Even though Gov. Chris Gregoire (D), Speaker Frank Chopp (D-Seattle) and Sen. Majority Leader Lisa Brown (D-Spokane) announced they have tabled the so-called: "Worker Privacy Bill" because of a labor union e-mail linking support for the legislation to campaign contributions, the issue may be on life-support in this year's session. The action was taken after an e-mail from the Washington State Labor Council (AFL-CIO) was turned over to the Washington State Patrol to investigate.
The Seattle Times published a copy of the e-mail, which in part, said:
"Union leaders would send a message to the State Democratic party and to the Truman and Roosevelt funds from the House and Senate that "not another dime from labor" until the Governor signs the Worker Privacy Act."
According to The Olympian, Sen. Brown was reported to have said:
"She said other proposals brought by groups involved in the worker privacy bill were not dead because of this situation.
"It is my expectation that the Legislature will continue to evaluate all proposals based on their individual merits, including proposals brought forward by the stakeholders involved in the Worker Privacy Act discussions," she said."
For more background on this issue, read Kris Tefft's blog entry.
Don C. Brunell, President (DonB@awb.org)
