McKenna for Rent?

By Nathan Jackson When big corporations, trade associations and the 1% ply our politicians with fundraisers they aren’t doing it out of a sense of civic duty. They give money, they expect a big return on their investment--policies that give more money and more power to the people who are already plenty rich and powerful.

This time the Washington Restaurant Association (WRA) and the Washington Apartment Association (WAA) are hoping that Republican Rob McKenna is for rent. In a single day — September 25th —  they are raising tens of thousands of dollars for his campaign because they believe he will support his 1% agenda:  tax loopholes, budget cuts, and low wage jobs.

We’re going to crash the party.

99% SuperPACS are organizing all over King County and we’ll be right there protesting these fundraisers because we think candidates and elected officials should answer to the people, not big moneyed interests.

So we’re going to meet McKenna and the interests who support him, and tell them right to their faces that we won’t let them just buy their way into new legislation to increase their profits on the backs of restaurant workers, renters, or the rest of the 99%.

Join us in Southcenter to protest McKenna for Rent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012, 12 noon Protest Washington Apartment Association fundraiser Doubletree Southcenter, 16500 Southcenter Parkway, Tukwila

Then join us in Bellevue to protest McKenna for McJobs: Tuesday, September 25, 2012, 3:30 pm Protest Washington Restaurant Association fundraiser El Gaucho Bellevue, 450 108th Avenue NE,  Bellevue

The Washington Apartment Association is the state’s biggest landlord lobby group, and they actively work to lobby for more power and profits for themselves at the expense of the people who rent homes from them. They fight for rules that make it easier to evict people. They oppose limits on screening fees. And they’re even opposed to rudimentary inspection of apartment buildings.

And in Rob McKenna they have a candidate for governor they can rent out too. The price: at least $10,000 to be raised at this one fundraiser.

The Washington Restaurant Association is hoping to raise even more money for McKenna. It makes sense: they have a lot in common. Both are notorious for fighting against minimum wage increases, and both have suggested that the minimum wage is too high for certain workers. And both have fought against a fairer workplace environment by opposing paid sick leave for restaurant workers.

In fact, McKenna giving advice to the WRA at a dinner earlier this year told them that he worked in a restaurant when he was young, and he didn’t need sick leave. “When one of us was sick we just traded out shifts.” So a teenage McKenna would just swap out shifts when he was sick. Or maybe he’d be squeezed for comic book money.

But the folks who work in today’s food service aren’t teenagers.

They are mothers and fathers and working people trying to make the rent.

Low wages and poor jobs have real consequences. And we’re going to make sure McKenna knows that his support for McJobs has consequences too.

That’s why we’re crashing the party on Tuesday. It’s about standing up for policies that put the needs of the 99% before that of the richest 1%, and telling the 1% and their favored candidates that we won’t sit passively as they try to buy our elections and our legislators.

We will go to these fundraisers and make them listen to us. If they think we won’t fight against policies that hurt the 99% they are sorely mistaken. They probably don’t want to hear from us, but we are inviting ourselves anyway.

If we’re going to take this country back for the 99%, we can’t have political candidates out for rent to 1% interests, and we can’t just let them support McJobs instead of good jobs.

After all our legislators and politicians should be working for us, not against us.

Occupy a year later: the tents may be gone, but the impact remains.

Working Washington has issued the following statement to mark the 1-year anniversary of the birth of the Occupy movement on September 17, 2012: A year after the Occupy movement first burst onto the scene, the tents may be cleared from Westlake, but the impact remains.

Before Occupy took hold, politicians of all stripes were competing to see who could promise the biggest budget cuts, no matter what the impact on poor people & working families; the astronomical wealth of the richest 1% was considered a gift of nature; and corporate tax dodging was shrugged off as business as usual.

Thanks to the energy Occupy unleashed, that's all changed. Today, the political debate is focused on jobs, not cuts. The public is deeply concerned about the gaping chasm between the rich and the rest of us. And there is a growing movement calling on big corporations and the wealthiest 1% to pay their fair share of taxes.

It's already made an enormous difference. In just the year since Occupy was born, our state Legislature voted to close a multimillion-dollar tax loophole for big banks. Chase Bank agreed to stop charging the poorest people in the state an 85¢ fee to access their cash benefits. Amazon, the online giant retailer, dropped its support of ALEC and committed to invest millions to improve working conditions. And Jamie Dimon was "greeted" by hundreds of protestors on a visit to Seattle he won't soon forget.

