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Insight
An Information Pipeline for Members and
Salmon Return to
Portland Creeks
Friends of Local 17
Local 17 Members Work to Restore Habitat
Jan/Feb
2015
Volume 20
Number 1
About This Issue
On the Cover:
Local 17 COPPEA Chapter members
Chad Smith and Melissa Brown wade
through a creek in Portland to monitor
the returning fish population after years
of habitat restoration. Read more on
pages 8-9. 
Insight
Jan/Feb 2015
Vol.20/ No. 1
Professional and Technical Employees, Local 17
2900 Eastlake Avenue East, Ste. 300
Seattle, Washington 98102
Phone ....................................................206-328-7321
Toll-free..................................................800-783-0017
Fax.........................................................206-328-7402
E-mail............................................... [email protected]
Website................................................ www.pte17.org
President: Lois Watt
Vice-President: Hossein Barahimi
Secretary-Treasurer: Sean Simmons
Trustee: Ray Ceaser
Trustee: Elizabethe Geier
Trustee: Rachel Whiteside
Executive Director: Joe McGee
Ext. 101 • [email protected]
Deputy Executive Director: Behnaz Nelson Ext. 112 • [email protected]
News and Features
On Unity....................................................................................3
Labor Rallies around Shared Prosperity Agenda..........................4
Portland Commission Recommends Utility Reforms.................6
King County Offers Conflict Resolution Training......................7
Seattle Parking Enforcement Supervisors Join Local 17.............10
Staff Perspective: Charles Primm.................................................11
Public Health Legislative Education Day...............................12-13
Executive Board Column: Lois Watt...........................................16
Public Affairs
2015 Legislative Session Underway..............................................14
Local 17 to Begin Lobbying in Oregon.......................................15
Finance Director: Jackie Miller
Ext. 102 • [email protected]
Operations Director: Anthony Davidson
Ext. 121 • [email protected]
Union Representatives
Whitney Abrams
Ext. 122 • [email protected]
Amy Bowles
Ext. 118 • [email protected]
Denise Cobden
Ext. 127 • [email protected]
Annie Costello
Ext. 120 • [email protected]
Kate Garrow
Ext. 133 • [email protected]
Yoko Kuramoto-Eidsmoe
Ext. 103 • [email protected]
Sarah Lorenzini
Ext. 110 • [email protected]
Cecilia Mena
Ext. 129 • [email protected]
Guadalupe Perez
Ext. 109 • [email protected]
Charles Primm
Ext. 107 • [email protected]
Patrick Silvernale
Ext. 113 • [email protected]
Program Directors
Communications: Deidre Girard Ext. 130 • [email protected]
Legislative: Vince Oliveri
Ext. 108 • [email protected] and
Legislative: Adrienne Thompson
Ext. 115 • [email protected]
Research: Elliot Levin
Ext. 128 • [email protected]
Membership Development Coordinator:
Karen Estevenin
Ext. 116 • [email protected]
Insight
Joe McGee and Behnaz Nelson, Managing Editors; Deidre Girard, Editor
Insight (ISSN 1093-1694) is the official publication of Professional and Technical
Employees, Local 17. Insight is published bi-monthly by Local 17, 2900 Eastlake
Avenue East, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98102. Periodicals postage paid at Seattle,
Washington. Postmaster: Send address change to: Insight - 2900 Eastlake Ave.
E., Ste. 300, Seattle, WA 98102-3012. www.pte17.org
2
Insight
Special Projects Coordinator:
Nikola Davidson
Ext. 111 • [email protected]
Office Staff
Communications Assistant: Donna Clarke
Ext. 104 • [email protected]
Membership Administrator: Laura Elia
Ext. 123 • [email protected]
On Unity
Overdue Bills
O
ne of the most important and most troubling issues we are currently focused on
at Local 17 is the legislature’s funding of state employee contracts. We negotiated
these agreements with the state via the Governor’s office last fall. They call for
modest cost-of-living increases: 3% starting in July of this year and 1.8% in July of 2016.
“Modest” might be too modest of a word to use regarding these raises because state
employees have not had any cost-of-living wage increases for what will be seven years by
the time we reach July. Yes, that’s seven full years of income erosion, courtesy of the Great
Recession’s devastating impact on state revenues.
Joe McGee
Local 17 Executive Director
Because of Washington state’s obtuse, outdated and incredibly regressive tax structure, current revenue still lags the
economic recovery and falls considerably short of paying for all the needs it is supposed to cover (see Charles Primm’s
related article on page 11). This is a major problem and it requires legislative courage and leadership to get it fixed. Seen
much of that lately? But when it comes to the needs of the state’s workforce it’s time to say “Enough is enough.” Costof-living wage adjustments are an overdue bill that MUST be paid.
For years we’ve been hearing the mantra that “government needs to run like a business.” I fundamentally disagree with
the essence of that oversimplified chant, because government is not at all like a for-profit, product making or selling
enterprise, but I get the sentiment behind it. As for efficiency, governments have been doing more with less for so long
that they put the private sector to shame. Yet it seems like it is the very same people who are always proclaiming that
government needs to run like a business who now are quick to say the state can’t afford employee pay increases. Really?
