff meeting, about labor organizing, so long as the speech is non-coercive and makes no promise of benefit or threat of reprisal for the employee's decision whether to unionize, and not held within 24 hours of a union election.  As a result, states are not free to regulate or prohibit this speech.

So what are they talking about?

This Isn't Your Normal Recession Followed by a Traditional Recovery, It is a Fundamental Resetting of our Economy

Earlier this month, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told Congressional House Democrats that the problem with the economy is that it grew for 25 years on unrealistically cheap debt and that is over. For Microsoft, that means fewer PC sales. For the rest of us, it means "a fundamental economic reset."  Balmer went on to say:

"The hard truth is this, in my opinion: The private sector of our economy has borrowed too much money, businesses and consumers alike, fueled by the a lot of different things, some notion that housing prices would go up forever, that you could borrow money cheaply.

The bubble has burst. We can no longer rely on consumption by refinancing our homes or inexpensive money to fuel economic growth, and that’s certainly had a huge impact.

What Balmer is predicting is the economy reset will involve less borrowing and which we believe applies to government as well.  While we are all fixated on how much the federal stimulus package will mean for our state and local governments, the debt we are incurring from that massive federal spending program is almost beyond comprehension.  Some day that debt will comeback to haunt us because a big chunk of the money we are borrowing comes from outside our country.  (Hopefully,foreign investors won't call for payment on their notes too soon!)

To her credit, Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) is telling lawmakers and the public that the federal money is  not the magic antidote to restore us to good economic health.  It is at best a finger a leaky seawall. 

'Economists' asking for tax hikes not really economists?

That's the question the Washington Policy Center tackled this week when it reviewed the Washington State Budget & Policy Center's list of 28 "economists" urging leaders in Olympia to consider tax increases to resolve the growing deficit.

Turns out that nearly half -- 11 of the 28 -- of those who signed the letter to Gov. Gregoire, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and House Speaker Frank Chopp are NOT economists. According to the WPC, the non-economists include:

• an associate professor of public health administration
• a sustainable systems analyst
• an assistant professor of social work
• a research associate in sustainable agriculture
• a public policy researcher
• two historians
• four professors of public affairs

Moreover, the WPC notes, all of the letter's co-signers either are directly employed by tax-funded institutions (e.g. public universities and community colleges) or they otherwise gain from public spending.

 

More Media on Gag Rule Problems

Not quite live-blogging, but I'm sitting in the evening hearing of the Senate Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection Committee at which the employer gag rule bill is expected to move out on a partisan vote.   

Two new pieces were published today about the bill.  The first, by the Everett Herald's Jerry Cornfield, explores the negative message the bill sends to the Boeing Company in particular.   Speaking of the sponsor in the House, Rep. Mike Sells (D-Everett):

Having this mega-corporation stand firm against you might be a badge of honor for Sells, whose other job is secretary-treasurer of the Snohomish County Labor Council.

But in the Capitol, his bill is stressing out a few of his valued political allies, including Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire.

They perceive it as another straw bending the backbone of Boeing's desire to stay in Washington.

The Longview Daily News picks up on the legislation's anti-business message, editorializing against what the Seattle PI has already pithily dismissed as "pointless":

Last spring’s U.S. SupremeCourt ruling and the conclusion of McKenna’s office ought to be enough to stop this legislation dead in its tracks. That hasn’t happened, which is unfortunate. The unions backing this measure and the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” now pending in Congress are attempting to stack the deck against employers in ways that should offend anyone’s sense of fairness. ...

There’s every reason to think the proposed Worker Privacy Act would end up in court and, in time, be tossed out. But what kind of message would the Legislature be sending prospective employers by approving such a proposal? That’s something lawmakers should consider.

Read the whole thing.

Goldmark Reversal Sends Bad, Bad Signal....Are More Lawsuits Coming?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column, When Good News is Never Enough. It detailed the predicament Taylor Shellfish Company found itself in growing geoducks.  No sooner than the paint had dried on the office door window in new Land Commission Peter Goldmark's digs at the state capitol than Goldmark yanked the rug out from under the Taylor lease. Goldmarksent the message that the state no longer keeps its word nor follows its own administration process.  Unfortunately, Goldmark's precipitous actions left Taylor with no other choice but to sue. 

 

Today, Taylor filed suit to overturn the Goldmark verdict.  Here is the announcement from Taylor:

 

"Two and a half weeks ago, DNR Commissioner Peter Goldmark announced that he would not honor the terms of a signed settlement agreement between DNR and Taylor Shellfish regarding disputed property in Totten Inlet.  Commissioner Goldmark’s decision not to honor our agreement forces us to take legal action. 

