In 2013, two Democrats traded control of the Washington State Senate to Republicans in exchange for better job titles and bigger offices. In 2014, the real consequences of those partisan political machinations  are clearer than ever. Progressive policies and job-creating infrastructure investments supported by both Gov. Jay Inslee and the Democratic-controlled House were blocked by Senate Republicans. They killed dozens of House-approved labor-backed bills on everything from wage theft to electricians’ certification, in most cases without a public hearing. Instead, Senate Republicans spent the 2014 session launching aggressive attacks on labor standards and public employees. Pushed by national right- wing groups, these bills had little chance of passage in blue Washington. It was all about election-year posturing. As you’ll read throughout this WSLC Legislative Report, voters in Washington state didn’t ask for it, but in 2014 they got another bitter taste of Washington, D.C.-style political gridlock.

Desperately needed  procurement reform in taxpayers funded interpreter services for L&I and other state agencies died in the Senate despite ample proof that it would save millions of dollars to WA State taxpayers and businesses. 

Pressured by the US Department of Justice's investigation for non-compliance with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a bill that would have aligned WA State laws with federal regulations died in the Senate. The expansion of the incredibly successful AOC interpreter expense reimbursement program awaits the return to sanity by the legislative body. Meanwhile WA State courts, which are funded by counties and cities, continue to have a very hard time providing equal justice for all.

You can read more about our legislature's dysfunction in the 2014 Legislative Report and Voting Record released by the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. 

2014 WSLC Legislative Report.pdf