What kind of viable business can go seven years without adjusting the pay of its skilled and dedicated employees? What
school of management would advocate that kind of a business model as a means to recruit and retain good employees,
and in turn expect top performance and excellent customer service? The commentators and legislators who promote
the “we can’t afford it” cop out need to realize that government has critical and necessary functions that get carried
out every day by workers whose families have dug deep and tightened their belts to stand by their state government
employer during some of its toughest economic times.
Now the priority must be the employees’ needs, which the Governor has recognized with the budget he has proposed.
It does the right and responsible thing: it provides funding for the long overdue cost-of-living raises covered by state
employee labor agreements.
We, along with other unions and allied groups, are doing all we can to get the legislative support needed to achieve the
right outcomes in Olympia. But it would help enormously if each member of our union, state employee or not, would
find out where their elected lawmakers stand on the issue of funding state employee contracts. If they oppose treating
public employees fairly by providing basic and overdue salary adjustments, please let them know what a poor job they
are doing of taking care of essential business. You cannot run a business, especially an entity as critically important as
state government, on empty promises and meaningless projections about future revenues that never seem to appear.
It’s time for the elected leaders to do what our state and public employee members do every day: their jobs.
In unity,
Insight
3
Briefly
Local 17 Produces COPPEA Chapter
Training Video
Rally for Shared Prosperity Brings
Labor, Community Together in Olympia
T
Several Local 17 members in the City
of Portland COPPEA Chapter recently
participated in the making of a training
video to educate their fellow members
about a contract benefit called the
'attendance incentive'. This benefit allows
members to convert a percentage of the
unused portion of annual sick leave to
vacation leave for the duration of the
contract.
Thanks to Ana Brophy, Aulani
Johnson, Bethany Nabhan, Andrew
Neuman, Priscilla Partch, and COPPEA
Chapter President, Gerry Verhoef for
participating!
To view the video, please visit the
Local 17 COPPEA Chapter webpage:
www.pte17.org/coppea. 
he Washington State Labor Council, its affiliated unions, PTE Local
17, and other community supporters held a rally on the Capitol steps in
Olympia on Friday, Feb. 20 in support of
the shared prosperity agenda.
The shared prosperity agenda is a
comprehensive set of legislative policy
proposals to promote real economic recovery, strengthen local communities, and
improve the quality of life for all people in
Washington.
Hundreds of public and private sector workers attended the event to call for
the legislature to address: investment in
schools, transportation, infrastructure,
and public employees; accountability from
aerospace companies that get subsidies
from taxpayers; and, an end to attacks on
collective bargaining and other fundamental worker rights.
The WSLC and other supporters are
urging the legislature to adopt policies
that will rebuild the middle class by lifting
low-wage workers out of poverty, protecting and investing in jobs with dignity,
and defending against attacks on working
families’ standards.
You can read more about the shared
prosperity agenda at: www.wslc.org. 
Skagit County Ratifies 2015-16 Contract
The Local 17 bargaining team in
Skagit County agreed to a two-year
contract for the years 2015-16. The
settlement includes a 2% cost-of-living
adjustment for each year of the contract,
and the County agrees to absorb health
benefit premium increases up to 10%.
The bargaining team members were:
Lori Anderson, Heather Parker, Melissa
Pedrosa, Britt Pfaff-Dunton, Krista
Salinas, Rachel Schwinden, Margy Swint,
and Local 17 Union Representative
Annie Costello. 
Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, too!
facebook.com/PTE17 | twitter.com/PTE17
4Insight
News
Local 17 Continues to Meet with City of Seattle to
Negotiate New Contract; Tackle Wage Inequity
Local 17 bargaining team members pause for a caucus during a recent session with the City of Seattle, left to right: Dan O'Sullivan, Charles Primm,
Thomas Hughes, Denise Krownbell, Ariska Thompson, Guadalupe Perez, Kate Garrow, and Darren Wilson.
T
he Local 17 bargaining team for the
City of Seattle continues to meet
regularly with City leaders to negotiate a new contract for members.
The Coalition of City Unions (CCU),
of which Local 17 is a part, is also continuing to bargain total compensation
items with the City. The Coalition bargains on behalf of its members over issues
that affect all City workers – in particular
wages, retirement, and healthcare benefits.
Local 17 Union Representative Guadalupe Perez and Ian Gordon of Laborers
Local 1239 serve as co-chairs of the CCU.
By bargaining as a coalition, Local 17 and
the other unions have a much stronger
position at the table on the key issues of
wages and benefits.
Currently, the Coalition – which
consists of over 20 unions representing the
majority of workers in Seattle – is waiting
for the City’s counter proposal.
In May of 2014, after signing a oneyear Memorandum of Agreement, which
included a cost-of-living adjustment
(COLA) and rolled over existing language
in the collective bargaining agreement, the
Coalition made a monetary proposal to
the City. After nine months, and five studies later, the City of Seattle is prepared to
make a counter proposal, with a complete
monetary proposal, on February 18.