“The Occupy movement has inspired me to be a leader fighting for the rights of the 99%," explained Lashawna Bowman, a mother of 2 from Kent who struggles to make ends meet.  "Being a part of the 99% has shown me what the power of the people can accomplish.”

Occupy may be less immediately visible today than it was a year ago, but the movement continues to make waves. They have catalyzed a powerful 99% movement which Working Washington supporters and many others have joined. United, the 99% are standing up to big banks like Chase and big corporations like Amazon — and winning major victories. Workers are rising up to demand good jobs and fair treatment at our publicly-owned airport and seaport. And in neighborhoods across the region, grassroots activists are organizing to make sure the better candidates win the elections on November 6th — and that we're on the streets holding them accountable beginning on November 7th.

In only a year, the Occupy movement has driven an incredible change in the political environment. The ground has shifted, and things are not returning to the way they used to be. The 99% are united, and we're taking our country back.

Port Commission fails to rein in Port CEO

Workers & community ask: "which side are you on?"

*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *** Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

Under pressure from a major public controversy over CEO pay, Port of Seattle Commissioners today ultimately took a pass on the hard decision before them. Instead of reining in CEO Tay Yoshitani, they opted simply to appoint an independent counsel to "review" their CEO's controversial position with a company that moves goods through our port.

"The port needs to prioritize," said Genevieve Aguilar of Puget Sound Sage. "Of course they need to take a second look at a half-million-dollar paycheck for their CEO — and it's also about time the Port started 'reviewing' the thousands of poverty-wage jobs at our airport and seaport."

Sea-Tac airport fueler Alex Popescu drove the real issue home in his public testimony:

"The issue at hand right now is a CEO that makes as much as 18 people that work for poverty wages. And he wants to add a second job to make even more money. The Port needs to start focusing on the real issue: creating jobs that are able to sustain a family and provide a real living wage."

Alex continued:

"Which side are you on? Are you on the side of the workers who make the airport run safely and smoothly every day, or are you on the side of big business, big corporations, and money-hungry CEOs?"

After today's Port Commission meeting, the thousands of people who called and emailed their concerns are still left without a clear answer.

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Port Commissioners to consider CEO's future at hearing today

*** MEDIA ADVISORY FOR SEPTEMBER 11, 2012 ***Contact: Sage Wilson, 206-227-6014 sage@workingwa.org

Workers & community members will ask Port leadership to show which side they're on

TODAY IN SEATTLE - As controversy continues to swirl over Port CEO Tay Yoshitani's side income with a company that moves goods through our port, a deeply divided Port Commission will convene this afternoon to debate his future.

Yoshitani ignited a major public controversy when it was discovered that in addition to his public-sector Port job — which pays more than $365,000 a year — he has lined up a new and lucrative side gig as a director at Expeditors International, which pays more than $230,000 annually.

When: TODAY - Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 1 pm

Where: Port Commission Chambers: 2711 Alaskan Way (Pier 69)

What: Public testimony and Commission debate over CEO Tay Yoshitani's future. Low-wage workers from our seaport and airport will be there to speak out about Yoshitani's money grab and ask Port leadership to support good jobs for the 99%, not greed for the 1%.

Many workers and community leaders are outraged that at the same time as Port leadership argues over whether or not the CEO should be taking in a half-million dollars a year, they have done nothing to address a far larger crisis: the thousands of poverty-wage jobs at our airport and seaport. These low-wage jobs include port truck drivers, taxi cab operators, ground transportation workers, baggage handlers, aircraft fueling technicians, cabin cleaners, passenger service assistants, cargo workers, and skycaps.

This Commission hearing will help answer the question the people of King County are asking: will Port leadership side with the 99% by exercising their responsibility to stop Tay Yoshitani's money grab and standing up for good jobs at our port? Or will they side with the greed of 1% corporate interests?

For more information about how workers at our airport and seaport are standing up for good jobs, visit itsOURairport.org.

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Diverse clergy to lead hundreds on march to Alaska Airlines headquarters calling for good jobs at our airport

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR SEPTEMBER 7, 2012***Contacts: Thea Levkovitz, thea@workingwa.org; Sage Wilson, sage@workingwa.org

Faith communities are joining a growing chorus calling for good jobs at Sea-Tac airport.

