We need Public-service unions to bargain in the open

Please open the closed door, eliminate the elitist approach.

The Seattle Education Association recently threatened a strike after getting a 10.5 percent pay raise last year. The Kennewick teachers union, likewise, has disrupted the start of school for children with its pay demands. Meanwhile, teachers in Toutle Lake School District have blocked the state’s “paramount duty” to education children because of their pay demands this year despite a 17 percent raise last year.

Teachers are also threatening a strike against the families of Ellensburg and LaCenter.
What do they want? How does it impact other services the districts provide? What other tradeoffs are offered at the bargaining table?

Individuals, families, taxpayers, other district employees and even union members commonly do not know given the absurd custom of making these critical budget-busting decisions in behind closed doors.

But bargaining reaches beyond just salaries and budget priorities.

The Seattle Education Association has previously negotiated in favor of more than 100 individuals receiving a $2,500 stipend to be part of some schools’ “Racial Equity Teams.” Other districts negotiate away the ability of the district to get community volunteer help with projects or activities.

Some negotiate to add hurdles to parent visits to their children’s classrooms.

Any school board could enlist the public to help consider the full ramifications of unreasonable bargaining table demands by adopting a transparency policy to allow the observation, livestreaming or immediate document disclosure of proceedings.

In the Pullman School District, WEA and board representatives have negotiated their teachers’ union contract in the open, and the sky didn’t fall.

In Oregon, where observed bargaining is the law, the school directors’ association representative reports that openness starts bargaining closer to compromise since extremes and stalling tactics are harder to explain to the public.

Further, the union tactic of deceiving the public about the elements of dispute and vilifying a district leadership team are removed by adding transparency – any bad actors on the management team are on display, but so are misstatements by the union.

The Washington Education Association has made opposition to a transparency policy a litmus test for its support of school board candidates. In this election cycle, half of the school board positions in the state are up for election.

Among the questions to ask school board candidates is what they think about permitting observed or livestreamed bargaining.

Source for this article is the Freedom Foundation

News this week in Olympia

Sen. Barbara Bailey announced her retirement from the State Senate after 16 years of service

Senator Barbara Bailey (R-Oak Harbor) announced her retirement from the State Senate in a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee on August 16. Sen. Bailey served in the Legislature for 16 years in both the House and the Senate. She will officially step down on September 30.

In her letter to Gov. Inslee, she said that she is hoping to spend more quality time with her family and church and work with her husband on projects and ventures important to them.

Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce director to seek appointment to the State Senate

Christine Cribb, the Executive Director of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce announced that she intends to seek the appointment to the State Senate upon Sen. Bailey’s retirement on September 30.  She says she was encouraged to seek the appointment by Sen. Bailey.

Cribb has led the Oak Harbor chamber for five years and previously served on the Oak Harbor school board. The Republican PCOs in Island, Skagit, and Snohomish counties will choose three people to be submitted to the Island and Skagit county commissioners and the Snohomish County Council who will officially appoint someone to fill the seat. That person will face Democrat Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, among other potential challengers, in the 2020 election.

Gov. Jay Inslee ends his vanity presidential run and announces he will seek a third term as governor

After failing to get any traction in his vanity run for president, Gov. Inslee finally threw in the towel telling MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, “It’s become clear I’m not going to be carrying the ball — I’m not going to be president, so I’m withdrawing tonight from the race.”

He returned home to Washington and within hours announced his intention to run for a third term as governor. By running again he also effectively ended the campaigns or potential campaigns of scores of Democrats who were lining up to run to succeed him or fill vacancies created by those who would.

"Thank you, Gov. Inslee, but it’s time to let others govern"

The Seattle Times editorial board says that Gov. Inslee should reconsider his decision to run for a nearly unprecedented third term as governor. The noted, “If Inslee relinquished the scepter, it would have a cascading effect on the political organization chart. The current state attorney general, lands commissioner and King County executive all would be gubernatorial candidates. That would spur healthy competition, new policy debates and a system refresh at multiple levels of government.”

As evidenced by his vanity run for the White House, this isn’t about the party but about Inslee himself. They ended by thanking Inslee for his service but saying, “but now it’s time to give others a turn.”

Sen. Mark Schoesler encourages Washingtonians to attend their local fairs

Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler penned a piece for the Washington AG Network encouraging people to attend their local fairs.

Schoesler, a wheat farmer himself, says, “Fairs are part of our rich agricultural heritage, with great entertainment and learning opportunities that are good for the entire family.” He notes that while fairs are always a fun time, they also educate attendees about farming and ranching.