Meanwhile, Local 17 continues to
bargain non-monetary items separate
from the Coalition. Non-monetary lan-
guage items, such as employee rights, the
grievance procedure, hours of work and
overtime, are negotiated at just the Local
17 bargaining table.
The focus thus far – as prioritized by
our membership via an earlier bargaining
survey – is on modifying existing language
that addresses not only gender equity in
the workplace, but language that provides
for a workplace that supports families
from all walks of life. Some of these polices include providing a fair and consistent way of requesting and receiving Flex
and Alternative Work schedules, as well
as more opportunities for telecommuting.
Other non-monetary items being considered are the use of temporary employees,
performance management, and use of
overtime. Our work force is changing, and
our policies and procedures must reflect
the times.
Denise Krownbell, member of the
Local 17 City of Seattle bargaining team,
had this to say about wage inequity:
"I think what may be overlooked on
the wage equity discussion is the direct
impact on employee morale. Speaking
from personal experience, it is extremely
frustrating to know that you are doing at
least the same work as someone else and
getting paid less. Not only does that have
obvious financial impacts but psychological impacts as well. The daily knowledge
that you work just as hard as someone else
but they get paid more weighs you down.
The impacts to morale and productivity
are such that this reason alone should be
enough of a concern for employers to get
it right."
Local 17 is not alone in these interests.
The City has set aside $1.4 million for the
purpose of addressing gender equity, and
the City Council has signed a Statement
of Legislative Intent directing all City
departments to conduct internal analyses
of wages and employment policies. The
Local 17 bargaining team is hopeful that
there will be gains in gender equity in this
contract.
The bargaining team is also hopeful that the City will put its principles in
action and work with Local 17 to achieve
more equitable, modern, and familyfriendly policies. Stay tuned! 
"It is extremely
frustrating to
know that you
are doing at
least the same
work as someone else and
getting paid less."
Denise Krownbell,
Local 17 City of Seattle
Bargaining Team Member
Insight
5
News
Blue Ribbon Commission Submits Final Recommendation
to Portland City Council About Utility Reforms
I
n December 2014, the Blue Ribbon
Commission submitted its recommendation to City Council. This concluded
almost six months of careful review and
consideration of current Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) and Water
Bureau (Water) policy and practice.
PTE Local 17 and our COPPEA
Chapter members played an active role
in this process. Local 17 attended every
commission meeting, submitted a position
letter to the Commission, testified before
the Commission three times, and met
with Barbara Byrd, Oregon AFL-CIO
Secretary/Treasurer and Commission Labor representative, throughout to provide
input. Local 17 successfully provided a
voice for the hundreds of dedicated COPPEA Chapter members employed at BES
and Water dedicated to keeping Portland’s
water clean and moving, and to protecting
Portland’s environment.
The Commission was created by Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Nick
Fish after the resounding defeat of Ballot
to discuss the Commission’s findings.
Commissioner Fish
has agreed to call
upon Local 17 when
he considers recommendations for
the labor member
position. Local 17
has also met with a
small labor coalition involved with
the Commission to
begin the discussion
regarding the labor member nominee.
The PUB’s recommendation will be
considered by Council and, if approved,
codified. Commissioner Fish hopes to have
the PUB running by August 2015.
For more information on the Commission visit: http://www.portlandonline.com/
Fish/index.cfm?c=65200
For a copy of the Commission’s Final
Report visit: http://www.portlandonline.
com/fish/index.cfm?c=47690&a=511835. 
Local 17 Welcomes New Union Representative
L
ocal 17 is pleased to announce a
new addition to its union representative staff: Cecilia "Ceci" Mena.
Mena joined Local 17 on December 1,
2014, as the union representative for King
County supervisors, transit administrators, and transit professional and technical
members.
Mena is a lifelong Washingtonian and
graduated from Washington State University (WSU) in 2007. While at WSU, she
was active in politics and was the president of her local Movimiento Estudiantil
Chican de Aztlán (M.E.Ch.A.) chapter.
She graduated with a two degrees – one in
sociology and another in psychology.
Prior to her arrival at Local 17, Mena
worked at UFCW Local 21. She began
her career there as a Political Organizer in
both Anchorage and Seattle. After work6
Measure 26-156 last year. The Commission was tasked with analyzing potential
reform proposals at the BES and Water,
which included addressing transparency
and accountability within those Bureaus.
The final recommendation is for a
Public Utility Board (PUB) made up
of 11 members. The PUB will take the
place of the Budget Advisory Committees (BAC) and Portland Utility Review
Board (PURB) for both BES and Water.
The PUB will create the budget, work with
the Commissioner-in-charge to monitor
bureau spending and respond to audits.
The PUB will not set the utility rates –
that role will be assigned to the Bureau of
Planning and Sustainability. However, it
will hold annual public utility rate review
hearings. The membership will include at
least one labor representative from the collective bargaining unit (i.e., an employee
of BES or Water).
