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HomeMy WebLinkAbout011923 FW_ Washington State Legislature - House Bill 1219 ________________________________ From: Nicole Gauthier Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2023 4:33:21 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) Subject: Washington State Legislature - House Bill 1219 ________________________________ ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them. ________________________________ Authority Board, I’m writing to inform you of a House Bill that if successful will change the composition of PTBA (public transportation benefit area) Authority Boards. Jefferson Transit is a PTBA. House Bill 1219 was presented on January 10, 2023 by Representatives Pollet, Bronoske, Ramel, Berry and Riccelli. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Transportation on January 13th. The bill is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Transportation on January 25th at 4:00 PM. Currently there is no Senate bill. House Bill 1219 would amend RCW 36.57A.050 <https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=36.57A.050> and create a new section. This is the RCW that relates to public transportation benefit area governing bodies. The new section would change the nonvoting labor representative to a voting member of the board. Below is a copy of the new section: NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature believes that governing bodies of public transportation benefit areas should reflect the communities that they serve. The legislature finds that these governing bodies have included a nonvoting labor representative since 2010, and that these representatives have made valuable contributions to the governing bodies and have effectively functioned as full governing body members. Therefore, in order to recognize the value of the labor representative's input and to ensure that transportation benefit areas work for and represent the communities they serve, it is the intent of the legislature to make the labor representative on transportation benefit area governing bodies a voting member. The full text of House Bill 1219 <https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Htm/Bills/House%20Bills/1219.htm> can be found here. The Committee Members on the House Transportation Committee <https://leg.wa.gov/House/Committees/TR/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx> are listed here. I find this bill to be problematic for several reasons: * Labor unions are our partners – they are essential in the delivery of our service to the community. This partnership works best when transit management and labor unions are on a level playing field. * Labor unions already have a voice at the negotiating table to ensure that their interests are heard and they have a way to advocate for their interests regarding the collective bargaining agreement. There are systems in place for grievances and issues that arise in the workplace. * There is a large conflict of interest when the voting representative is a member of the labor unit and has a financial benefit when it comes to voting on labor agreements. * Will a labor representative have influence over a general manager even though they may be an employee of the general manager? I can give several examples of times when a subpar employee has been the designated nonvoting representative on the Jefferson Transit Authority Board. * While this doesn’t currently apply to Jefferson Transit there are several transit agencies that have multiple unions. This bill would allow one union to vote on matters that impact the other unions. Who’s to say that the labor representative from one union wouldn’t vote down another collective bargaining agreement because it may be a stronger agreement then there unions agreement just to be spiteful. * If this is a policy concern for the legislature then why is this just about transit and only a small section of all transit in Washington state? Why not include transit agencies that aren’t PTBA’s? Why is the legislature not including other labor units and authority boards? Currently the Washington State Transit Association (WSTA) and its lobbyists are working on behalf of its members to raise concerns to committee members. WSTA is also planning to testify on January 25th. If the legislature is looking for ways to make transit authority boards more representative of the community then they need to look at Jefferson Transit as an example. Inviting elected officials from school boards, port, PUD, hospital to apply for a position is a responsible why to be more inclusive. Making a nonvoting labor representative who may not have the community’s best interests in mind isn’t the what PTBA’s need. Above is the link to the members of the House Transportation Committee. We may disagree on this topic which is fine. Either way, if you’d like to express your thoughts/concerns/support please reach out to a member or members of the committee. I won’t be available to watch the hearing but will do so when I’m back. I’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available. If you have a question please feel free to ask. I have a General Manager’s meeting with the Executive Director of WSTA tomorrow at 2:00 PM and I’m more than happy to bring up any questions that you may have. Thank you, Nicole Nicole Gauthier General Manager Jefferson Transit Authority <http://jeffersontransit.com/> 63 4 Corners Road, Port Townsend, WA 98368 ngauthier@jeffersontransit.com <mailto:ngauthier@jeffersontransit.com> | 360-385-3020 x 107 This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and are intended solely for the use of the individual to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient or the person responsible for delivering the e-mail to the intended recipient, be advised that you have received this e-mail in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately advise the sender by reply e-mail and delete the e-mail. We appreciate your cooperation. Disclaimer: Public documents and records are available to the public as provided under the Washington State Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). 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