State Employee

VOL. 37 NO. 8 Appeals Court victory for WFSE/AFSCME. The official newspaper of the
WASHINGTON FEDERATION OF STATE
OCTOBER 2009 Judges overturn contracting out rules. Details, page 8 EMPLOYEES/AFSCME Council 28•AFL-CIO

WASHINGTON

FALL ALERTS!
Times are tough enough. In case of Green River Valley flooding...
State, local
and federal

Let’s not make

officials are
coordinat-
ing plans

them worse.
for possible
winter flooding in the Green River Valley below the Howard Hanson Dam.
Some 800 WFSE/AFSCME families potentially sit in harm’s way in the fol-
lowing zip codes: 98001, 98002, 98055, 98030, 98031, 98057, 98092 and
98188. Several state offices, including three DSHS CSOs and a Division of
Vocational Rehabilitation Office, also sit in the flood zone.
On your absentee Your agency may have specific flood plans. But a good source of general
flood information is on the state Emergency Management Website at
ballot or at the polls
Nov. 3, WFSE/AFSCME http://www.emd.wa.gov/
recommends... Swine flu information
Details, page 3

On your absentee ballot or at the polls http://www.emd.wa.gov/

Nov. 3, WFSE/AFSCME recommends
a YES vote on Referendum 71.
Details, page 3

STATE CONVENTION 2009

‘With all due
respect’
‘Conversation’ with governor sparks dialogue
on cuts, consolidation and contracting out
The WFSE/AFSCME DD; Ursula
Convention Oct. 3 gave Gov. Petters from
Chris Gregoire a unique wel- Child Wel-
come. fare Services;
Seven delegates from tar- Alice Rog-
geted programs escorted the ers from
governor to the floor of the Corrections;
convention hall at a SeaTac Greg Davis Gregoire
hotel, then individually wel- from Men-
comed her with pleas for her tal Health; Pam Carl from
Gov. Gregoire listens to Scott Mallery, Ecology, Local 1221, explain the harm of possible consolida- to stop the bleeding. Higher Education; Gabe Hall
The cordial “conversa- from Juvenile Rehabilitation;
tion of natural resources agency functions. “Proposed cuts to natural resources agencies would harm
tion” came days before the and Scott Mallery from Natu-
the quality of life in Washington state,” Mallery said. governor’s budget office was ral Resources.
“Please find an- “Please join “The cuts are to issue a report mandated by They politely welcomed
other way to pre- us in restoring a recipe for the Legislature on possible the governor and asked Gre-
serve these vital, these cuts be- disaster.” closure of juvenile rehabilita- goire, “with all due respect,”
quality services fore a tragedy Gabe Hall, tion, developmental disabili- to recognize the harm of cuts,
for the public.” occurs.” Local 862, ties and Corrections institu- consolidation and contracting
Julianne Moore, Alice Rogers, Green Hill School tions. out.
Local 1326, Local 1253, Greeting the governor
Yakima Valley School Corrections were: Julianne Moore from See RESPECT, page 4
At press time, the report mandated
If you’re a represented non-member by the Legislature on possible
fee payer and you don’t wish to closures and/or cuts to institutions
receive this publication, e-mail us and Corrections had not yet been
at wfse@wfse.org, or write: WFSE/ released. But WFSE/AFSCME
AFSCME, 1212 Jefferson St. S.E., members have wasted no time
Suite 300, Olympia, WA 98501 mobilizing. See convention story
above and stories on pages 2 & 8.
 MEMBERS IN ACTION
Yakima Employment Security
members protest bullying
Local 1326 stood with its Employment Security members in Yakima Sept. 24
as they picketed against a mean-spirted management that has brought intimi-
dation, unwise changes to policies and procedures and other issues that have
destroyed morale in the high-pressure office.

Third in a series

Legislators step up support at latest Western State job action

Area legislators continued their show of support
to reverse the recent wave of cuts and layoffs at
Western State Hospital in Lakewood.
Rep. Tami Green (far left in photo at near right) said
she’d use her influence to get the hospital CEO
to the table. “We can’t be penny-wise and pound-
foolish,” Green said at the Sept. 2 event. “We have
to protect the community.”
For recreational staff Kim and Danny Campbell
(far right), the husband and wife team face layoff
after a combined 48 years at WSH. “It’s a sad day
when you give half your life here,” Kim Campbell
said.

WWU members win cash for contracted out work they should have done
Two maintenance me- received checks for $369.12 to for work we should’ve done,”
chanics at Western Washing- compensate them for the lost Harvey said.
ton University in Bellingham work. WFSE/AFSCME Council
got a nice addition to their Representative Addley Tole
wallets. It came as a settlement and Local 1381 President
It came in the wake of over the work done in the Old Brandon Taylor presented the
contracting out of some Main building on the WWU checks to Harvey and Suter-
remodeling work they should campus. man Sept. 21.
have done. The two Local 1381
members were pleasantly
Tim Harvey, a main- surprised by the victory and FROM LEFT: WFSE/AFSCME
tenance mechanic 2, and the cash settlement. Council Rep. Addley Tole, Local
Stephen Sutterman, a main- 1381 President Brandon Taylor, Tim
tenance mechanic 3, each “It’s nice to be reimbursed Harvey and Stephen Sutterman