The right of the people to know - a reflection

"The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created."

That text is from the Washington State Open Public Meetings Act (RCW42.30.010).  The people must know what government is doing in order to have a informed and fruitful discussion.  If the people are kept in the dark, the government officials are trying to usurp the people's sovereignty and should face a punishment.  This is essential in order to keep democracy.

This principle of openness should be expanded to all government function.  That might cost more, but it will help us stay in control of our corporate government.


The OPMA was enacted in 1971.  Washington State was a lot more of a democratic republic in those days.  These days are darker, with special interests in Olympia in control of much of our affairs and our lives.

More firearm restrictions go into effect

On July 28^th, the following anti-gun bills will go into effect in Washington State:

House Bill 1786 will expand firearm seizures to a wider range of protective orders with little to no due process, and in some cases, will remove a judge’s discretion as to whether to impose firearm restrictions upon respondents of protective orders.

House Bill 1225 will require law-enforcement to seize firearms and ammunition when they are called to the scene of an alleged domestic violence incident and hold them for at least five business days.  This will unfortunately result in property being confiscated without due process and subject citizens to bureaucratic red tape to get their property returned.

Senate Bill 5027 will expand Washington’s existing Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO).  It will affirm that the ERPO can be issued against minors, while also infringing upon the self-defense rights of law-abiding parents or others in the household without due process. 

Senate Bill 5181 will suspend Second Amendment rights without due process for six months from individuals who are admitted for a 72-hour mental health evaluation, but who are not subsequently involuntarily committed.

Fortunately, one pro-Second Amendment bill will also go into effect on the 28^th:

House Bill 1934 will allow military members who are stationed or assigned out-of-state to renew their CPL by mail. 

Initiative 1082 - citizens' right to approve new taxes

Initiative 1082 is a proposal to let the citizens of the state to review and rescind new tax burdens the legislature adds.   Normally, the legislature should exercise restraint when adding to the burden the people bear, but the current legislature went ape enacting new taxes.  Initiative 1082 will allow the people to  restrain tax crazed legislatures.

Impolite endorses Initiative 1082 as a modest restraint on the state government.  The current increase in taxation -- $27 Billion -- is slightly nuts, especially given the state budget was already in balance without the tax hikes.  The Democratic Party controlled legislature increased taxes apparently to increase pressure on the citizens and no other reason.

This November, you'll see 12 "Tax Advisories" on the ballot.  The legislature got scared when they began to encounter citizen resistance to the tax burden increase.  So they allowed that they would take advice on the tax increases.  (This is required by law, but there was some doubt whether it would actually happen.  We know now.
Be sure to sign I-1082 when you get the chance.  Download a copy and circulate it to your friends.  We must stop this tax-madness.

I-1082 download https://permanentoffense.com/petition-download/

I 1648 will not be on the ballot

Initiative 1648, the Term Limits on New Taxes, fell short of the the required number of signatures to qualify for the next ballot.  The most likely reason is the petition drive was given only 4 weeks to gather signatures.

As things stand now, $27 billion in new taxes will fall on the citizens of Washington State starting this year.  If you wish to avoid this disaster, you have two options:  Flee the state, or; Be sure the tax-wild Democrat majority does not stay in power in state government.

Tim Eyman made the following state (by email):

"At 4:41pm, we announced that 1648 had fallen short (the signature count was a little over 198,000 ... but that number didn't include an additional 4300 signatures that were hand-delivered after that).  With 259K valid signatures required, a little over 202K wasn't enough.  I'm not gonna sugar-coat it -- it's a gut punch. So many heroic people put forth a tremendous amount of effort for this extraordinary initiative and it's heartbreaking we didn't make it."

Eyman added:
*  if we had more time, it would've qualified.
*  if we had more money, it would've qualified.
*  if we had qualified it, voters would've passed it by a huge margin.
*  the seeds of later victory were sown by this campaign.


See also Initiative 1082 - citizens' right to approve new taxes, which is son-of-1648, sort of, and still viable.

New gun control restrictions in Washington State

Initiative 1639 was enacted by popular vote in the last general election.   Under I-1639, starting July 1st, prospective purchasers of semi-automatic rifles are required to submit:

• To have completed a specific, I-1639 compliant, firearm training course within the previous five years,
• To transfer of semi-automatic rifles are delayed for ten business days before the buyer or recipient may take possession
• To register new acquired semi-automatic rifles in the existing handgun registration data base.
• To pay a fee of $18 to the Department of Licensing to process transfer of semi auto to buyers or recipients.

