House approves union bill

Bargaining legislation heads to Locke's desk

PATRICK CONDON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Tuesday, March 12, 2002

OLYMPIA -- The state House of Representatives on Monday put its final stamp of approval on a bill that gives state workers the right to collectively bargain for their salaries and benefits.

It now goes to Gov. Gary Locke for his signature.

Locke sought the legislation. His spokesman said the administration would give the bill a standard review before definitely committing Locke's signature, which must be on the bill by April 6 for it to become law.

"We're very pleased that the bill passed," spokesman Pearse Edwards said. "This has been one of the governor's major priorities this session."

The legislation directs the governor to appoint a team to negotiate salary and benefits for state workers with the unions that represent them. Currently, the Legislature unilaterally sets the compensation packages.

Several employee unions represent about 34,000 of the state's 57,400 classified workers. However, under collective bargaining, all state workers -- whether in unions or not -- will receive the same compensation package set by the administration and union negotiators.

Assuming Locke signs the bill, collective bargaining will not take effect until 2004, as the administration begins preparing its 2005-07 budget.

Also included in House Bill 1268 are changes to the state's civil service system, as well as a provision to allow the state to hire private contractors to provide some state services.

The state Senate passed the legislation Friday, adding 10 amendments that House Democrats decided to go along with. Sponsor Rep. Sandra Romero, D-Olympia, said none of the changes were substantive enough to drag out final passage.

"This legislation is a question of fairness," Romero said. "It's about giving our public servants the same rights that are enjoyed by workers in private business. ... We won't attract first-class public servants if we don't treat them like first-class people."

Most House Republicans objected to the bill, especially to the idea that control of nearly a third of the budget will shift from the Legislature to the governor's office.

"This is the first time the Legislature has ever come this close to taking power away from ourselves and giving it to the state worker unions," Rep. Dave Mastin, R-Walla Walla, said before the vote. "We're saying state workers are more important than education, state workers are more important than social services. We're making one group more important than any other group."

All six of the House members representing South Sound voted in favor of the bill: Democrats Romero, Sam Hunt, Kathy Haigh and Bill Eickmeyer, and Republicans Gary Alexander and Richard DeBolt.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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