Member outrage triggers possible changes after escape, capture of Eastern State hospital criminally insane murderer
Members in mental health have Hospital criminally insane murderer authorities. field trip danger.” Greg Davis, an
united in sharing the public’s outrage during a “field trip” to the Spokane The ward workers, members of Eastern State Hospital worker and
over the escape of an Eastern State County Fair Sept. 17. Local 782 of the Washington Federa- president of Local 782 in Medical Lake,

State Employee
WASHINGTON
Washington State Employee (USPS 981-
200) s pub shed month y, except February
and Ju y, for $5.08 per year by the Wash ng-
ton Federat on of State Emp oyees/AFSCME
Counc 28 • AFL-CIO, 1212 Jefferson St. S.E.
Su te 300, O ymp a, WA 98501. Affi ated w th
the Amer can Federat on of State, County
and Mun c pa Emp oyees (AFSCME) and the
Wash ngton State Labor Counc , AFL-CIO.
Periodicals postage paid at Olympia, WA
and at additional offices. Circulation:
40,000.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Wash ngton State Emp oyee, 1212 Jefferson
St SE Su te 300 O ymp a WA 98501-7501
Carol Dotlich, Pres dent
Greg Devereux, Execut ve D rector
Editor im Welch
e-mail: tim@w se org • Internet: www w se org
Member, ILCA
Page 2
When state officials and media
outlets started the typical scapegoating
of WFSE/AFSCME members given an
impossible job, Eastern State Hospital
members struck back.
They issued the following state-
ment that was carried by media
around the world:
In the Phillip Paul incident, the
hospital workers on the scene at the
fair, as they were instructed to do,
notified their chain of command within
two to three minutes of discovering
Paul’s escape. It was the administra-
tion in Medical Lake that waited some
two hours to notify law enforcement
Important date change! November
policy committee meetings moved
to Nov. 21
If you’re a Policy Committee del-
egate or alternate, please note that the
WFSE/AFSCME Washington State Employee
tion of State Employees, have repeat-
edly over the years opposed the ad-
ministration policies and practices that
allow the kinds of “field trips” like the
one Paul took to the fair. They believe
he was an extreme escape risk and
the administration should never have
allowed him on the field trip. The work-
ers have unsuccessfully fought to stop
the outings for murderers, rapists and
pedophiles committed to the hospital
as criminally insane.
Media outlets across the country
carried the members’ concerns, run-
ning stories with headlines like this:
“Wash. Union says it warned about
November meetings originally sched-
uled for Saturday, Nov. 14, have been
moved to the following Saturday, Nov.
21, at the SeaTac Airport Hilton. The
change came to avoid a conflict with
the AFSCME Public Safety Congress.
appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning
America” Sept. 21.
And when DSHS Secretary Susan
Dreyfus issued her preliminary report
Oct. 2, she agreed that the workers on
the scene not once, but twice, asked
their management to call 911 imme-
diately. And, Dreyfus said, they were
told not to return to the hospital im-
mediately after the escape.
Both were “significant break-
downs,” state Mental Health Director
Richard Kellogg said.
The head of Eastern State Hospi-
tal, Hal Wilson, resigned in the wake
of the controversy.
The Nov. 21 Policy Committees are
important because that’s when del-
egates to the nine respective commit-
tees will elect their representatives to
the Federation’s Statewide Executive
Board.
October 2009
 NO ON 1033!

Why NO! on Initiative 1033?

dy a p oven fa ure. It’ l m e times ven ha der or wo king familie Tha ’s
ton S a e ab Co nci sh n t S a e C unci f Fire Fig te Un ted

Times are Let’s not make

tough enough. them worse.

Initiative 1033 is a failed out-of-state idea

imported by Tim Eyman.
I-1033 places arbitrary limits on revenue and spending which will slow our economic recovery
and force deep additional cuts to public services. In Colorado, a similar measure did so much
damage to the economy that the citizens voted to suspend it. We are already struggling through tough times
in Washington. 1-1033 will only make things worse.

Tim Eyman’s latest initiative uses the same failed for-
mula as the “TABOR” law passed in Colorado, which
led to deep cuts to public schools, roads and high-
ways, children’s health care and other public services.
By 2015, Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033 would slash state
revenues by $5.9 billion, according to the Office of
Financial Management. We’re already facing more
layoffs, closures, consolidations and contracting
out with a $1 billion deficit. Eyman’s initiative will
only make things worse--and make it harder for us to
dig out of the recession.
This year we’ve slashed school funding by $1.5 billion,
and as many as 3,000 teachers and education em-
ployees are facing layoffs. The Eyman TABOR plan will
take even more resources away from Washington’s
classrooms - and Washington’s kids.
Despite a growing senior population, funding for nurs-
ing homes, in-home care and adult day health services
are being cut - and 40,000 Washington residents of
all ages may lose their Basic Health Plan coverage.
Eyman’s TABOR plan will make our health care crisis
more severe.

Vote N ! on 1033.

