The following editorial originally appeared in The Seattle Times:
Washington’s unemployment insurance system has a crystal-clear mission: to provide a temporary income to workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The state Senate should reject a bill that would fundamentally alter that mission to include workers who choose to go on strike.
Such a change would undermine this longstanding social safety net and increase costs not just for employers with striking workers but for the whole unemployment system, a state analysis predicts. It would also upend the delicate balance between labor unions and management at bargaining tables around the state, a move with potential consequences at big employers like Boeing, smaller local school districts and many others in between.
For 86 years, Washington’s displaced workers have been able to draw financial assistance from the state if they were laid off without cause. A tax on businesses in the state fills the coffers of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which today has about $3.5 billion. The state’s Employment Security Department expects to spend about $1.3 billion this year to cover claims. And it’s more than just dollars: The state requires participants to network, look for jobs or take courses to add new skills to collect a weekly benefit.
Saying she wanted to “level the playing field for our workers,” Rep. Beth Doglio, D-Olympia, sponsored House Bill 1893, tapping into unemployment insurance for striking workers. The bill, which passed the House 53-44 on Feb. 12, included an amendment to cap those benefits at a maximum of four weeks. After passing the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, the bill could be taken up on the floor.