David Groves, communications director for the Washington State Labor Council, sends us this report on what’s at stake for Washington’s working families this election. Groves will follow up on the action in Washington State with a blog Nov. 8.

Out here in “the other Washington,” union activists are stepping up to the challenge to change this country’s direction.

In recent weekends, the Labor Neighbor program, coordinated by the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), has logged more than 1,000 volunteer shifts calling and knocking on the doors of fellow union members. These rank-and-file union volunteers have been walking the walks for a number of labor-endorsed candidates, including some fellow union members seeking re-election to our state Legislature, such as IAFF firefighter Rep. Geoff Simpson and SEIU nurse Rep. Tami Green. In all, there are 24 union incumbents in our Legislature and five challengers this year.

But many of our volunteers report they are motivated not just by their local races but by the opportunity to help change Congress. 

For us, that begins with re-electing U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a strong advocate for Washington’s working families. Her challenger is a well-financed former insurance company CEO who’s spending millions of his golden parachute on his campaign.

It also means working to replace U.S. Reps. Dave Reichert and Cathy McMorris, two first-term incumbents who have repeatedly sided with the Bush administration agenda over the interests of working people in their districts.  Their labor-endorsed challengers are Darcy Burner and Peter Goldmark, respectively, and polls show that both races are toss-ups.

In addition to these Labor Neighbor activities, thanks to support from the national AFL-CIO, the WSLC has designed in-house and sent nearly 800,000 pieces of direct mail to union households in support of labor-endorsed candidates for Congress, state Supreme Court and Legislature and regarding statewide ballot initiatives.

And finally, the unions of Washington State would like to give a shout-out to all of our brothers and sisters around the country who are fighting to raise their state’s minimum wage.

Washington was the first state in the country to index its minimum wage to the rate of inflation, thanks to an initiative filed in 1998 by WSLC President Rick Bender and strongly supported by unions around the state. Voters passed that initiative by a 2–to–1 margin, and now we have the highest minimum wage in the nation at $7.63 an hour. (And it’ll be $7.93 an hour come Jan. 1, 2007.)

Back in 1998, the Richard Bermans and other economists-for-hire parachuted into our state with their dire predictions of job loss, inflation and business closings, but the voters ignored them. None of their predictions have come true here, nor will they when voters in YOUR state raise the minimum wage.  So keep up the good fight!

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