Help save the Domestic Partnership Law

• There are more than 12,000 people in Washington registered in killed in the line
domestic partnerships. of duty, so that
• Domestic partnership families need the laws Ref. 71 would pre- their families are
serve to provide essential protections for their families. taken care of by
• Families with children need the protections provided by domes- their pension or
tic partnership laws, especially when a parent dies. workers’ com-
• Seniors need the protections provided by domestic partnership pensation.
laws. • By voting to approve Referendum 71, you will vote to ensure that
• Police officers and firefighters who risk their lives to protect our all families should be treated fairly, especially in times of crisis.
communities need domestic partnership laws if they are hurt or Ref. 71 was endorsed by the WFSE/AFSCME E-board Oct. 1.

WFSE/AFSCME 2009 VOTERS’ GUIDE • www.wfse.org

October 2009 WFSE/AFSCME Washington State Employee Page 3
 STATE CONVENTION 2009
When delegates to the 2009 WFSE/AFSCME
Convention stood up Oct. 4 and sang along with Lo-
cal 53 member Bruce Witham’s (left) anthem, “Stand
Strong,” they summed up the biennial gathering in
SeaTac of more than 400 delegates.
They acted on constitutional amendments and
resolutions and elected officers.
But the convention also served as a high-powered
morale booster where members come together to
show solidarity and recharge their batteries for the
tough fights ahead.
Here are reports from Convention 2009:

ABOVE: Anna Inthavong, Local 53.

RIGHT: Paul Bentson, Local 1488,
at Steward Committee booth.

Among the locals at the con-

vention was Spokane Local
1221 (right), which continued
its tradition of decorating its
table.

RESPECT, “Providing other services

from page 1
WFSE/AFSCME Presi-
dent Carol Dotlich presented
the governor with hundreds
of letters from members and
delegates respectfully plead-
ing with her to find alterna-
tives to an “all cuts” approach
to filling another $1 billion
deficit.
Gregoire responded, “I
get it,” but added, “You’ll
have to tell me where to cut.”
Delegates quickly shout-
ed, “Administration!” and
“WMS!”
She still praised WFSE/
AFSCME members.
Delegates sought her out
to shake her hand at the end
of the cordial exchange.
“I know I am proud to
have you as my partners,” she
said.
She said the past legisla-
tive session was “ugly, ugly,
ugly….It was the worst legis-
lative session I’d ever seen.”
“We’re going to get
through these tough times,
but it isn’t going to be easy,”
Gregoire added.
Page 4
has become much like
spreading hard butter on
untoasted white bread.
The support we need to
do our jobs effectively is
no longer there. Please
find another way to pre-
serve these vital, quality
services for the public.”
Ursula Petters,
Local 1181
DSHS Children’s Services
A subdued convention listens respectfully to Gregoire’s remarks Oct. 3, pro-
jected on three huge screens for all delegates to see.
“Because of the severe “Our mental health institutions
budget cuts in higher ed, we work, they’re friendly, efficient
are not able to offer enough and human. Please join us
classes for students, and we in making them stronger, not
don’t have enough staff and weaker.”
services to assist students. Greg Davis,
Therefore, we have a lot of Local 782,
unhappy students, parents Eastern State Hospital
and community members Delegates respected Gregoire for coming to hear their concerns. Delegates
out there because we cannot like Local 443’s Joe Mihelich sought her out for her handshake after her Oct.
physically do more with less.” 3 speech.
Pam Carl,
Local 862,
Centralia College
WFSE/AFSCME Washington State Employee October 2009

Henricksen elected WFSE/AFSCME VP
WFSE/AFSCME Executive Director Greg Devereux administers the oath of office to (from left): Vice President Sue Henricksen, Local 53; President Carol Dot-
lich, Local 793; Secretary Lee Novak, Local 1400; and Treasurer Rosemary Sterling, Local 1381.
WFSE/AFSCME may
be the only AFSCME council
with an all-female slate of top
officers.
Sue Henricksen, a DD
case resource manager in Ta-
coma and president of Local
53, got convention delegates’
nod as vice president.
She joins re-elected
STATE CONVENTION 2009
incumbents President Carol
Dotlich (Local 793, Western
State Hospital, Lakewood),
Secretary Lee Novak (Local
1400, Community Correc-
tions, Longview/Kelso) and
Treasurer Rosemary Sterling
(Local 1381, Whatcom Com-
munity College, Bellingham).
Henricksen prevailed in a
two-way race with incumbent
Vice President Bill Copland of
Local 1253.
Dotlich won re-election as
president in her race against
John Frazier, UW Local 1488.
Novak won a run-off in
the secretary race against
Steve McGillis, Local 313. The
other nominee, Shellie Savage
(Local 443), finished third in
the first round of balloting.
Sterling was the sole
nominee for WFSE/AFSCME
treasurer. She was declared
re-elected by acclamation.
The four officers will
serve until the next WFSE/
AFSCME convention in 2011.
Convention acts
on several amend-
ments, resolutions
Shortly after their
“conversation” with Gov.
Chris Gregoire, delegates
to the 2009 WFSE/AFSC-
ME Convention approved
a resolution to use “any
and all remedies” to stop
the closure of Pine Lodge
Corrections Center for
Women and other state
institutions.
Resolution No. 4 was
just one of several consti-
tutional amendments and
resolutions adopted by
delegates.
Several mostly
“housekeeping” constitu-
tional amendments won
approval, including one to
allow an earlier start for
officer elections starting
with the 2011 convention.
Constitutional amend-
ments adopted:
Constitutional Amend-
ment 4 – Clarifying the
ability to publish and