This Friday, a diverse delegation of clergy, including Muslim, Christian and Sikh leaders, will lead a march of more than 500 workers and community supporters calling on Alaska Airlines to make every airport job a good job. Faith leaders and airport workers will attempt to deliver a letter to Alaska’s CEO as hundreds rally in support at Angle Lake Park in SeaTac, immediately adjacent to Alaska's headquarters.

WHAT: Major march led by diverse clergy, including Muslim, Christian and Sikh leaders, calling on Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden to ensure Alaska makes sure its contractors provide good jobs.

WHEN: Friday, September 7, 2 pm

WHERE: Delegation will gather outside the SeaTac Doubletree near the airport at 18740 International Blvd, then march to Alaska Airlines corporate headquarters at 19300 International Blvd. in SeaTac, WA 98188. Hundreds of supporters will march and rally at Angle Lake Park immediately adjacent to Alaska Airlines headquarters.

Alaska Airlines, based in SeaTac, is considered a leader for its recent success in customer service. However, the airline has come under growing pressure from workers and community leaders for the conditions of thousands of poverty-wage workers at our airport who work for Alaska Airlines-contracted companies. These workers — including skycaps, baggage handlers, fuelers, cabin cleaners, and more — provide critical services to Alaska passengers. Many of these workers are immigrants and refugees from around the world who came to our region seeking a better life.

Alaska is the dominant airline at our airport, representing more than half the flights there. Workers and community leaders are calling on Alaska to make sure its success is shared with all the workers who make it possible.

For additional information: www.itsOURairport.org

Working Washington, a Washington based non-profit coalition of individuals, neighborhood associations, immigrant groups, civil rights organizations, people of faith, and labor united for good jobs and a fair economy.

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The 99% march on the McKenna Agenda

By Nathan Jackson "Romney and Ryan look at Medicare and Medicaid as a bunch of numbers waiting to be cut down, " said Carol Green, a healthcare worker and SEIU 1199NW member. "My patients aren't numbers. I'm not a number. We're not numbers. We're people who just want what was promised."

Green stood in front of Swedish Hospital, wearing her scrubs, speaking to the 99% who had gathered to stand up for affordable healthcare.

"My patients don't know how they are going to pay their bills," she said. "If McKenna and the rest of them gut Medicaid my patients will literally have to choose between food or medicine."

More than a hundred of the 99% had gathered in the hot August sun to protest the McKenna agenda--which includes making Medicaid and Medicare more expensive for the folks who can least afford it.

Attorney General Rob McKenna in an Op/Ed published less than two months ago wrote that he would support and advocate for Medicaid patients to pay more--patients who are economically the weakest amongst us. Meanwhile he wants to make it harder to close corporate tax loopholes and has opposed proposals to make sure the top 1% pay their fair share.

So he wants the poor and working folks to pay more for their healthcare while standing by and not doing anything to make sure the rich pay their fair share? It doesn’t make sense.

Mila Dolan is on Medicare. She uses a mobilized chair to get around and she grabbed the microphone. She had a few notes with her, but she didn’t even need them.

"I don't have much to say," she said. "I just want to tell you all that I rely on Medicare to stay alive."

Mila paused and looked around at the crowd.

"I have to see a doctor at least once a month," she said. "If we let these guys get away with stripping Medicare I might not make it. Have they ever had to choose between medicine and bread? If they get their way I’ll have to make that choice every day. It’s not right and we have to stop it.”

Khoa Nguyen, a student, was the MC of the event. He spoke to the crowd occasionally looking at his prepared notes on his phone.

“We’re gathered here today because today is the day that Mitt Romney accepts the Republican nomination,” he said. “Today the 1% are in Tampa celebrating their dream. But to the rest of us their 1% agenda is a nightmare.”

He paused scrolling down on his notes.

“This isn’t about this party or that party,” he said. “This is about what is right for the 99%. We need elected officials who will fight for good jobs, quality, affordable healthcare and the rights of workers to get together to make changes.”

Cars honked in support and we pressed in closer as he continued.

“Their agenda is more of the same,” he said. “The rich get richer and the working people get nothing. We’re here to say ‘No to the Romney Economy, No to the Ryan Budget and No to the McKenna Agenda. Let’s go down to Attorney General McKenna’s office...right now.”