Local 17 continues to be active in
this post-Commission era. Staff met with
Commissioner Fish in early-January 2015
Insight
ing on the Presidential and Gubernatorial
campaigns in 2008, she became a Union
Representative, and spent the last six and a
half years representing retail, grocery and
healthcare workers. As a union representative, she had the opportunity to work on
contract campaigns, contract enforcement,
grievance investigating and processing, arbitration work and member representation.
Joe McGee, Local 17 Executive Director,
had this to say of Mena: "Ceci brings experience, energy, and a 'can do' spirit to her work.
It's a pleasure to add her to our team."
Mena learned the importance of a good
union job from a very young age. Her mother
was a proud and active member of AFSCME.
“As an active member of her union, my
mother taught me the importance of sticking up for myself as well as others around
me, honoring the rights won through much
struggle and persistence, and never giving
up.”
Mena is excited about working in her new
capacity at Local 17. “I am honored to have
the opportunity to work with the Local 17
membership," said Mena. 
News
King County Office Helps Train Supervisors to Resolve
Workplace Conflict
T
he King County Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR) office
recently presented a two-day training to provide supervisors and managers
with the theory, skills and processes to
resolve workplace conflict successfully and
immediately.
This type of training is designed to
proactively address workplace conflict
before it escalates into grievances or official complaints. Not only does it coach
supervisors on their own interactions with
subordinates, it also is intended to help
supervisors identify ways to empower their
employees to solve internal workplace
conflicts.
As representatives of employees in both
management and non-management roles,
Local 17 members can expect to benefit
from this training. By the end of the training, participants should be able to:
• Coach people to have direct conversations with each other when a conflict
arises.
• Facilitate two or more employees in a
discussion about a conflict.
• Define and recognize the signs of
conflict.
• Describe the patterns associated with
conflict.
• Name four different avenues for
resolving conflict and evaluate when
to use each of them.
• Describe how conflict resolution skills
increase emotional intelligence.
• Recognize “conflict personalities” and
have strategies for dealing with them.
• Draw interest, values and needs from
conflict narratives.
John Lewis, Local 17 member and
Chief of Central Base Operations in
Metro, recently attended the conflict resolution training for supervisors.
"I found the class informative and
it gave me a new perspective on how
conflicts arise, and also new tools to help
resolve conflicts," said Lewis.
"Resolution often revolves around
getting beyond the rhetoric and finding
the key interests of the parties. The class
taught two techniques, coaching and
facilitating. I highly recommend it."
ADR said they have received positive
feedback from their training and they intend to offer it more frequently, and would
consider presenting to union stewards. 
Update your contact info at: pte17.org/address/form.html
King County Metro Looking for Community Members to
Shape the Future of Public Transit
K
ing County Metro is putting
together a planning committee
to craft a 25-year plan to make
public transportation faster and more efficient. They are seeking to work with local
jurisdictions and community stakeholders
across the region to guide their decisionmaking regarding transit.
Local 17 is encouraging its transit
members who live in King County to participate. Your transportation expertise will
be essential to this effort. Members can apply to serve on the Community Advisory
Group, attend advisory group meetings,
and take surveys or provide other input
on your vision for the future of public
transportation.
According to King County: "The plan
will guide Metro through 2040 in providing a coordinated, regional transportation
system that improves the lives of all King
County residents. The plan will describe
an integrated network of transportation
options, the facilities and technology
needed to support those services, and the
financial requirements for building the
system. It will be developed in close coordination with Sound Transit and other
transportation agencies."
You can learn more about the project
and sign up for online notifications on
their website: www.kcmetrovision.org. 
Insight
7
News
& Features
Features
Moving Upstream:
Local 17 Members Improve Habitat;
Salmon and Other Fish Return to Portland Creeks
I
Chad Smith (left) and Melissa Brown (right) wade up the Cedar Mills Creek to look for signs of aquatic life returning to the waterway.
n the fall of 2014, Coho salmon
returned to Portland’s Crystal Springs
Creek. Due to habitat destruction and
poor water quality, Coho salmon had not
spawned in the creek for decades.
Salmon, and other fish, are finding
improved water quality and passage up
the creek, thanks in large part to Local 17
COPPEA Chapter members at Portland's
Bureau of Environmental Services (BES).
Melissa Brown, Local 17 member and
BES employee, observed and filmed Coho
salmon spawning in the creek in October
2014. She and her team at BES have led
"[The salmon's] presence
indicates that habitat is
good enough to hang out
in; and their offspring's
survival indicates that
habitat is productive and
good enough to return to."
Melissa Brown, Local 17 Member
and Environmental Specialist, City
of Portland Bureau of Environmental
Services
8Insight
the efforts to improve the creek in order
to encourage the salmon’s return.
Brown has worked as an Environmental Specialist at BES for nearly five
years. She has a Bachelor's of Science in
Environmental Science, and a Master's
of Science in Aquatic Ecology and
Fisheries.