The convention Delegates at the 2009 Convention honored members for a

number of accomplishments.
distribute (including
electronically) the WFSE/
AFSCME newspaper.

honors
The Local 491 convention delegation brought their PEOPLE awards back to
the local meeting Oct. 8 in Buckley to personally award to Kellie Klimczak, the
steward largely credited with the local’s success recruiting PEOPLE sign-ups.
George Masten
Courage Award:
To recipient outside Council
28 who has stood up for state
employees:
State Rep. Brendan Wil-
liams of the 22nd District.
Williams was honored
for joining the union’s lawsuit
against the governor for not
forwarding a funding request
for WFSE/AFSCME’s con-
And they feted a legislator for the kind of courage that so few
lawmakers show today. More awards on page 6.
Constitutional Amend-
ment 5 – Strengthening
process for submitting
Howard Ocobock PEOPLE Award and reviewing proposed
(for the local with the highest PEOPLE MVP membership): constitutional amend-
Rainier School Local 491. ments and resolutions.
Other PEOPLE Awards: Constitutional Amend-
• Six locals were honored for having signed up at least 15 per- ment 6 – Allowing officer
cent of their members for PEOPLE: Local 341, Fircrest School; elections to start as early
Local 482, Veterans Home (Retsil); Local 491, Rainier School; as 7 a.m. on the Sunday
Local 793, WSH/CSTC/SCC/Oakridge; Local 1181, Kitsap of convention.
County; and Local 1291, Transportation, Pasco. Constitutional Amend-
• The PEOPLE Committee honored the WFSE/AFSCME Tacoma ment 7 – Clarifying that
Field Office with an award for its work recruiting new PEOPLE constitutional changes
members. are adopted by the con-
vention.
Constitutional Amend-
ment 8 – Updating the
constitution to include the
name Human Services
Policy Committee, which
has been used for some
20 years.
Constitutional Amend-
ment 9 – Giving con-
vention delegates more
notice of appointment to
convention committees
and clarifying that the Ex-
ecutive Board shall select
the city and dates of the
biennial convention.
From left at Oct. 2 Medal of Valor Award presentation: VP Bill Copland; Tim Foley, Local 1221, chair of the Medal of Constitutional Amend-
Valor Committee; recipient Jon Brogger, Local 443; Charyn Neimeyer, whose life the recipients saved; Margaret Kem- ment 11 – Tightening up
rer, nominator who accepted the award for Sunny Hawkins; and President Carol Dotlich. timeframes for convention
minutes.
Medal of Valor Award: Constitutional Amend-
To Local 443’s Jon Brogger and Sonja “Sunny” Hawkins (nominator Margaret Kemrer accepted
ment 17 – Prohibits
members from the same
for Sunny). In a surprise, the award was presented to them by Charyn Niemeyer, the co-worker
local or policy committee
whose life they saved by performing CPR. “Sunny and Jon are more than deserving in my book,”
as a member charged
Niemeyer told delegates at the convention banquet Oct. 2.
with violating Article X of
the AFSCME Constitu-
tracts; voting no on the “all- the budget in Olympia. Williams praised WFSE/ tion from serving on the
cuts” budget; publicly criticiz- “Boy I really am honored AFSCME members as the “of- accused member’s trial
ing the budget and hikes in to receive this award,” said ten unseen” force that “keeps body.
state employee health cuts; Williams, who had been told this state running.”
and working to undo the dam- he was presenting an award “Public employees are the See ACTS, page 6
age with a recent forum on to someone else. solution,” Williams said.

