Thousands Rally Under Capitol Dome In Olympia(Washington State)

KIROTV ^ | February 21, 2011 | KIROTV

[mdittmar]

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Union members, students, parents and even former presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich rallied in Olympia on Monday, taking advantage of the holiday to lobby against budget cuts and to show solidarity with Wisconsin's embattled union for state employees.

The Washington State Patrol estimated that 2,000 people rallied under the Capitol Dome, said KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Senior Political reporter Essex Porter.

Washington state employees chanted, sang songs and waved signs in the Capitol Rotunda in a rally supporting unions and state employees in Wisconsin. Ohio Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich addressed the group wearing a union T-shirt from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Several other groups took advantage of the Presidents Day holiday to demonstrate -- college students urging funding for higher education and the Washington State PTA asking legislators to protect students from budget cuts.

Last week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker targeted public employees in a massive budget cut proposal, calling for cuts to their benefits and limiting their ability to collectively bargain on wage issues. Walker has said his proposal is about cutting state and local spending for years to come, but acknowledges that if approved, it could cripple unions.

Kucinich said he hoped the rally in Olympia would ripple across the country to show solidarity to union workers in Wisconsin.

"You cannot have a democracy if you don't have people in a position to be able to negotiate for their wages and to have decent benefits," Kucinich said, lauding Washington as being a "bastion for workers' rights," where people have the capacity to push back.

Washington is one of the most unionized states in the country, according to a January U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, reminded the crowd that collective bargaining ended child labor and created the 40-hour work week.

"Collective bargaining is not the problem," she said.

Most state employees have Monday off and Tuesday is an unpaid furlough day.

[teeman8r]

“We Suck”, should be our state slogan.

is that why all the trees oregon lean to the north...

teeman

[meadsjn]

These are the people we must get (and do bad things to) after the great collapse.

No need to. They will starve, freeze, or end up on some homie's barbeque grill.

[ppaul]

Kucinich said he hoped the rally in Olympia would ripple across the country to show solidarity to union workers leeches in Wisconsin.

[Justa]

They don't contribute to my pension so why should I be forced to contribute to theirs?

The only 'government employees' should be politicians and contractors.

The idea of a permanent bureaucratic class which is able to arbitrate its salary and benefits is ridiculous.

[SkyPilot]

How the Pros Steal an Election

"In 2004, the race for the governorship of Washington state was very close with Republican Dino Rossi winning over Democrat Christine Gregoire by a mere 261 votes. Under Washington law a vote that close requires a machine re-count. The results of the hand recount was that Rossi won again, this time by 42 votes. Rather than concede, the Democrats ponied up $800,000 for a hand re-count. After that recount it showed Gregoire ahead by 129 votes. Okay, shut it down, it’s over, we have a winner. Due to the closeness of the race Rossi asked Gregoire to a runoff election. Gregoire refused. As she put it, “The bottom line is the election is over. Today we have a governor-elect. It’s time to move forward, and I am prepared to take on the people’s work.” In King’s county, the final tally had 3,539 more votes counted than voters who participated in the election."

[Pride in the USA]

Ignorant people. Our state is broke and in debt, period. We teachers in Washington State here have not had a COLA in two years, and I am not complaining about it. I get it. You don’t go into teaching to make the big bucks. Anyone living on the west side of Washington on a teacher’s salary knows that you are going to have a tough time making ends meet. So go into another profession. We have the BEST medical insurance available. We have dental coverage. Our benefits are paid for, for the most part, so why complain when your neighbor just lost his job? Unemployment is now at 10%, so I say that we are lucky to have a job. Stop complaining; you are contributing to the bad reputation that we already have around the country.

[teeman8r]

amen

[rahbert]

My ex works at the Seattle Zoo. I was astounded when I learned about the gold plated bennies they get. 100% medical
drugs dental and vision.

I wish I could buy and pay for a plan, let alone get it for free! Obama! Save meeeee!

[Eva]

Wow, what did they do to get that picture. Too bad she doesn’t look at all like that. She actually looks pleasant in that picture instead of the little weasel that she resembles in person.

[Yorktownpatriot]

I’m guessing he knows exactly what a democracy is...mob rule!

[lonevoice]

You’re one of the good ones...thank you for what you do.

You know, I’ve started wondering if at least some of what we’re seeing in WI and elsewhere is partly a generational thing too. My experience as a long-time private sector employer was that with each successive generation, the employees became more entitled and ungrateful. I was around long enough to have experienced 3 separate generations of employees. The difference between the oldest and the youngest was shocking. I suspect when you combine that with a long history of entitlement and empowerment as fostered by public sector unions, it’s created a monster that’s going to be hard to reform.

[WOBBLY BOB]

Pension gap divides public and private workers (2007 article but timely)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-20-pensions-cover_x.htm
You can bet the politicians will be looking for ways to steal the 401k savings of the non-government retirees to fund the bloated benefits of the government retirees. The former group has nobody to defend them. The latter has politicians and unions feeding at the trough.

** Public sector ‘retirees’ draw a pension — and a paycheck **
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/08/todays-debate-double-dipping-public-sector-retirees-draw-a-pension-and-a-paycheck.html

This is outrageous.

[calex59]

I think the dems thought that Prosser lost the election and they were going to use that as an excuse to protest in WA. They probably thought they had momentum. I wonder what they feel like now that Prosser has won the election?

[haroldeveryman]

“Nice dimples....”

Where?

[haroldeveryman]

“Nice dimples....”

Where?