As an Environmental Specialist,
Brown serves as a Senior Fish Biologist
on city projects that impact waterways,
such as sewer construction and habitat
restoration. The Crystal Springs Creek
project was one of these habitat restoration projects and fell under federal
mandate to improve water quality in the
Willamette River Valley and two of its
watersheds.
The creek was peppered with
culverts, severely limiting fish passage
(spawning) and negatively impacting
water quality. Brown advised project
managers on design, compliance, fish
salvage, and post-project monitoring
related to removing nine of the culverts
and improving the water quality. The
team, then, restored habitat by laying
back banks, depositing spawning gravel
and large wood, and re-vegetating with
native plants and shrubs.
All of these improvements led to the
stellar salmon run Brown observed in the
fall. At that time, Brown documented one
dozen adult Coho salmon that laid about
one dozen nests.
"It was amazing to see the salmon
return to Crystal Springs," said Brown.
As part of her monitoring of the salmon
run, Brown recorded the salmon in the
creek. From a bridge above the creek, she
observed a mating pair, then she affixed her
camera to a PVC pipe and waded into the
creek.
"The fish were very accommodating –
they kept working away on building and
protecting that nest – seemingly not bothered by my presence," said Brown.
"I ended up filming them for about 15
minutes, and then left them alone to keep
on keeping on."
What is significant about the return of
the salmon to Crystal Creek is that salmon
are an indicator species – they need good
water and habitat quality to survive.
"Their presence indicates that habitat
is good enough to hang out in; and their
offspring's survival indicates that habitat is
productive and good enough to return to,"
said Brown, who is very optimistic that the
salmon will return again to spawn in the
creek.
Features
The final two barriers to the salmon’s
passage up the creek are slated for removal
in summer 2015, at which point the creek
will be open to all life stages of native fish
from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.
"Projects like the ones in Crystal
Springs are important because they help
recover fish like Chinook salmon, Coho
salmon, and steelhead trout that are listed
on the endangered species list," said Chad
Smith, another Local 17 member and Environmental Specialist with BES.
In addition to projects like Crystal
Springs Creek, the Environmental Specialists in Wildlife Biology at BES, like Brown,
represent the City of Portland on regional
watershed planning and scientific technical teams. They also monitor everything
that lives in Portland’s streams, including
sturgeon, mussels, salamander, carp, bass,
stickleback suckers and shiners.
Brown says that she is grateful to perform this work alongside so many talented
and dedicated people.
"The small team we call Science, Fish
and Wildlife in the BES Watershed division is one of the most knowledgeable and
resourceful groups I’ve ever worked with,”
she said.
But Brown's favorite part of working
at BES is seeing the environment returned
to its natural state and protected for future
generations of plants, animals and humans.
"The bottom line is that the biggest
reward in this job is seeing habitat restored.
You can see the video of the salmon
building their nest at: www.portlandoregon.
gov/bes/66158. 
"Projects like the one in
Crystal Springs are important
because they help recover
fish like Chinook salmon,
Coho salmon, and steelhead
trout that are listed on the
endangered species list."
Chad Smith, Local 17 Member and
Environmental Specialist, City of Portland
Bureau of Environmental Services
Melissa Brown measures the length of a Prickly sculpin in the creek.
Insight9
Features
H
City of Seattle Parking Enforcement Supervisors
Manage Customer Complaints with a Smile
ave you ever gotten a parking
ticket in Seattle? If so, you're
probably not too happy when you
see those small, 'buggy' looking vehicles
anywhere near your car.
Most of us do nothing but complain
about parking and parking tickets. But
have you ever thought about the people
behind the scenes who field all of the parking questions and complaints? That's where
Local 17's newest members come in.
Recently, twelve Parking Enforcement
Supervisors from the City of Seattle joined
Local 17. As supervisors, their work runs
the gamut from coaching and mentoring
Parking Enforcement Officers (PEOs), to
working with other city departments on
parking related programs. They also have
the critical task of managing the steady
stream of questions and parking related
problems from citizens.
With all the recent attention on police
and the changes at the Seattle Police
Department (SPD), the Supervisors sought
out union representation with Local 17.
“As a group, we wanted to have a voice
in determining our workplace conditions,”
said Supervisor Wayne McCann, who is
also a new union Steward.
McCann has been with the SPD for 16
years. He was initially hired on as a police
officer, but made the move to parking
enforcement in 1999.
While managing parking complaints
and issues is a tough job, it's not always
negative. McCann recounted a time when
he was able to help a woman who was having a difficult time getting things resolved
after her father passed away:
“Her father’s car got a 72-hour notice
and was threatened for impound. I was
able to refer her to some resources and
postpone any action with the car until she
was able to get the right paperwork."
"In the end, everything worked
out. She called me sometime later and
expressed profound gratitude for my compassion and for taking the time to help her
during a very difficult time in her life. I
have to say, that really meant a lot to me.”
Recently, the City of Seattle switched
some parking meters to a pay-until-8 p.m.
system, extending the metered parking by
two hours. So far, customers seem to be
happy with this change.