October 2009 WFSE/AFSCME Washington State Employee Page 5


Saunders: Council 28’s activism filling ‘political vacuum’
AFSCME is standing
with Council 28 in battling
Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033
that would choke off funding
for public services.
In his address to the
WFSE/AFSCME Convention
Oct. 3, Lee Saunders, execu-
tive assistant to the AFSCME
president, delivered a check
for $200,000 to go the No on
1033 campaign.
“We have beaten him
(Eyman) before and I guess
we’re just going to have to
kick his a- - once more,”
Saunders said.
Saunders also handed
over a check from AFSCME
for $35,000 to Council 28’s
campaign to grow the ranks
of PEOPLE contributors.
These are smart strategic
moves to help fill the recent
political vacuum marked by
deep budget cuts and attacks
on state employees, he said.
“When it comes to po-
ACTS,
from page 5
Delegates rejected nine
other proposed amend-
ments, including ones
that would have changed
the union’s dues struc-
ture, governance and gu-
bernatorial endorsements
process. One proposed
amendment was ruled
out of order.
Resolutions adopted:
Resolution 2 – Seeking
a legislative change to
waive the actuarial reduc-
tion of income for state
employees forced to re-
tire on a disability before
the age of 62 because
of medical or physical
requirements.
Resolution 4 – Work-
ing to stop the closure
of Pine Lodge and other
state institutions.
Resolutions
referred:
Delegates voted to
refer two resolutions.
Resolution No. 1
on safeguarding debate
on measures before the
AFSCME Convention
was referred to AFSCME
Regional Vice Presidents
Greg Devereux and Ken
Allen and the 2010 AF-
SCME Convention.
Resolution No. 3 re-
garding stronger contract
language on assignment
pay and special pay
provisions, was referred
to WFSE/AFSCME’s
bargaining teams.
Page 6
STATE CONVENTION 2009
The 2009 WFSE/AFSCME Convention opened Oct. 3 with an address from AFSCME’s Lee Saunders.
litical leadership in the last walking away from us.”
session, there was a huge po-
litical vacuum in Washington Council 28 is sending a
state…,” Saunders said. strong message to politicians,
“But you’re reacting to he said.
that vacuum….(You’ve said) “Not one dime will you
‘Enough is enough.’… get from this union until you
“We are tired of politi- prove yourself to us,” Saun-
cians taking our money and ders said.
Lucy: ‘We’re doing our best
to ease the pain of our
members’ in tough times
Council 28 isn’t resting on ing how we use our political
its laurels and is on the cut- power, including on endorse-
ting edge of the labor move- ments.
ment in recognizing trends “The key to 28’s strength
overlooked by other unions is the power of political
and building a stronger strength and the ability to
union, AFSCME Secretary- use it wisely on behalf of
Treasurer William Lucy told members,” Lucy told about
WFSE/AFSCME delegates at 700 delegates, alternates and
the convention banquet Oct. guests.
2.
Lucy also applauded He said WFSE/AFSCME’s
WFSE/AFSCME for re-think- new strategies on bargaining
Other awards: cal 793 (recently laid off from
• Next Wave Logo Design Western State Hospital).
Contest: Joseph Wells, Lo- • Coalition of Black Trade
Howard Jorgenson Organizing Award:
Julianne Moore, Local 1326, for mobilizing her members to fight
the closure of Yakima Valley School.
“We’re not out of the woods yet, it may be targeted again,”
said former WFSE/AFSCME President Howard Jorgenson in
presenting the award. “But our recipient has set the standard for
how to fight off these ill-advised, mean and nasty attacks on our
members.”
“We’re all in this together,” Moore said in accepting the
award.
Rosella Charvet Leadership Award:
Rick Hertzog, Local 793, for leadership bringing the union
directly to the worksites of Western State Hospital, Child Study
and Treatment Center, Oakridge Group Home and Special Com-
mitment Center.
In accepting his
award from 2007
winner Kandy
Kraig (Local
1221), Hertzog
honored WFSE/
AFSCME’s late
Vice President
Howard Ocob-
ock.
“I just try to
live up to what
Howard would do
on a daily basis,”
Hertzog said.
WFSE/AFSCME Washington State Employee
Saunders enlisted Council
28 members to step up the
fight for national health care
reform.
A health reform package
must include three core prin-
ciples: a public health option;
an employer mandate; and no
taxation of benefits.
also will help the union con-
tinue to grow for the benefit
of state employees.
“We’re not going to sit on
our behinds proud of some-
thing we did 20 years ago,”
Lucy said.
“We’re going to keep a
strong union…,” he added.
“We are the front line of
defense for decency in our
society.”
Unionists raffle: Joy Cage,
Local 491, Rainier School.
Job Action of the Year Award:
Local 793 for its many job actions against cuts to Western State
Hospital and other institutions in its local.
“Their job actions spotlight nonsensical management initia-
tives that if left unchallenged threaten the quality of care,” said
VP Bill Copland, Local 1253, in presenting the award to the Lo-
cal 793 delegation Oct. 4.
Other awards:
• Most LaborWeb local web-
site sign-ups: Rainier School
Local 491.
Allen praises
Council 28-
Council 75
partnership
WFSE/AFSCME’s key
ally, Oregon AFSCME Coun-
cil Executive Director Ken
Allen, praised the partnership
between the two councils that
has pioneered the Next Wave
movement and grown the
PEOPLE program.
Next Wave, the under-35
program to energize young
activists, came out of the
AFSCME Northwest Region.
Allen and Council 28 Execu-
tive Director Greg Devereux
are NW Regional VPs.
“These two councils start-
ed this (Next Wave) together
and we should be proud of
that,” Allen told convention
delegates Oct. 3.
The Northwest Region is
also home of the fastest-grow-
ing PEOPLE program in all of
AFSCME, he said.
He pledged his support to
Council 28 on upcoming leg-
islative and contract battles.
“Stand up and be the
leader that you can be and
fight for a better union,” Allen
said.
October 2009
 MEMBERS ONLY BENEFITS UPDATE; UNION NEWS
Another dental health tip from
A new MEMBERS ONLY BENEFIT for WFSE/AFSCME members and their families!
With same-day appointments,
little emergencies stay little
Dental emergencies should
never be ignored. Emergency
and walk-in patients are al-
ways welcome at Bright Now!
Dental so members and their
families can get the care they
need right away.
Here are a few tips on what
to do until you can reach
your Bright Now! Dental
office:
Toothache:
Rinse your mouth with warm
water and gently remove any
food particles with dental
floss. Apply a cold compress
to your cheek to control
swelling and pain. Never put
aspirin or any other painkiller
directly against the tooth as it
may burn the sensitive gum
tissue.
Financial Wellness
A new MEMBERS ONLY BENEFIT for WFSE/AFSCME members and their families!
WSECU provides a wide range of financial wellness classes for WFSE/AFSCME members. Schedule a class today. Edu-
cators will come to your worksite or local meeting. Groups of at least 15 participants preferred, but there are exceptions.
For more information, or to schedule a class, call 1-800-562-0999, Ext. 10101.
SHARED LEAVE
REQUESTS
If you’ve been approved to
receive shared leave by your
agency or institution, you can
place a notice here. Once
you’ve been approved by your
agency or institution, WFSE/
AFSCME can place your
shared leave request here
and online. E-mail the editor at
tim@wfse.org. Or call 1-800-
562-6002.
• The following could use a
donation of eligible unused
annual leave or sick leave or
all or part of your personal
holiday:
Donald Minter, a Financial
Services Specialist 3 in Mount
Vernon and a member of Local
1060, is dealing with personal
health issues after the recent
death of his wife. Contact:
Vickie Rothernbuhler, (360)
714-4006.
Robert Steele, an informa-
tion technology specialist 3
with DSHS in Olympia and a
member of Local 443, is suf-
fering from Morton’s Neuroma,
a condition that prevents him
from walking without pain.
He has used up all his leave.
Contact: Gayle Hatfield at
hatfiga@dshs.wa.gov or Judi
Rogers at rogerja3@dshs.
wa.gov.
Pamela Edmison, a food ser-
vice worker at the University
of Washington and a member
October 2009
Knocked-out tooth:
After rinsing with water, gently
try to put the tooth back into
the socket. If the tooth cannot
be inserted, put it in a small
container of milk or cup of
water that contains a pinch
of salt. You have the highest
chances of saving the tooth
if it is reinserted within one
hour so see your Bright Now
dentist right away.
Lost filling
As a temporary measure,
stick a piece of sugarless
gum into the cavity (sugar-
filled gum will cause pain) or
use over-the-counter dental
cement.
Lost crown
If possible, slip the crown
back over the tooth. Before
doing so, coat the inner
of Local 1488, is recovering
from breast cancer surgery
and radiation treatments. She
is in dire need of shared leave.
Contact: Jean Swarm at (206)
685-9012.
Rhenda Stewart, a financial
services specialist 3 with
DSHS and a member of Local
1299 and now caring for her
seriously ill husband in Port
Angeles, is in need of shared
leave. Contact: Bonnie Schuch
at (509) 764-5608.
Gary Jefferson, a truck driver
2 at the University of Wash-
ington and a member of Local
1488, is undergoing treatment
for stomach cancer. He is on
extended leave for surgery
and continued radiation and
chemotherapy treatments. He
will be off the job at least six
months. Contact: JoAnn Wuts-
chik at (206) 543-2805.
Liane Calamayan, a sup-
port enforcement officer 2
with DSHS Division of Child
Support in Kennewick and a
member of Local 1253, will be
undergoing neurosurgery and
could be off work for several
months, not including follow-
up treatment. Contact: Kristi
Christensen, (509) 374-2035.
Barbara Maasch, an unem-
ployment insurance specialist
4 with the Employment Secu-
rity Department in Spokane
and a member of Local 1221,
is recovering from surgery and
is in need of shared leave.
Contact: Kathleen Young at
(360) 902-9413.
WFSE/AFSCME Washington State Employee
surface with an over-the-
counter dental cement,
toothpaste, or denture
adhesive, to help hold the
crown in place. Do not use
super glue!
 
