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PRESS RELEASE February 24, 2005 Unions 1, taxpayers 0 Governor set to sign union apprenticeship bill OLYMPIA—One of the first bills Governor Christine Gregoire is set to sign into law addresses a matter the legislature has determined to be an emergency. That "emergency": Not enough union apprentices are being used to construct public projects. SSB 5097, which passed the Senate by a vote of 27-19 and the House 58-40, will require any contractor working on a public work project costing a million dollars or more to reserve 15 percent of the workforce for employees enrolled in union apprenticeship programs. Contractors testifying against this bill noted: "Apprenticeship utilization requirements force some contractors to stop bidding on public works projects. This loss of competition will cause public works costs to go up . . . Apprenticeship utilization requirements are not about workforce training. Instead, they give union contractors a competitive advantage over open shop contractors on public works projects." "Rather than dictate to contractors who their employees can be, the state should instead focus on securing the best bid possible for public work projects," said Bob Williams, president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. "This bill creates an uneven playing field weighted toward unions. It also leaves the unsavory taste of a political payoff with taxpayer dollars for the unions' campaign activities during the past election and recounts." "Compounding the political nature of this bill, the legislature has
subjected it to an emergency clause meaning affected contractors have no
opportunity to seek a referendum," said Williams. Contact: Booker Stallworth | Communications Director | 360.956.3482
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1 Part Honesty; 2 Parts Arrogance At a March 23, 2005, House Appropriations hearing on a bill to gut the voter-approved I-601 spending limit, Rep. Jim McIntire (D) asked a supporter of I-601’s two-third supermajority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes the following question: "Can you name a time when we [legislators] have actually not just set it [supermajority requirement] aside by majority vote? I mean, this is in many respects a procedural motion that has no bearing. It’s a statutory constraint that cannot constrain any legislature that chooses as a majority to set it aside . . . have we ever used a supermajority [to raise taxes]?" - Rep. Jim McIntire (D - 46) Despite the arrogance of some state officials, Washington's constitution is clear: "All political power is inherent in the people..." |