“Businesses and citizens really like it,
as it better regulates the parking around
popular restaurants and nightspots," said
McCann. "People can actually find parking after 6 p.m.!”
So, the next time you pay for parking
or a parking ticket, think of the hard work
of your fellow members! And remember
that your money makes an important contribution to the City of Seattle’s General
Fund. The City relies on the General Fund
to fund important city services like police,
fire, courts, parks and libraries. 
Parking Enforcement Supervisors (left to right): Laura Fox, Mary Mitchell, Matt Miller, Wayne McCann, Jennifer McKinney, and Thomas Little.
10
Insight
Features
Staff Perspective
Washington State in Dire Need of Major Tax Reform
A
ny time you try to talk about tax
reform in Washington state, and
how important it is to our future,
either people's eyes glaze over or they
think it's code and that you really want the
legislature to impose a new income tax,
and the discussion stops promptly.
But the fact of the matter is our state
faces a serious crisis in raising revenue that
threatens the very fabric of our society.
We can no longer ignore the problem. We
need to fundamentally reform our tax
structure or else Washingtonians will face
drastic consequences to the issues people
care most about.
Washingtonians want state government to provide decent education, a
functioning transportation system, quality
healthcare, and wise government spending that supports an infrastructure for
economic expansion. But the state budget
relies on an outdated tax system that is not
only the most regressive (unfair) system
in the country, but is also terribly ineffective at capturing revenue. We’re reaching a
crisis point in terms of being able to fund
basic government services, and, unless we
act quickly, we could face drastic consequences.
In recent years the state legislature has
slashed nearly $10 billion in spending and
this year faces up to an additional $4 billion deficit that the legislature will have to
grapple with. Higher education costs have
gone up by a third. Washington is nearly
dead last in spending on K-12 education.
Our roads and highways are crumbling,
making it increasingly difficult to transport goods around our state. Public transit
has been slashed, and our mental health
system remains chronically underfunded,
at great cost to our society.
But all this is happening during an
economic recovery. The revenue base
for our state is shrinking even while the
economy is growing. Why is this?
One of the primary reasons is that
our state budget is heavily reliant on sales
tax as the main revenue source. Retail
sales tax accounts for 60% of all revenue,
while Business and Occupation taxes and
property taxes account for the rest. As our
economy has shifted from manufactured
goods to services and Internet sales, the
sales tax – the principal source of money
for the state budget – has captured a declining share of the economy.
Furthermore, our sales tax is so
regressive that we’ve had to exempt huge
categories of goods from being taxed,
namely food and health care. The result is
that only one-third of consumer spending
is on goods that are taxable. While retail
sales tax might have worked well enough
to fund state government in the past, it is
clear now that a 1930s tax structure is not
Graph from Gov. Inslee's budget presentation, Dec. 18, 2014.
By Charles Primm
Local 17 Union
Representative
working in our 21st
century economy.
Those states that
raise revenue by taxing some combination of sales, property
and income do much better than those
that put heavy reliance on sales and excise
taxes, like ours does. Over-reliance on
sales tax means that our state is among
the worst in the country at recapturing
revenue even as the economy rebounds
from recession.
To address the crisis we need to make
fundamental tax reform a priority and
start the conversation with our families,
our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers, and our state and local representatives.
Our tax system is rigged so that the
lowest wage earners – those in the bottom
20 percent of the income scale – pay 16.8
percent of their income in taxes, while
the top 1% pay just 2.4 percent of their
income in taxes.
Yes. You read that correctly: the poorest Washingtonians pay nearly eight times
as much of their income in taxes than do
the richest.
Instead of placing the tax burden on
the middle class and working families,
we need to develop a revenue system that
grows with the economy. That could
include revenue sources such a graduated
income tax, capital gains tax, or an estate
tax. With these additional sources of revenue we could look at reducing sales tax
and restructuring Business and Occupation taxes to help small businesses. These
new sources of revenue would be fairer
and much more stable than what we currently have. Instead of relying on a system
where those who have the least income
pay the most in taxes, we could shift that
burden, which would put more money
back in the pockets of working families,
who in turn will spend it on basics for
their families.
While there’s an urgent need for
change, we know change comes slowly.
That’s why it’s important to get the conversation going. 
Insight
11
Features
Public Health Legislative Education Day
Local 17 members talk to legislators about the important work of public health
T
he fifth annual Public Health
Legislative Education Day, hosted
by the Washington State Public
Health Association, was held on Feb. 4 in
Olympia. The program, which is co-sponsored by Local 17 and other governmental
and non-governmental organizations,
brought public health workers and advocates from across the state to the capitol for
face-to-face meetings with elected officials.
The day is designed to provide legislators with an insider’s perspective on public
health programs, and sets the groundwork
for ongoing dialogue about the role of
public health in keeping our communities
healthy.
This year, eight Local 17 members
from Seattle-King County Public Health
and Snohomish Health District were in
attendance, including: Anne Alfred, Jake
Ketchum, Alicia McQuen, Fel Pajimula,
Jose Ramirez, Cheyanne Ray, Konstantin
Setiaev, and Brian Stewart.