Broken braces brackets or
wires
Use a small piece of
orthodontic wax to cover a
sharp or broken bracket or
wire. Never cut a wire, as you
could end up swallowing it or
breathing it into your lungs.
With same-day appointments,
as well as evening and Sat-
urday appointments and after
hour emergency care, little
emergencies stay little. Call
1-888-BRIGHT NOW or log
on to www.brightnow.com to
find one of the 11 convenient
offices near you.
Craig Harrington, a correc-
tions/custody officer 3 at Pine
Lodge Corrections Center for
Women in Medical Lake and
a member of Local 782, is
recovering from a heart attack
and is in need of shared leave.
Contact: Julie Holford at (509)
299-2303.
Michele Mallery, a program
specialist 3 with the Secretary
of State’s Office (Archives
Section) in Olympia and a
member of Local 443, is still in
need of shared leave for ad-
ditional knee surgery. Contact:
Terri Parker at (360) 236-5071
or tparker@secstate.wa.gov.
Wendy Hogan, a medi-
cal assistance specialist 1
with DSHS in Olympia and
a member of Local 443, is in
need of shared leave to care
for her sister who has been
diagnosed with cancer. She
only has about two weeks of
leave left and will likely need a
month more of leave. Contact:
Joanne Fulton at (360) 725-
1082.
Luana Gilley, an unemploy-
ment insurance specialist 3
with the Employment Security
Department at the King County
Telecenter in Seattle and a
member of Local 435, is still
in dire need of shared leave.
She has been hospitalized and
is recovering from surgeries
and. She wants co-workers
to know that even one hour
can help, as she is within 3.33
hours of having her September
medical leave covered. But
she will need time in October
New
staff
hired
Tharp Dietz Berkowitz
FROM LEFT:
Alexander,
Kauffman,
Dannen
FROM LEFT:
Ledbetter,
Kendo,
Cavanaugh
FROM LEFT:
Gordon, Elliot
Several new WFSE/AFSCME staff have been hired.
Tim Tharp, Ann Marie Dietz and Lauren Berkowitz have
joined the organizing staff.
New council representatives hired:
Smokey Point -- Phyllis Alexander.
Seattle -- Britt Kauffman and James Dannen (formerly
with the Organizing Department); Robin Ledbetter (formerly
temporary staff in Seattle); Joe Kendo (formerly temporary staff
in Smokey Point); and Anne-Marie Cavanaugh.
Olympia -- Perry Gordon.
Meghan Elliot, formerly a temporary associate, has be-
come a permanent associate in Seattle.
to maintain her benefits— son at (206) 760-2336.
October is when her next
surgery is scheduled. She has Mary Luxa, a medical assis-
been forced to use her FMLA tance specialist 3 with DSHS
LWOP back-to-back instead in Olympia and a member of
of intermittently, so she has Local 443, is still in need of
exhausted it long before her shared leave as she recovers
end date. She has been re- from surgeries that will keep
fused approval of other LWOP her off the job until mid-No-
leave. She is concerned if she vember. Contact your human
doesn’t maintain her benefits, resources office.
she will be forced out of her
job, where she has built up Ann Hill, a support enforce-
20 years of seniority. Contact: ment technician in the DSHS
Kathleen Young at (360) 902- Division of Child Support in
9413. Olympia, will soon exhaust all
her leave because of an ongo-
Carol A. Smith, a mental ing medical issue. Contact:
health technician 1 at Western Patti Clark at (360) 664-5030
State Hospital in Lakewood or pclark@dshs.wa.gov.
and a member of Local 793, is
battling a very serious medi- Diana DePontee, a financial
cal condition and is in need of services specialist 3 with
shared leave. Contact Dave DSHS in Olympia, has been
Wiggen at (253) 761-3366. approved for shared leave.
Contact: Grace Chambers at
Denise Auve, a laundry work- (360) 725-6627 or chambge@
er 1 at Western State Hospital dshs.wa.gov.
in Lakewood and a member of
Local 793, is in need of shared Spokane Veterans Home
leave for surgery and recovery. Local 1221 members M. Kay
Contact: Dave Wiggen at (253) Kroiss, a nursing assistant,
761-3366. and Sofia Alexander, a food
service worker, have been
Amy Brady, a financial approved for Shared Leave.
services specialist 3 with the Contact: Sandie Wollan, (509)
DSHS Region 7 Call Center 344-5777.
in Port Angeles and a mem-
ber of Local 1463, has been Lisa Walsh, an office assistant
approved for shared leave. 3 in the DSHS Division of Child
Contact: Lynn Logelin at (360) Support in Olympia and a
565-2190. member of Local 443, will soon
exhaust all leave because of
Sandra Bazan-Molnar, a any ongoing medical issue.
financial services specialist at Contact: Patti Clark, (360) 664-
the DSHS White Center CSO, 5030 or pclark@dshs.wa.gov.
has been approved for shared
leave. Contact: Shearun Fai-
Page 7
 UNION NEWS
Where’s this worksite?

