Jolt
Afternoon Jolt: NARAL Wins, State Labor Council Wins. Hmmm. Maybe We Do Live in Blue State After All.
Today's Winner: NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
The group's annual "Chocolate for Choice" fundraiser made $20,000 last night.
Blurry Sen. Murray after speaking at Chocolate for Choice.
(However, today's winner comes with a loser: Me, for not knowing when to stop eating. The chocolate bread seemed like a good idea at the time.)
Today's Other Winner: The Washington State Labor Council
Last week, we reported that the WSLC wanted to amend an unemployment insurance bill so it included a $15 weekly child benefit, up to $50 a week. In general, the WSLC supported the bill, which staves off a 36 percent increase in UI taxes on business by tapping the $2 billion UI trust fund. But while they supported helping out employers, they also wanted the bill to directly benefit workers—which is where the child benefit comes in.
State Rep. Timm Ormsby (D-3, Spokane) added the child benefit as an amendment today. The benefit will be funded by the trust fund as well as leveraging some federal money.
Ormsby's amendment swapped out a retraining program that the WSLC liked, but they noted that the $15 benefit would go directly into the economy now and that the training would only benefit about 1,900 workers as opposed to the 170,000 families currently facing unemployment.
The group's annual "Chocolate for Choice" fundraiser made $20,000 last night.
Blurry Sen. Murray after speaking at Chocolate for Choice.
(However, today's winner comes with a loser: Me, for not knowing when to stop eating. The chocolate bread seemed like a good idea at the time.)
Today's Other Winner: The Washington State Labor Council
Last week, we reported that the WSLC wanted to amend an unemployment insurance bill so it included a $15 weekly child benefit, up to $50 a week. In general, the WSLC supported the bill, which staves off a 36 percent increase in UI taxes on business by tapping the $2 billion UI trust fund. But while they supported helping out employers, they also wanted the bill to directly benefit workers—which is where the child benefit comes in.
State Rep. Timm Ormsby (D-3, Spokane) added the child benefit as an amendment today. The benefit will be funded by the trust fund as well as leveraging some federal money.
Ormsby's amendment swapped out a retraining program that the WSLC liked, but they noted that the $15 benefit would go directly into the economy now and that the training would only benefit about 1,900 workers as opposed to the 170,000 families currently facing unemployment.