 

Today, Taylor Shellfish filed suit in Thurston County Superior Court for breach of contract and to quiet title to the property that has been the subject of the dispute between Taylor Shellfish and the DNR.  We will also be filing a separate legal action in Federal court within the next week or two. 

Olympia Business Review - Episode 17: Wellness Programs (Podcast)

In episode 17 of the Olympia Business Review, host Dan Brunell is joined by Don Conant of Valley Nut & Bolt. They discuss SB6019 which would allow insurers to give discounts to small employers with proven wellness programs.

To subscribe via iTunes, click here. 

To subscribe to the RSS feed, click here.

To download this podcast, click here.

It's in the P-I: Employer Gag Rule Bill 'Pointless'

The Seattle P-I on labor's employer gag rule (here, second item down):

[T]here's Sen. Margarita Prentice's well-meaning but pointless SB 5446, which would limit employers' ability to call meetings of workers. It's aimed at firms that try to block unionization, but an opinion from the state attorney general says it flies in the face of federal law. Some supporters supposedly think it'd still be a nice symbol. Please. Why waste time -- to insult the majority of good companies?

Exactly.  The bill, certain to be challenged and invalidated if enacted, has already fostered a political atmosphere that treats Washington job providers like Mao-era re-education cadres. Just listen to Friday morning's committee debate over the measure here (fourth item down).

(Showing that silver linings can have dark clouds, though, the same P-I piece editorializes in support of SB 6035, this session's misguided attempt to regulate the workers' compensation retrospective ratings program, ostensibly to muzzle the policy and political participation of one of the program sponsors.  More on that in another post.)

Retro Bill Set to Pass Labor Committee Monday

Senate Bill 6035, this session's effort to regulate the workers' compensation retrospective ratings program, is scheduled to move out of the Senate Labor, Commerce, and Consumer Protection Committee Monday morning.  It was introduced last Monday, and hearings were held last Tuesday and Thursday.  AWB testified in opposition to the bill Thursday afternoon (see below).

The bill has six sections.  Two are statements of legislative intent, one section requires an annual in-house actuarial review of the program for the next five years, one section prohibits certain enrollment conditions between a retro group sponsor and its participant, and one section tightens the statutory requirement that employers in a retrospective ratings group be "substantially similar."  The main event is section 4, which prohibits retro group sponsors from retaining any portion of a retro refund except for limited use among four state-approved purposes.  That section also imposes a series of private and public disclosure requirements on retro group sponsors.

AWB Week in Review: Street Utility Tax, Digital Goods, Stormwater, Unionizaton (update)

Here's a quick recap of this week featuring testimony from AWB staff and members testifying on a variety of issues facing the business community this session.

Feb. 17:

• Local Option for Street Utility: Amber Carter of AWB is joined by Bruce Beckett (Washington Restaurant Association) Holly Chisa (Northwest Grocery Association) and Greg Hanon (National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.) They testified on HB 1947, authorizing the creation of a street utility fee by cities to serve the preservation and maintenance of streets for areas with an identified street utility service.

 

Success stories in tough times - but will they last?

This morning's Olympian had a nice feature on several Thurston County businesses that are finding success right now, even in troubled economic times.

Yesterday, the Thurston County Economic Development Council toured several South Sound employers yesterday, including the outdoor store (and AWB member) Cabela's. The store's training administrator, Ed Smith, told reporter Rolf Boone the store continues to outperform other stores in the chain, although business has slowed a bit for the Lacey store.

Boone also interviewed another AWB member: Jeff Gerbing of Gerbing's Heated Clothing, Inc., which manufactures heated clothes for motorsports and outdoor markets. Gerbing consolidated his operations into a 29,000 square-foot space south of the Olympia Regional Airport in Tumwater, but almost set up shop in South Carolina rather than the South Puget Sound because the cost of doing business was so much lower there:

Gerbing told the board that more needs to be done to control the cost of doing business in Washington....

As the economy in our state continues to weather tough times, larger business like Cabela's and smaller business like Gerbing's will no doubt keep a close eye on the Legislature and its efforts to attract and retain new and existing businesses. Bills like the employer gag rule (SB 5446) and cap and trade (HB 1819) send the wrong message to businesses struggling to keep their doors open and could give them added incentive to search for a new home outside of Washington state.