Fun in the sun at the Local 1221 picnic

Spokane Local 1221 always puts on a good spread and this year’s annual
picnic in August was no different. It was a time for members and their families
to enjoy fun, food and fellowship.
Can you guess where the worksite above is and what WFSE/AFSCME
Local 843 strikes blow members work there? Send your guesses by e-mail to tim@wfse.org
for health care reform or regular mail: Editor, 1212 Jefferson St. S.E., Suite 300, Olympia, WA
Members from King County Human 98501. Include your name and mailing address. Deadline: Nov. 10. The
Services Local 843 joined thousands of first 10 readers with the correct answer who include their name and
others at the Sept. 2 rally in downtown mailing address will receive a prize.
Seattle to push for national health care
reform. Answer to August’s “Where’s this
You can keep up to date online at worksite?”:
www.wfse.org. The mystery worksite pictured
in the August Washington
State Employee showed the
Supplemental bargaining team elections process set Interstate 90 floating bridges
across Lake Washington
The WFSE/AFSCME Col- bargaining teams. after the respective statewide, from Seattle to Mercer Island. Members of Seattle Depart-
lective Bargaining Committee The joint committees on coalition or institution-wide ment of Transportation Local 378 keep traffic flowing and
and Executive Committee Sept. 9 adopted a process bargaining team assigns any the bridges floating. The readers who submitted a correct
OK’d the process for electing calling for election of team supplemental issues. guess were: Derrick Guthrie, Jim Hudson, Frank O’Neal,
members of any supplemental members as soon as possible Each supplemental team Larry Skoglund and Todd Zey.
will have up to six elected
RTC bargaining starts members.
Elections will be by mail
Answer to September’s
“Where’s this worksite?”:
Members at Renton Technical College, which negotiates ballot. The mystery worksite in
under a different collective bargaining law than other state This is not to be confused the September Washing-
employees represented by WFSE/AFSCME, have set bar- with the in-progress elections ton State Employee was
gaining dates. for members of the main bar- the Cowlitz/Wahkiakum
A job action in support of bargaining was set for Oct. 12. gaining teams. The deadline WorkSource center (Em-
The RTC team recently completed a two-day training on for the main bargaining teams ployment Security) where Local 1400 members provide
Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB). The first bargaining session nominations closed Oct. 5. unemployment and training services. The readers who
took place Sept. 21. They agreed on ground rules and set Ballots for the main bargain- submitted a correct guess were: Randy Bateman, Jen-
bargaining dates through December: Oct. 12 and 22; Nov. 2 ing teams are due out the nifer Beverage, Bill Copland, Deanna Duggan, Tyson
and 16; and Dec. 3 and 15. week of Oct. 22 and must be Graham, Jodi Murphy and Tom Patterson.
returned by Nov. 13.

