Sen. Baumgartner: Union bosses pulled Gov. Inslee’s strings

Governor Jay Inslee signed a controversial healthcare bill this week that critics argue proves he is in cahoots with union bosses and obeying their command.

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“This is the single dirtiest bill I’ve seen in eight years in the Senate,” Sen. Michael Baumgartner told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “It was passed specifically at the behest of SEIU union bosses who are Jay Inslee’s number one campaign contributors. What they wanted to do was to set up a fake union scheme that they would still control; that they would try to subvert the national Supreme Court’s decision – the Harris vs. Quinn decision. This is really pay-for-play quite frankly.”

“They own Jay Inslee and they got this bill passed,” he said.

Sen. Baumgartner alleges that the SEIU called in a favor from Gov. Inslee.

The 2014 Supreme Court decision over Harris vs. Quinn rules that home healthcare workers cannot be forced to join a union and pay union dues. A recently-passed bill restructures the Washington system of home healthcare workers, putting them in a position to be forced to pay union dues.

Baumgartner says there is documented proof that the union worked with Inslee to get legislation passed in its favor.

Inslee’s secret memo

A 2014 confidential memo from the governor’s office outlines actions Washington could take to get around the Supreme Court ruling. Baumgartner says the resulting bill was SB 6199, which sets up a “fake union” for home healthcare workers.

“It’s very rare that you actually get a smoking gun in politics, but the memo literally says ‘Secret Confidential Governor’s Memo,’” Baumgartner said. “And in the first line, it says, ‘We met with SEIU boss Dave Rolf and he wants you to do these eight things to get around the Harris vs. Quinn decision.’ There is no mystery here. The smoking gun is in this confidential memo…”

Controversial passage

The Legislature passed SB 6199 this month. Nearly 35,000 home healthcare workers who contract with the state will now be contracted through a third party. They will be classified as private workers. A board has been set up to manage the workers’ pay rates. It is composed of the governor’s office, the Department of Social and Human Services, and members of SEIU 775.

Critics argue that the bill removes the workers from protections set up by the Supreme Court’s decision. And it opens them up to the SEIU, forcing them into paying union dues.

When Republicans attempted to debate the bill on the floor. They noted the SEIU’s campaign contributions to many Democrats. But they were ruled out of order. They also pointed to the confidential memo from the governor’s office. Again, they were ruled out of order. Republicans walked off the floor in protest. They did not vote, but the bill passed 50-0 anyway — the Republicans were counted as absent.

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