This is the Federation Hotline updated Feb. 6.
What we know so far on this final day for fiscal committees to pass bills
As this Hotline is updated, the Senate Ways and Means Committee and House Appropriations Committee were still meeting. Today is the day for bills in those respective committees to pass out of those committees.
So far – and thanks to a blitz of phone calls, emails and Lobby Day visits from AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE) members in the past few days – four key bills have already passed out of one or the other fiscal committees. They now move to their respective Rules Committees.
- Over the weekend and Monday, AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE) members pushed back against the corporate interests trying to block passage of our priority outsourcing transparency bill. And it worked. Today (Feb. 6), the House Appropriations Committee passed out the Taxpayer Protection Act (2SHB 1851) on a vote of 22-10. It now goes to the House Rules Committee.
- Our priority bill SHB 1558, expanding PSERS to include institutions workers passed the House Appropriations Committee. It now goes to the House Rules Committee.
- Our priority bill to leave no doubt and extend civil service protections to all part-time state employees (SB 6184) passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee. It now goes to the Senate Rules Committee.
- And our priority bill to expand interpreter services (SSB 6245) passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee. It now goes to the Senate Rules Committee.
Two bills facing today’s fiscal committee deadline do not appear on the list of bills to be voted on in the Senate Ways and Means Committee: SSB 6259, the social worker student loan repayment bill; and SSB 6332 to re-establish the state Productivity Board. If anything changes, we’ll let you know.
Most of our priority bills that needed to clear the Feb. 2 or today’s committee deadlines did just that. But one priority bill that didn’t clear the Feb. 2 committee deadline is the affordable housing bill, in both the House and Senate. Despite an outpouring of support from the public and AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE) members, HB 2583 and SB 6400 were not scheduled for committee votes by the Feb. 2 cutoff deadline. But our multi-level effort to address the economic concerns of our members living in high-cost areas of the state continues – stronger than ever.
“Crisis point”: Seattle’s Spokane Street DOT members call for action on encampment cleanup protections
Protecting DOT members cleaning up homeless encampments is at a “crisis point” and the union and Seattle Local 378 members are pushing the agency to amp up action.
To stress the need to address the crisis, the Spokane Street DOT members last week held a solidarity event to show they’re standing together for the safety of co-workers and the public.
One of the jobs of these Local 378 members at the Spokane Street Department of Transportation yard in Seattle is cleaning up homeless encampments set up in highway right-of-ways.
That work has placed them in danger of contact with hazardous materials, biohazards, blood-borne pathogens and more. They often have to de-escalate tense and dangerous situations with encampment residents.
Some progress has been made on staffing and vehicles needed for encampment cleanups. Discussions have taken place over the past 10 months. But “little progress” has been made protecting the workers facing danger.
“We have reached a crisis point,” AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE) Executive Director Greg Devereux said in a Feb. 2 letter to the agency’s director of maintenance operations.
The Spokane Street DOT is already seriously understaffed – even before addressing the homeless encampment cleanup issues, Devereux said.
“Our DOT members who were hired to be maintenance mechanics continue to be concerned that they must engage in homeless encampment cleanup, which exposes them to a number of safety hazards with little or no specialized training,” Devereux wrote.
Devereux was blunt in his letter to the agency.
“We are gravely concerned that both our members and the public at large may face serious consequences in the near future,” Devereux said.
“We would ask that we move with all speed necessary to adequately staff the dedicated DOT homeless encampment crew, train all staff who may come in contact with homeless encampments in programs that will keep them safe, and that the dire understaffing at the Spokane Street shed is addressed immediately.”
In memoriam:
Word has reached us from Vancouver DOT Local 2559 of the passing of the local’s former treasurer, Linda Del Grosso. She died Feb. 2. She was 67. She succumbed after a long battle with cancer; she was amongst family and friends when she passed away. She was a fiscal technician 2 with DOT in Vancouver. She retired in 2015. The entire Federation family extends its condolences to her family, friends and Local 2559 members.
Shared leave requests:
IN NEED OF SHARED LEAVE: Sherri Greenup, an environmental specialist 2 with the Department of Ecology in Lacey and a member of Local 872, has been approved for shared leave. Sherri is requesting shared leave to cover the time she will miss while fighting an aggressive form of cancer. She will be out for an undetermined time for treatments and recovery. To help with a donation of eligible unused annual leave or sick leave or all or part of your personal holiday, contact Michelle Gillis at (360) 407-6679 or your human resource office.
IN NEED OF SHARED LEAVE: Rosalinda “Linda” Soto, a customer service specialist 2 with DSHS-CA Central Intake in Seattle and a member of Local 843, has been approved for shared leave. Linda is requesting shared leave to cover the time she will miss during her serious medical procedure and recovery. To help with a donation of eligible unused annual leave or sick leave or all or part of your personal holiday, contact Matt Reed at (206) 341-7025 or your human resource office.
That’s it for now.
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