Es temporada política otra vez, ya que los legisladores del estado de Washington han regresado a Olimpia para el inicio de la sesión legislativa de 2019. Este es un año presupuestario, que requiere una larga sesión - 105 días, desde el 14 de enero hasta el 28 de abril de 2019. 

Over the last few years, our union has built a strong voice in Olympia. Participation at our annual lobby day has grown from a few dozen a decade ago to over 200 members and their families at last year’s event.  With a stronger voice, we’ve been able to achieve legislative change that has benefited workers across our state. We’ve funded contracts for state employees and passed bills that have made our workplaces safer and more secure.

Nuestro poder colectivo es el resultado directo de la participación de los miembros, y en 2019 habrá muchas oportunidades de participar.

Our Legislative Affairs Director, Brenda Wiest, will be on the ground throughout session meeting with legislators and our labor partners to advocate on behalf of members of Teamsters 117. Dustin Lambro, our union’s Political Director, will be mobilizing members to testify before legislative committees and coordinating lobby visits so that members can take their concerns directly to legislators.

Dustin es también la persona indicada para nuestro próximo Día de Recepción y Cabildeo Legislativo el 26 y 27 de febrero, cuando los miembros participarán en docenas de reuniones con legisladores estatales. Para unirse a nosotros para el evento, por favor regístrese en línea aquí. La fecha límite para registrarse es el 4 de febrero.

Our union’s priorities for the 2019 legislative session are as follows:

• Interest Arbitration Rights for DOC – Interest arbitration gives our union the ability to move mandatory subjects of bargaining to a neutral third-party arbitrator should we reach impasse in negotiations with the State. It is a right commonly granted public safety personnel who do not have the ability to strike, such as the Washington State Patrol. We achieved interest arbitration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the Governor in 2014 and negotiated it into our 2017-2019 and 2019-2021 contracts. It is time to codify this right in statute.
• Financienuestros contratos con la policía DOC y UW - Trabajaremos en una coalición de sindicatos de empleados estatales para asegurarnos de que los legisladores reconozcan a nuestros funcionarios públicos financiando los contratos de los empleados estatales.
• Interest Arbitration Rights for Campus Police – Campus police in our state, including members of Teamsters 117 working at the University of Washington Police Department, should have access to interest arbitration rights just as other commissioned law enforcement officers do.
• Preservar la portación ocultapara el personal penitenciario capacitado - Enmendar la RCW 9.41.060 para ampliar el derecho del personal penitenciario capacitado a portar armas ocultas sin permiso, como pueden hacer otros agentes del orden.

Check in on our union’s website for updates on the progress of our legislative priorities and on bills that impact members of Teamsters 117. If you have questions, please talk to your union representative or contact Political Director Dustin Lambro at 206-441-4860 x1262.