He directed us on our march from First Hill to the International District where Attorney General Rob McKenna has his campaign office. All the way through downtown folks looked on many throwing us a thumbs up or cheering as we chanted “We don’t want a Romney Economy!” or “Healthcare Cuts? Hell no!”

We arrived in Hing Hay park right across the street from McKenna’s office and RJ Williams walking with his signature cane stood up to speak to us.

“I just don’t get it. We are not out here trying to get some hand out or charity,” he said. “We just want what was promised us. We’ve paid into a system that was promised to be there for us when we needed it. We need it right now, today.”

He shook his head.

“It’s like they’ve forgotten what was promised,” he said. “I’m struggling to make it right now. I’m in the throws of cancer and this guy wants me to somehow dig up an extra 700 dollars? He wants people on Medicaid and Medicare to somehow scramble up more money? If I had that kind of money laying around I would have flown to Mexico and gotten treatment for free. We’ve worked hard for our Medicare and Medicaid. It’s not theirs to dangle around. It’s ours.”

Workers & seniors rally to say: "Medicare & Medicaid Cuts Make Us Sick"

***MEDIA ADVISORY FOR AUGUST 30, 2012***Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

On the day Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan formally accept the Republican nomination...

Workers & seniors rally to say: "Medicare & Medicaid Cuts Make Us Sick"

99% to march from First Hill hospital district to Republican Rob McKenna's campaign office

On the day Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan accept their nominations in Tampa, the 99% will rally in Seattle's First Hill hospital district and march to Rob McKenna's campaign office to call for an end to Republican budget plans that include tax cuts for big corporations and the top 1%, and Medicare & Medicaid cuts for the rest of us. Together, workers, seniors, and community activists will speak out for a different set of priorities and send an unmistakeable message: "Medicare & Medicaid Cuts Make Us Sick".

Like Romney and Ryan, Rob McKenna is pushing a budget agenda that that would force deep cuts to Medicaid for seniors and disabled people — while also making it harder to close corporate tax loopholes. Maybe that's why McKenna recently said "There's no better expert on the federal budget than Representative Ryan."

When: Thursday, August 30th at 11:00 am

Where: 99% protestors will gather at corner of Boren & James in heart of First Hill hospital district.  After brief rally, march will head to Rob McKenna's campaign office at 601 S King Street, Seattle

What/visuals: Workers & seniors marching from First Hill to Rob McKenna's campaign office with signs, banners, and several 3-foot-diameter Mr. Yuk faces to say "Medicare & Medicaid cuts make us sick".

About the McKenna/Romney/Ryan budget proposals: 

• The Ryan budget would end Medicare & Medicare as we know them. Ryan would hand Medicare over to private insurance companies, increase costs, and make seniors wait 2 additional years before receiving benefits at all. Funding for Medicaid would be slashed by more than a third, eliminating benefits for at least 14 million people.
• Rob McKenna is pushing a state budget that would force further reductions to Medicaid services for seniors and people with disabilities — while making it harder to close corporate tax loopholes or make sure the rich pay their fair share.
• McKenna has endorsed the Romney/Ryan ticket and praised Ryan by saying there is "no better expert" on the Federal budget than him.
• The Romney/Ryan/McKenna agenda would slash services and eliminate thousands of jobs — at a time when we have already lost more than 15,000 jobs due to state budget cuts in the last year alone.

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Working Washington is bringing people together to fight for a fair economy. We are speaking out to demand that our political leaders do what it takes to invest in good jobs and move the economy forward. We need good jobs — not cuts to funding for education, health care, and other services. For more information, visit WorkingWa.org 

No candidate or candidate's committee authorized this ad. It is paid for by Working Washington, 15 S. Grady Way, Ste 500, Renton, WA.

Let's give the 1% something to worry about.

by Nate Jackson On August 30, the 1% will be celebrating as Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney formally accept the Republican nomination. Rob McKenna will be cheering them on since all three have the same tired, 1% agenda: ending Medicare and Medicaid as we know it, giving out huge handouts to the richest 1% and expecting the rest of us to shoulder the costs.

It makes me sick.

So on August 30th as Romney and the 1% slap each other's backs, we'll be raising our voices to say no to the Romney economy, no to the Ryan Budget and no the McKenna agenda. Join us.

Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney are campaigning on a budget proposal that would end Medicare and Medicaid as we know them, replacing these critical healthcare programs with cut-rate substitutes in order to pay for still more tax cuts for the rich.

McKenna has talked about a budget plan that will shift costs of Medicaid onto the shoulders of our seniors, disabled and those who’ve fallen on tough times. McKenna’s proposals would eliminate thousands of healthcare jobs — at a time when more than 15,000 jobs have been lost in just the past year due to state budget cuts.

Cutting Medicare, cutting Medicaid and cutting jobs just doesn’t make sense. Join us on August 30th to say no thanks to the Ryan/Romney/McKenna agenda.

They just don’t get it. Do Romney, McKenna, and company really think that making sickening cuts to Medicare and Medicaid while doling out tax breaks to the richest 1% will get us to vote for them?

[Paid for by Working Washington, www.workingwa.org, and not Authorized by any Candidate or Candidate's Committee.]

99%-ers from Kent & Lakewood heading to Tampa to bring their voices to the Republican convention

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

Local community members will join hundreds from around the country bringing their voices directly to the convention of the 1%

As the Republican Party prepares to nominate Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan in Tampa, hundreds of others from across the country — including workers, concerned community members, and good jobs activists — are heading to Tampa as well. They're bringing the voices of the 99% to the convention of the 1%.

John Harris of Lakewood is an army vet, currently working for minimum wage at a local chain restaurant while struggling to get enough flight hours to qualify for a job as a pilot. He is trying hard to build a better future, but it's tough to get ahead — or even to get by — in a 1% economy that seems to only offer low wages, budget cuts, and tax breaks for the rich.

Lashawna Bowman of Kent is a mother of two struggling to make ends meet in an economy where wealth always seems to trickle up and budget cuts always seem to trickle down. She sees the way budget cuts have already impacted the school her children attend and the community where she lives, so she can't believe politicians celebrating in Tampa are actually pushing for more cuts to programs like Medicare & Medicaid.

Who: Minimum-wage worker John Harris of Lakewood; Lashawna Bowman, a mother from Kent; and hundreds of other workers, unemployed people, and concerned community members. Please note: John and Lashawna are available for interviews — contact Sage Wilson at 206-227-6014 for details.

What: 99%-ers bringing their stories and their voices to the Convention of the 1%.

When: August 27, 2012 - August 30, 2012

Where: Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida

John Harris, Lashawna Bowman, and many others from dozens of cities across the country are traveling to Tampa to call for an end to policies that would mean low-wage jobs, more corporate tax breaks for the rich, and more budget cuts on the backs of working families and their communities. They are coming to Tampa to make sure the voices of the 99% are part of the story at the convention of the 1%.

Working Washington is bringing people together to fight for a fair economy. We are speaking out to demand that our political leaders do what it takes to invest in good jobs and move the economy forward. We need good jobs — not cuts to funding for education, health care, and other services. For more information, visit WorkingWa.org

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Alaska Airlines should hire contractors that pay a living wage

(Originally posted on The Seattle Times.) OP/ED by Mia Gregerson

ALASKA Airlines has been praised for cutting costs and increasing profits over the past three years, all while maintaining quality customer service and flying its planes on time. What you may not know is that many of the employees responsible for the airline's record of service do not actually work for Alaska Airlines.

In fact, many of the workers who serve Alaska passengers are among the thousands of poverty-wage workers who are employed not by the airlines or by the airport itself, but by low-bid contractors.

The people who load your bags onto an Alaska flight work for a contractor. When your bags get to you within 20 minutes of your plane parking at the gate -- as Alaska guarantees -- that work is actually performed by contract workers who are paid wages starting at $9.25 an hour.

The people who fuel the aircraft do hard work that requires skill and precision. Alaska has received kudos for having these workers pump biodiesel into their planes. But they, too, are paid poverty wages by a low-bid contractor.

It's the same story with skycaps and wheelchair attendants (minimum wage, or $9.04 per hour, plus tips) and the workers who clean the cabins (pay range starts at minimum wage). Over the years, Alaska and many other airlines have chosen to contract out this work to the lowest bidder, with devastating impact on communities like mine.

Read the entire article here: Alaska Airlines should hire contractors that pay a living wage

Send an email to letters@seattletimes.com letting them know what you think about the poverty wage jobs at our airport