Shift is among the many outlets which have reported on the unnecessarily secret negotiations that Jay Inslee’s administration has been conducting with the state employee unions over the summer. Information has been hard to come by, except for occasional cryptic references in labor publications.
Now it appears that the Federation of State Employees – a collection of unions which contributed over $1 million to elect Inslee in 2012 – has decided to turn up the heat on their chosen one in the effort to extract large raises for state employees. In the Federation’s latest Hotline update the message was clear: “your economic offer is not sufficient.”
And what is that “economic offer”? Inslee and the unions are keeping the details secret, but that would be the size of the pay raises which Inslee has already said he wants to give his campaign donors.
And why is this “offer” not sufficient? Perhaps because the State Supreme Court has told Inslee that he needs to fund public education before public employees, and that offends the Federation’s leadership.
But the state employee unions didn’t give Inslee $1 million for his last campaign expecting him to put anything before their pay raises. And here is their advice for him: “Gov. Inslee needs to stop worrying about the Seattle Times and nutty fringe groups. He needs to put into play what he’s talked about toward his state employees. It’s about respect and it’s time to show that. It’s time for Gov. Inslee to talk the talk and walk the walk.”
The problem for the state’s taxpayers is that Inslee will “walk the walk” with their money, not his own.
