By Bill Lucia | Editor
A powerful labor union and the governor’s office are clashing in contract negotiations for thousands of Washington caregivers. The state is proposing a wage freeze as the workers press for higher pay. “We were certainly deeply disappointed by the state’s proposal,” said Adam Glickman, secretary-treasurer of Service Employees International Union 775. The negotiations will affect about 80,000 care workers. As it stands, the workers typically make $22 to $25 per hour. Significant pay hikes could potentially create hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs for the state at a time when Washington is dealing with budget trouble.
Also in today’s edition…
Washington’s attorney general and other Democratic officials around the U.S. prepare for the possibility the Trump administration could interfere in the November elections.
And, the company behind a network of thousands of license plate readers takes steps to set new safeguards for the technology.
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By Jake Goldstein-Street
Caregivers from SEIU 775 initially asked for a 12% hike over two years — 6% next year, and another 6% the year after. This position would’ve reportedly cost the state around $367 million. Since the state balked, the union dropped its request to a 3% increase next year and 5% the year after. Even though the state’s offer doesn’t include pay hikes, other costs would total roughly $60 million extra from the state budget over the next two fiscal years, according to state estimates. The deadline for an agreement to be included in the governor’s budget is Oct. 1. Home care aides support people who need help with dressing, bathing and other activities of daily living due to age or disability.
By Kevin Hardy
State Democratic officials are preparing for the possibility of chaos at the polls this November, as President Donald Trump casts doubt on election security and pushes for more federal involvement in local voting.
“We’re no longer talking about hypothetical situations,” said Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, noting the president’s push to nationalize election administration and to question the integrity of upcoming elections. Brown is among the many Democratic state officials raising alarm over how Trump may seek to interfere with or challenge the results of November’s midterms.
Brown said he’s less worried about a White House effort to cancel or attack the legitimacy of elections. Rather, he fears a more targeted effort in a few states that could determine the balance of federal power. “That is what worries me, is a half a dozen local elected officials saying I have doubts about the election because the president said there was something shady, and I’m not going to certify it,” he said. “And we’re just in a chaos moment. And I think that’s a very real possibility.”
Flock Safety license plate readers are typically mounted on tall poles, with a camera and solar panel on top. (Photo courtesy of Flock Safety)
By Amanda Watford
Flock Safety is tightening privacy and oversight controls for its nationwide network of automated license plate readers as more communities pull back from the technology and lawmakers push for new restrictions. The company announced Thursday that it will recommend that police agencies retain license plate reader data for seven days, down from 30, while adding tools to restrict data sharing between agencies and detect potentially abusive searches.
Flock says 120,000 of its cameras are spread across 49 states, serving thousands of law enforcement agencies and communities. The cameras photograph passing vehicles and record information including license plates, vehicle characteristics, location and time. Police can search the resulting data, sometimes across jurisdictional lines.
Washington lawmakers this year approved new restrictions on the technology. Under that law, police can only use the readers when investigating felonies or gross misdemeanors, looking for stolen vehicles or those registered to people with arrest warrants and searching for missing or endangered people, with some exceptions. Data can’t be shared except in court proceedings, and must be deleted after 21 days, unless needed for evidence.
ICYMI
State lawmaker hit with $15K fine in ethics case | by Jerry Cornfield
WA House candidate charged with DUI | by Jake Goldstein-Street
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