Rumors are running rampant through worksites this week as the legislature is racing to complete its work by March 11th with their main chore of resolving the state’s $2.7 billion deficit. Proposals regarding state employee furloughs and other bills, such as the elimination of Personal Holidays, are of deep concern to many members and are causing anxious decisions by members regarding their leave.
Many members are reacting to the situation by making immediate application for leave. While our contract provides members to apply for this leave, this article is meant to assist members with that decision (and to encourage you to contact your legislators) by providing detailed information about these issues.
This analysis is current as of March 4th. The legislative process is dynamic and may change hour-by-hour. We will attempt to update changes to this issue as soon as possible on our hotline and website. Members can also view the legislative issues discussed below here.
First… a Procedural Primer
A proposed bill begins in either the House or Senate. When one body passes it, it then goes to the other. Keep in mind that if a bill is revised or changed by one body, it must go back to the other until the bill is passed with the exact same language in both houses. At that point it must then go to the governor for signature. Keep in mind the governor does have some veto power.
The Furlough Bill – SSB 6503
The furlough proposal began in the Senate. The final version that passed in the Senate called for one furlough day per month beginning in June 2010 for 13 total days. It required a “reduction in employee compensation costs of $69.154 million from general fund.” It also exempts work regarding, “The operation, maintenance, and construction of state ferries and state highways” and “Washington state patrol investigative services and field enforcement.”
The bill went to the House where it was amended by the Ways and Means Committee. Among the modifications provided are for 11 furlough days and a $50 million cost reduction.
It is now waiting to come to a floor vote in the House.
However, as with most bills, Senators and House Representatives are lining up numerous floor amendments to add onto the original bill. There are many amendments queued up for consideration including one from Representative Williams that would reduce the amount of a legislator’s per diem to the same degree that a state employee would lose by furlough.
A significant amendment proposed by Representative Ross would freeze the Personal Holiday section of our contract and do away with our additional one (1) additional personal holiday each calendar year (Union contract – Article 10.3) until June 2011.
Another significant amendment proposed by Representative Hinkle would freeze any compensation increases in our contract through June 2011. This would include step increases.
It is critical to note that the Ross and Hinkle proposals would violate binding state contracts already in place (your collective bargaining agreement!). To do so could result in lawsuits. One way to attempt to sidestep a lawsuit would be for the governor to declare a fiscal emergency and reopen the current contract.
It is for those reasons that your union staff believes that the majority of legislators will not support these floor amendments.
Member Action
Since the basic Furlough bill was proposed, Local 17 urged all members to contact legislators to oppose the bill (and remember – if the bill goes down there is nothing to attach the amendments onto.) You can still exert your voice on the furlough bill here.
Lastly, we have attempted to clarify these issues because of the rush of so many employees to use their Personal Holiday. Our advice – if you were planning to take leave anyway, then go ahead and use it. If you were just going to use it for fear of losing it, stay closely tuned to the information sources as we get closer to the close of the legislative session on March 11th.