Appeals Court sides with WFSE/AFSCME, Gainsharing hearing postponed

strikes down contracting out rules
The state Court of Ap-
peals has agreed with WFSE/
AFSCME and struck down
three of the state’s contracting
out rules.
The court upheld the 2008
ruling made by a Thurston
County Superior Court judge
on the lawsuit against the
rules filed by the Federation.
The rules came from the
Natural Resources Task Force crafting
response to consolidation report
The union’s Natural Re-
sources Task Force was set to
meet Oct. 16 to craft a formal
response to the Natural Re-
sources reform report.
The governor’s subcabi-
net of natural resource agency
heads issued a list of possible
ideas Sept. 14. It put the ideas
out for public comment.
The WFSE/AFSCME
Natural Resources Task Force
set up is own survey to pres-
ent to the governor.
The ideas rolled out Sept.
14 are just that. They are not
recommendations. They are
not options. Many contradict
each other. Many are cost-
prohibitive.
The ideas are grouped
into four broad categories:
organizational, with ideas
ranging from consolidation
Department of General Ad-
ministration.
But the appeals court ruled
Sept. 15 that GA had exceeded
its authority when it wrote
the restrictive rules about
which employees could offer
alternatives to contracting out
or bid for projects.
The Legislature in 2002
into two agencies to inter-
agency collaboration in the
current structure; sharing
services and resources, with
emphasis on data, financial
and law enforcement services;
improving permitting; and
streamlining the quasi-judicial
hearings process.
But there’s been external
pressure for the governor
to leapfrog the process and
make some of the costly ideas
reality on policy, not fiscal
grounds.
CSO staff airs concerns at convention caucus
Members from the DSHS Community Services Division and
call centers caucused during convention weekend at SeaTac
and aired concerns directly to their division director Leo
Ribas and administrator Vicki Hobbs. Members reported talks
will continue.
said employees whose posi-
tions or work would be “dis-
placed” would be allowed to
offer alternatives.
The appeals court ruled
those rules restricted the op-
portunity only to employees
who lose their jobs or who
would be reassigned.
The state may appeal to
the state Supreme Court.
That’s why the union task
force takes them so seriously.
The WFSE/AFSCME task
force includes representatives
from several natural resource
agencies, including Ecol-
ogy, Parks and Recreation,
Fish and Wildlife, Natural
Resources, Agriculture and
Health.
It met Sept. 11 to go over
a preliminary matrix of ideas.
They got a briefing from John
Mankowski, the governor’s
natural resource liaison.
And they talked to Marty
Brown, director of the gover-
nor’s legislative affairs office.
The summary judgment hearing on the union’s gainsharing
pension lawsuit originally scheduled for Oct. 30 has been
stricken.
Technically, the Dec. 1 trial date remains, but likely will also
not take place. No new dates have been set.
State task force on child
welfare privatization meets
The union’s steering com-
mittee on the proposed two
pilot privatization projects in
Child Welfare Services met
over the convention weekend
and committed to expanding
its outreach and communica-
tion activities with affected
members.
It’s part of the research
the committee continues to
do as part of its “next step
strategies” in dealing with the
proposed privatization.
The steering committee
already has a Facebook page
and a blog. To request in
invitation to the secure blog,
e-mail Jeanine Livingston at
jeaninel@wfse.org.
Meanwhile, the state
Transformation Design Com-
mittee, the formal name for
the task force on the CWS
privatization pilots, met Sept.
16 and 17.
The committee dealt with
many technical issues. But
red flags went up again when
DSHS Secretary Susan Drey-
fus addressed the task force.
She said she’d gotten the
governor’s approval to “be
bold” and “innovative” with
her intentions to “increase
capacities in the communi-
ties” and “incorporate greater
stakeholder input.”
Reading between the
lines, that was taken by some
to mean the state is interested
in privatizing more of DSHS
Children’s Administration
than just the two pilot demon-
stration sites in Child Welfare
Services.
The state panel meets
again Dec. 14 and 15. Sub-
committees, including the one
on site selection co-chaired
by Livingston, have begun
meeting.
All information on the
state committee’s business,
including data, agendas and
minutes, can be found online
at www.accountabilityin-
childwelfare.org.

Page 8 WFSE/AFSCME Washington State Employee October 2009