John Wiesman, Secretary of the
Washington State Department of Health,
welcomed the group to Olympia, and
stressed how important education days like
this are for building long-term support for
Local 17 members gather for a photo
before heading up to the capitol to visit their
legislators.
12 Insight
Insight12
Local 17 members, Local 17 Legislative Director Adrienne Thompson, and other public health
advocates meet with Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe from District 1 (center) in Snohomish County.
public health and public health funding.
He also expressed praise for Governor Jay
Inslee's support of public health and health
funding.
"I feel very passionate about [public
health] and it's an honor to work with this
administration," said Wiesman
Attendees of the event also heard from
Representatives Laurie Jinkins and June
Robinson – both of whom have public
health backgrounds. They both urged
constituents to talk to their representatives
regularly, especially outside of the legislative session, about finding revenue, knowing that all the support in the world will
not maintain public health if the dollars
are not there.
One way that Jinkins is hoping to find
new revenue is through ammendments to
the state's regressive tax system.
"Our poorest people pay the highest
percentage of income in taxes," she said.
"That's the definition of regressivity."
One of the biggest priorities for
public health during this session is to
get legislation passed to regulate and tax
Local 17 member Brian Stewart and Union
Representative Denise Cobden stand in the
rotunda of the legislative building between
meetings with their legislators.
Features
e-cigarettes, which are currently unregulated. Public health advocates are seeking
support for the "Vaping Bill" – house bill
1645 and senate bill 5573 – which will,
among other things, require e-cigarette
vendors to have a license, eliminate
school use and internet sales of e-cigarettes, and seek a 95% tax, similar to the
tax on other tobacco products.
Local 17 member Alicia McQuen,
who works as a Disease Intervention
Specialist at Snohomish Health District,
attended the event. She spoke to three of
the legislators in her home district, including Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, Rep.
Strom Peterson, and Rep. Hans Dunshee. McQuen explained the work that
she does to track and prevent the spread
of tuberculosis, including a compelling
story about educating a fearful community about the spread of the disease.
“Being able to educate our legislators
about my job, and the role and importance of public health was a very rewarding experience," said McQuen.
"I think it is important to remind
the legislators that the reason they do not
hear about the 200+ cases of tuberculosis
in Washington each year, and that the
reason that they can go out to eat and not
have to worry about getting a foodborne
illness, is because of everyday people like
myself who work in the shadows to make
this possible. That is exactly why it is
important to remind those who fund and
support our efforts that we are still here,
but need their support to continue our
work and keep people healthy and safe
within our communities."
Public health workers across the state
protect our food and water, prevent and
treat diseases, and provide vital services
to some of the most vulnerable residents.
Adrienne Thompson, one of Local
17's Legislative Directors, presented a
segment on how to talk to legislators at
the event; and Denise Cobden and Annie
Costello, Local 17 Union Representatives
for public health members, were also in
attendance. 
Above: Local 17 member Jose Ramirez talks about public health with Senator Pramila Jayapal.
Below: Alicia McQuen and Anne Alfred, Local 17 members at Snohomish Health District, talk with
Representative Strom Peterson.
"Being able to educate our legislators about my job,
and the role and importance of public health was a
very rewarding experience."
Alicia McQuen, Local 17 Member and Disease Intervention Specialist,
Snohomish Health District
Insight
13
Public Affairs
2015 Legislative Session Off to a Fast Start
T
he 2015 legislative session began
on Jan. 12 with hundreds of bills
being introduced weekly. Several
key factors will determine whether the
session will end as scheduled on April 26.
Slim majorities for different parties
in the House (Democrat) and Senate
(Republican), and philosophically
different approaches to the budget and
how to balance a two-year budget that
contains significant shortfalls, make this
a challenging session.
Though the Democrats remain in
control in the House and retain their
leadership positions similar to previous
sessions, they do so with a constitutional
majority of only one vote. This creates a
situation that may result in some of the
same partisan politics that we have seen
in the Senate in previous sessions.
In the Senate, the Republicans hold
a one-vote margin but also continue
to have Senator Sheldon (D-35) in the
Republican Caucus. Senator Sheldon
has served in the Republican Caucus
leadership as President Pro-Tempore.
This year the Democrats were able to
garner the votes of Senator Pam Roach
(R-31) and Senator Don Benton (R17) to elect Senator Roach as President
Pro-Tempore. The Senate President Pro
Tempore presides over the Senate in the
absence of the normal presiding officer,
Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen.
At all levels of government Local 17
members have felt the impact of the Great
Recession. Further cuts would decrease
services to our communities and cut jobs.
The priorities for Local 17 this year
are to fund the state employees contract,
pass a transportation budget with new
revenue at the state and local levels, and
pass an operating budget that includes
funding for public health and local
government. In order to accomplish these
priorities, it is necessary for the legislature
to pass new revenue.
