King County Executive Dow Constantine addressed the Washington State Labor Council’s 2015 convention over the weekend. He opened his speech with a joke at Jay Inslee’s expense. Constantine said,
“Thank you to the brothers and sisters of the Washington State Labor Council for inviting me here. Thank you for still inviting me here today. I was nervous, I was waiting.”
Constantine’s comments—which were met with laughter—come after the head of the consortium of the state’s unions uninvited Inslee from his role as a keynote speaker at the annual convention. As Shift reported, some conjecture that the decision – after much publicity about Inslee being a featured speaker – was due to the Machinists union’s “lingering resentment over big Boeing tax breaks.” The snub was especially embarrassing for Inslee considering the fact that he risked quite a lot to support unions—particularly those that pumped millions into his gubernatorial campaign in 2012—during the last legislative cycle.
Constantine goes on to praise the $15 minimum wage in SeaTac, where the convention took place. Notably, he praises the city’s leaders for having the “courage and conviction” to take the unprecedented wage increase to the ballot—an interesting comment considering the fact that Seattle’s leaders did not afford voters the same opportunity.
Constantine has a history of bowing to the demands of union bosses. Last summer, Constantine made it clear who he believed were his most important constituents after he sided with union bosses against bus riders and vetoed a bill that would have retained some bus routes. Constantine’s veto followed a threat reported on KOMO radio from the leader of the King County Labor Council that he “would never forget” people who voted to keep the buses running because the bill would have meant bus drivers would not receive pay raises.
