Gov. Gregoire addresses the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO Convention

August 4, 2008

AS WRITTEN

Good morning, and thank you. Rick (Bender) for the kind introduction.

I�m excited to be here, and believe me � I can feel the energy and excitement in this room this morning.

This is a big year -- no?

I�m not only excited to be here -- I�m also very honored. I�m here with the men and women who have made the Great State of Washington what it is today � a place where so many working people and families can share in the prosperity because of the hard work all of you do.

So it�s great to be here even as I juggle an awful lot of schedules.

You know, here we are into August now � and the big day is looming larger and larger, and getting closer and closer. I try to keep a calm demeanor, but let me confess that inside I�m churning.
In fact, I�ve even whispered little prayers that it won�t be a disaster.

I do hope you don�t think I�m talking about what will happen in November!

Actually I�m thinking about my oldest daughter Courtney�s wedding, which is happening this Saturday.

I�m nervous because everybody knows weddings are supposed to be perfect � right down to the color coordination between the napkins and the bridesmaid�s dresses. At least that�s what Courtney says.

As for my husband Mike � his role at this point is very simple. He just needs to show up, shut up, and pay up!

Speaking of showing up. You know, I�m a responsible woman. In fact, some have called me a Type Triple A personality -- and one thing I always do is I always show up.

So it was a bit of a surprise to me to learn recently that some people have their doubts about that.
I went to an event and heard about it in a somewhat unusual way.

Like I said � I always show up, and you know what?

So do you.

You show up to work every day at restaurants and hotels, construction sites, state and local government offices, aerospace plants, and a whole lot of other workplaces.

You show up to keep our economy strong and make sure families can depend on good, family wage jobs.

You show up at meetings to make sure your union stays strong�contracts are followed�and hardworking men and women are kept safe and treated with respect.

You show up in the halls of the Legislature and in my office to make your case for fair wages, better treatment of unemployed and injured workers, and safer working conditions.

And since I took office, I think we can agree that you and I have shown up together to do some great things for the working men and women of Washington.

For starters, we�ve put on the street about $8 billion dollars worth of capital construction projects and $2.6 billion in transportation projects over the last 4 years to provide Washingtonians the buildings and roads and other infrastructure we need to continue to thrive.

And as importantly, these projects provide many thousands of family wage jobs for some of your members and their families.

Working together, we�ve protected the prevailing wage rule so workers are treated fairly. And you and I are both committed to making sure prevailing wage is enforced.

Working together, we fixed unemployment compensation to protect and improve this benefit for workers.

And in my first year in office, we fixed one of my top priorities for injured workers � decent, effective vocational rehabilitation.

We made substantial improvements, including faster claims procession, effective rehabilitation, and more financial help to retrain to get into a different line of work when necessary.

Together, we continue to support our hard working restaurant workers with all the attacks on their wages.

(I can tell you, I grew up in a household where single Mom supported us as a short order cook. And I guarantee you; she wouldn�t stand for her daughter supporting something like tip credit!)

We made real strides to improve the safety of men and women on construction sites, including crane safety and heat stress.

I want you to know that when I work on safety issues � the image I always carry in my mind is of a Washington family hearing that their father or mother won�t be coming home from work ever again.

I�m extremely proud of the work we�ve done together to help our Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans get into the construction trades if that�s what they want to do.

I�m proud of the work my husband, Mike, contributed to this effort � Helmets to Hardhats. And I especially want to thank Dave (Johnson) for his efforts.

Starting this fall, the building trades council, our Department of Veterans Affairs, and other stakeholders will begin working directly with returning veterans to move them into trade apprenticeships.

The trades will gain young, well-disciplined workers and the veterans will be on the path to careers that will support their families.

We will provide a combination of state and federal money to make sure veterans can make the transition without having to hold down other jobs to support themselves and their families.

This brings me to the bigger picture for apprenticeships. Together we launched the �Running Start for the Trades Program� and thanks to you, it�s working even better than I had hoped.

Together, we�re connecting motivated high-school kids to the trades. We are increasing graduation rates, preparing kids for a good career, and meeting the need for these high-demand, good-paying jobs. And we have nearly doubled the number of these apprenticeships to nearly 15,000 so far.

These apprentices will build a union career for Washingtonians � a career they can count on.

Unfortunately, some Washingtonians wind up in the underground economy where they will have lower skills, suffer unfair wages and no benefits, and risk life and limb in unsafe and shoddy job sites.

Meanwhile, their employers won�t pay business, workers comp, or unemployment taxes and undercut legitimate contractors in the process.

The customers will suffer too because the fact is there is no quality like union labor.

So I very much appreciate your help in moving the underground economy to the front burner.

Before I close, I want to address something that we hear too often � and it�s that labor unions are just one more special interest.

Yes, you care about wages and benefits -- but you know what? You also fight for so much more that matters to all Washington families.

You care about the right to collectively bargain for your members so you can get a fair shake and a fair share of your labor. So do I, and that�s why I support collective bargaining � in both the private and public sectors.

You care about building an education system that serves our kids from early childhood through adulthood. So do I, and with your support, we�re building a world-class, learner-focused education system.

You care about creating a health care system where little kids can see a doctor before they wind up in an emergency room, and senior citizens don�t have to choose between dinner and medication.

I care too, and with your backing, we�re going to cover every kid in Washington by 2010, and we�re going to make health care more affordable for everybody.

You care about an economy where businesses and innovators can prosper so we can sustain the Washington Way � which is to create good jobs that support families now and in the future.

So do I, and with your support, we�ve been able to diversify our economy to the extent that even now, with the national economy struggling, we�re managing fairly well.

That�s why Forbes and Fortune magazines call our state one of the five best states for business, and that�s why as of this June, our economy has created 226,000 new jobs since 2005.

(Speaking of our economy, I credit the loud and knowledgeable voices of our SPEE-AH and Machinists in helping us overturn the Air Force�s decision to grant the tanker contract to AirBus. Boeing should have that contract, and Boeing will get that contract.)

You care about leaving our children and grandchildren an environment where our incredible natural wonders stay that way and our kids can depend on green-collar jobs to build a better world that relies on ingenuity � not fossil fuels.

So do I, and with your support, we have created the framework to get us there.

And you want a state government that works. So do I, and that�s why the Pew Center on the States says we are among the top three best-managed states in the country. And we can credit our dedicated public employees for making it happen!

In short � you and I share values that go way beyond a �special interest� � unless that special interest happens to be the entire population of Washington State.

We value healthy, happy families who are able to provide for themselves to make our neighborhoods and communities stronger.

We believe that everybody should be at the family table � grandma and grandpa, all the kids, the down-on-her luck sister, the difficult brother-in-law, and the neighbor next door.

I want you to know I�ll keep standing with you to make sure there are always seats at our table for everybody.

Thank you