Rantz: WSDOT spends big on Olympics recruitment ads after needlessly firing hundreds

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) fired hundreds of staff thanks to the governor’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Now, the department is spending over $100,000 in tax dollars to air commercials during the 2022 Olympics to hire new staff.

After Governor Jay Inslee’s COVID vaccine mandate deadline, state agencies collectively fired more than 2,000 workers. WSDOT was the hardest hit department, firing 403 total staff, including 151 maintenance workers, many of whom operate alone. It left the department understaffed during the state’s recent snowstorms.

Now, WSDOT is trying to hire vaccinated, qualified applicants to fill the positions they made vacant.

The big ad buy

To recruit new employees, WSDOT spent $111,765 on short ads that air on KING-TV and KONG-TV, with the majority of the campaign airing during the Olympics. The advertisements featured construction workers (who were vaccinated, no doubt) having fun on the job!

The campaign included 116 on-air commercials during Olympics coverage, and 50 short lead-in ads between 5-10 seconds long during Winter Olympics segments.

It also included a digital campaign, which placed banner and video ads running on both NBCOlympics.com and KING5.com.

“Our King 5 advertising buy is spread out from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20. This includes two channels and multiple showtimes during high-interest Olympics coverage to help reach as broad an audience as possible about our job opportunities,” a WSDOT spokesperson emailed the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

Ratings for the Olympics are considerably underperforming — much like a depleted WSDOT.

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The ad buy highlights how irresponsible the firings were

WSDOT went into the terminations knowing the agency didn’t have adequate staff. It’s not something the department hides.

“We’ve had staffing challenges that pre-date the pandemic and, like many employers, are actively recruiting to fill positions, including some that are in particularly high demand. This is one of many methods we’re using for outreach and awareness,” the spokesperson said about the ads.

And yet the agency fired unvaccinated workers anyway. And for what?

Gov. Inslee and WSDOT Director Roger Millar justified the move. They said it helped curb the spread of COVID, even if they were firing employees who work alone. The move earned the ire of state Republican lawmakers.

The strategy failed. The vaccines that employees were required to take do not stop the spread of COVID. Now, the agency is wasting tax dollars to recruit employees to fill the very jobs it chose to vacate needlessly.

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