Firearm owners will also be required to store firearms locked up per state standards or potentially face criminal liability if they are accessed and used in an illegal act.  State secure storage requirements are still unclear.

House Bill 1465 (as signed) was enacted by the authoritarian movement in Olympia.  It also went into effect July 1st.

It will require state Concealed Pistol License (CPL) holders to undergo a state background check on handgun purchases.

This new requirement is because the FBI is no longer going to conduct National Instant Checks (NICS) for the state.  Background check will be added to teh pistol data base.

~~~~~~~~

To read the whole state law regulating private firearms (RCW 9.41) -- click here

New state lead regulations to target shooting ranges

The Washington Department of Labor and Industries Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH) has released an updated draft of the lead rules they originally released last year following stakeholder meetings.  These proposed regulations will impose complicated and expensive burdens on shooting ranges and retailers, potentially making it difficult for some to continue operations.  DOSH will be holding additional stakeholder meetings to discuss these proposed regulations.  Shooting ranges are vital to the safe practice and exercise of our constitutionally protected Second Amendment right to self-defense, and maintaining access to shooting ranges is a top priority for the 5.5 million member National Rifle Association.

Existing federal and state law already provides extensive regulation of lead in the workplace.  In addition to the federal requirements under the Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Washington also has regulations in place regarding workplace lead exposure and has enforced these regulations through inspections and citations. This draft regulation proposes new and much more demanding requirements that significantly exceed compliance under existing law without providing any clarification on their need.  Furthermore, there have been no economic impact studies on the effect these regulations will have on small businesses.

From the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.  Get more information at nraila.org

Public Hearing June 4th on I-1639 Rifle Transfer Fee

On June 4^th, the Department of Licensing will be holding a public hearing to set the fee that will be charged on all sales and transfers of semi-automatic rifles when the remaining provisions of I-1639 go into effect on July 1^st.  Please click “Take Action” to submit a comment to the Department of Licensing asking that they keep the fee as low as possible.

Language in I-1639 allows DOL to charge a fee not to exceed $25 on all transfers in order to offset the administrative costs associated with the additional background check requirements.  This fee is to be collected by firearm dealers processing transfers to be remitted to DOL and is separate from any other transfer fees that dealers may charge.  Along with the mandatory training requirements, I-1639 could easily double the cost to transfer semi-automatic rifles

Again, please click “Take Action” to submit a comment to the Department of Licensing asking that they keep the fee as low as possible.  In addition, if you wish to attend the public hearing, information may be found here and below.

June 4^th at 1:30PM in the Columbia Room
Washington State Capitol Building
416 Sid Snyder Ave SW
Olympia, WA 98504

New Property Tax for WEA Wage Increases, Not Student Services

Gov. Jay Inslee signed SB 5313 into law, permitting your local school district to increase property taxes by another $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Recall that the state already increased your property taxes to fund education including teacher salaries. This new tax is an increase of  between $355 and $590 million in addition to other tax increases adopted this year.

The long game WEA started playing a few years ago has paid off. Under the rules it plays by, the union gets two property tax increases to fund employee raises while families’ school services are essentially unchanged or worse than before (So much for the WEA being about your children). Many districts are laying off teachers to increase class sizes, cutting levy-funded services and diverting funds from student materials to the union contract.

WEA works to increase the portion of education funding earmarked for salary and benefits of members even if it means districts must cut other services. WEA also seeks any other tax increase possible to fund that agenda even if it results in taxing the poor to give raises to those earning already-comfortable wages.

Beginning last spring, WEA pushed a deception that all new education funding was for educator raises and camouflaged the reality that levy-funded salary enhancement was ending. Union leaders bludgeoned districts into handing out large, unsustainable raises.

WEA then advocated a second property tax increase to bail out over-burdened districts.
As you have school board candidates seeking your vote, be sure to ask them if they support increasing property taxes to fund raises for some school employees.

One silver lining is the laws districts ignored when giving unfunded raises will continue to be enforced, and the state auditor is permitted to reduce property tax levies for districts that illegally use enrichment levy money on union-sought extra raises.

Whether these provisions will actually be interpreted to end WEA’s ability to cannibalize services remains to be seen. The burden to enforce rests with Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal and State Auditor Patrice McCarthy — both of whom owe their offices to union donations to their election campaigns.

Reprinted in its entirety from the Freedom Foundation