There have been increases in revenue
based on forecast data. However, it does
not meet all the needs. In December,
Governor Inslee released the 2015-2017
Operating Budget, Transportation
Budget and Capital Budget proposals
that included new revenue. His budget
proposal addressed the priorities for Local
17 and started to meet the constitutional
requirement to fund K-12 education. The
next economic forecast for Washington
state will be released on March 18.
It is anticipated the House will
release their 2015-2017 Operating Budget
proposal shortly after the economic
forecast. The Senate will release their
budget proposal after the House. It
is unclear, with the slim Republican
majority, whether the Senate will include
new revenue in their Operating Budget
proposal.
The 2015-2017 Transportation
Budget remains a moving target. The
House has expressed its interest to
pass new revenue for transportation at
the state and local level as they have
done in previous sessions. There has
been clear indication from the Senate
Transportation Committee leaders that
there may be a revenue proposal released
by the Chair of Transportation, Senator
Curtis King (R-14). It is still unclear
whether there will be enough Senators to
support the anticipated proposal.
There are several policy bills that
Local 17 is working on. They are subject
to policy cut-off on Feburary 20. If
they fail to pass out of their assigned
policy committees that date, they will
be considered dead. Some of the bills to
highlight are:
•
•
•
•
HB 1178/SB 5833 - Expands
assault in the third degree
for utility employees who are
attacked in the field over the
course of their job.
HB 1286 - Requiring a study
for finding options for long-term
care services and support.
HB 1545 - Allows public health
nurses to dispense more than one
dose in the field.
HB 1977/SB 5841 - Creating a
tuition and fees exemption for
children and surviving spouses of
certain highway workers.
Sign up for the PTE Local 17 public
affairs blog at pte17publicaffairs.org to
keep up to date on what's happening in
Olympia. 
14
Insight
Public Affairs
Local 17 to Begin Lobbying in Salem for Oregon Members
A
s the 2015 legislative session is
beginning in Salem, Local 17 is
preparing to engage in lobbying
activities for the first time in Oregon.
Local 17 Research Director Elliot
Levin, who is based in Portland, will
assume new duties covering the legislative
session.
“I’m looking forward to this new opportunity to help raise Local 17’s profile
in Oregon over the coming months, and I
hope to help our members stay informed
about issues that will impact them” said
Levin.
Levin will continue his research
activities in addition to the new duties as
Oregon Legislative Advocate.
As Oregon’s economy continues to
rebound following the recession, the 2015
Oregon Legislature aims to continue the
trend of job growth and recovery, as well
as investing in education and other key
services.
Tina Kotek, the Speaker of the House,
has prioritized several bills that would
improve conditions for Oregon workers
and address issues of economic inequality.
These include guaranteed paid sick leave
and increases to the minimum wage, both
of which Local 17 will support.
Additionally, following the stalled
attempts by the City of Portland to fund
needed transportation maintenance and
safety improvements through a street fee
or income tax, the Oregon Legislature will
take up discussions of a statewide transportation funding package, likely paid for
through increases to the per gallon gas tax.
Proposals have included both increasing
the per gallon tax and indexing the tax to
inflation in order to eliminate the structural revenue problem which has led to
stretched transportation budgets throughout the state.
Local 17 has begun meeting with key
House and Senate members to discuss
issues of importance to our union, and
hopes to participate in coalition with other
unions and organizations that share our
interests.
As the 2015 session begins to take
shape, we hope to provide information
to members who wish to stay connected
to legislation being discussed in Salem.
We plan to communicate this information through the Local 17 and COPPEA
Chapter web pages. 
Insight
15
Periodicals
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Lois Watt
Local 17 President
I
Executive Board
Point of View
’m not a big fan of reality television; I find it mostly
scripted and contrived with no real relationship to
reality at all. But there is one show out there that I do
like – Mike Rowe’s Somebody’s Gotta Do It.
The show chronicles different jobs and the regular
people that do them, many of whom truly demonstrate
a passion for their work.
Every day, I work with people at my job at King
County who have found their passion too. These coworkers truly enjoy what they do. It is not the stuff that
will get them on T.V. – they are the customer service
workers, inspectors, accountants and engineers – but
they do what they do every day to make life a little better
for their community.
Some of my co-workers have deep passions
outside of their working life too. I recently learned that
a co-worker spends countless hours volunteering for
an organization dedicated to researching a particular
illness because their grandchild is affected by it.
Another co-worker likes to sew and is constantly
making things for other people. She sews things for
birthdays and holidays, but frequently she gives away
homemade gifts for no reason at all other than that it
brings her joy.
And I know someone who is currently in school
studying hard to become a nurse, a passion she
developed while being the recipient of nursing care over
the course of two dozen surgeries she faced in her life.
At Local 17, I have found staff employees and
member leaders who are passionate about making
sure that our members have the best pay and working
conditions possible. They believe in their heart and soul
that only by standing together can we make the world
a better place for all, starting in our small corner of the
world. I am grateful for this passion and that they choose
to share their passion with us.
There are hundreds, thousands – no millions – of
things that can and need to be done in this world. And
Somebody’s Gotta Do It. That somebody is you! Thank
you for following your passion.
In Solidarity,