Article by Erik Smith. Published on Wednesday, October 21, 2010 EST.

Just Before Election, A Public Demonstration of Interest in Issue – Both Sides Show Up at L&I Headquarters

By Erik Smith

Staff writer/ Washington State Wire

TUMWATER, Oct. 20.—A noisy demonstration at the Department of Labor and Industries on Initiative 1082 proved one thing: If you’re going to hold a rally and you know your opposition is coming, it pays to have a louder bullhorn.

            The ballot measure, which would permit private insurance companies to compete with the state L&I program, has strong backing from business organizations and just as committed an opposition from the state’s labor unions. Both sides showed up at the L&I headquarters building, and – well, you couldn’t exactly call it a measured and nuanced discussion of the issue.

            About 100 supporters of the measure stood on one side of the traffic circle. About 35 opponents stood on the other. They chanted. They yelled. And if anyone had a deep thought to share, it wasn’t exactly the time or place.

            The opponents, mostly wearing Washington Federation of State Employees T-shirts, may not have had the advantage of numbers, but it seemed the volume knob on their bullhorn went to 11. So both sides were about even.

            Full Text of Debate

            What it meant was that anyone who aimed to give a speech was drowned out by the din. Any communication that occurred took the form of chants. Demonstrators appeared to invent them on the spot.

            Here is the sum total of what was said during the 45-minute debate.

            Opponents: “Good for insurance, bad for you. Tell the truth on 1082!”

            Supporters: “Ho, ho, hee, hee. We don’t want your monopoly!”

            Opponents: “Save our jobs! No on 1082!”

            Supporters: “Get a job!”

            Opponents: “Injured workers in the cold. Insurance pockets lined in gold!”

            Supporters: “You work for us!”

            Opponents: “Who do you work for? AIG!”

            Supporters: “Who do you work for? You work for me!”

            Opponents: “Red rover, red rover. Send AIG right over!”

            Supporters: “Red rover, red rover. Break time is over!”

            Good Theater

            For all the theatrics, the demonstration offered one thing that has been missing during the election season – a show of public feeling on a measure that deals with a largely abstract concept. The state workers’ compensation system has been under attack from business interests for decades now, but it isn’t the kind of issue that normally sends people to the barricades.

As usual, unions battled business groups to a standstill in the Legislature this year. But for the first time, frustration reached the boiling point, and business organizations led by the Building Industry Association of Washington took the matter to the ballot.

What it’s About

Critics contend that Washington’s state-run system is an anachronism. Forty-six other states either allow private competition with their state programs or have turned workplace insurance entirely over to the private sector. Because Washington’s program faces no competition, they say it has little incentive to settle claims quickly and get workers back on the job. That means higher costs for employers.

Statistics that compare Washington to other states are a matter of dispute, because the Washington program is configured differently than others. But comparisons of year-to-year performance indicate that claims costs are rising and time-loss duration is significantly increasing. Despite large rate increases, a report from the state auditor’s office concluded last December that a much larger increase will be needed to prevent insolvency.

Exactly how much the department plans to raise rates next year is unknown, because L&I this year broke with tradition and declined to announce the figure in September. By postponing the announcement until after the election L&I eliminated an argument that might have been used in the campaign.

            On the other side are the unions and trial lawyers’ groups, which say the state program does right by injured workers. They say insurance companies won’t serve workers as well, because they’ll want to reduce costs in order to win employers’ business.

            Holmquist at Rally

            State Sen. Jenea Holmquist, R-Moses Lake, spoke at the rally during one of the brief breaks in the chanting:

            “I am frustrated like you are with the people in this building who don’t seem to care about your bottom line,” she said.

            She referred to the agency’s refusal to release data about next year’s rates. “Do they have something to hide? I think so.”

            Linda Matson of Tumwater, demonstrating with the supporters, said, “This initiative is a cry for help from overwhelmed employers who can’t afford the rising cost of workers’ compensation. Boeing’s not going away because of the weather.”

            Matson said the chants were silly. “AIG doesn’t even write workers’ compensation. It’s like saying Fannie Mae is going to take it over.”

Scenes From a Rally


State Sen. Jenea Holmquist, R-Moses Lake.

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