BELLEVUE, Wash. – Groups are lining up to protest the annual fundraising dinner of the anti-union group Freedom Foundation, which features Fox News host Laura Ingraham this year.

MLK Labor, the Washington State Labor Council AFL-CIO, and Seattle Indivisible are among the groups planning to counter the event outside the Hyatt Regency Bellevue tomorrow. Judy Kuschel is president of the Washington Federation of State Employees and says members of her organization will be there as well.

She says the Freedom Foundation stands against employees having a say in their workplace and advocating for safety and other issues.

"That a very well-funded, wealthy group is trying to take away from people who are doing public-service jobs, serving their community and struggling to make a living in an economy that has been very difficult to me is just unconscionable," says Kuschel.

Freedom Foundation CEO Tom McCabe says his group invited Ingraham to keynote Saturday's event because she is "keenly aware" of public unions' influence on politics and that unions have a "stranglehold" on Northwest policymaking.

According to the Center for Media and Democracy, the group's budget was $4.6 million dollars in 2017 and its donors include the Charles Koch Foundation and the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation.

Peter Starzynski, executive director of the Northwest Accountability Project, says Ingraham has made millions of dollars with her divisive rhetoric and believes it has real-world implications, saying the alleged El Paso shooter last month echoed her language on immigrants.

With union membership growing in Washington state in 2018, he adds that the Freedom Foundation's campaign against unions hasn't been successful.

"Because working families can see right through this charade that they're putting on,” says Starzynski. “And they know that this group does not have the best interests of working families in mind, that their only goal is to drive division. And so in many ways, Laura Ingraham's a perfect fit for them."

The protest is to begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue.

Florida's public employees face twin crises as federal collective bargaining rights suddenly disappear and state government jobs are cut, leaving workers uncertain about their futures and the stability of essential services.

A new White House executive order eliminating collective bargaining rights for federal workers has hit Florida particularly hard, as home to major military installations and thousands of federal employees.

Rich Templin, director of politics and public policy for the Florida AFL-CIO, described the situation as "chaos of the highest order."

"When the Transportation Security Administration was set up, that was a big issue. They agreed to extend collective bargaining rights to those employees," Templin recounted. "This is a big deal, but I think what's most important is to understand is, we don't know the implications, just like we don't know the implications of mass layoffs."

The order has drawn fierce backlash from labor groups, including the national AFL-CIO, which called it an attack on key labor rights. Unions representing federal workers are weighing legal challenges, as the White House defends the order as necessary for national security.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis' plan to eliminate 700 state jobs through a Musk-like government efficiency task force has drawn criticism. DeSantis' office said the cuts would improve efficiency.

Templin argued Florida's workforce, which is already the nation's smallest per capita, cannot absorb further reductions.

"This has been happening for 20 years: two decades that we've been asking our state workforce to do more with less," Templin pointed out. "What the governor's doing right now, he's not cutting fat, he's not cutting meat, he's cutting bone."

The proposed cuts include 142 positions at the Department of Health and 89 at the Agency for Health Care Administration, according to state workforce documents. Teachers, health care workers and transportation employees said the reductions come as they are already struggling with staff shortages.


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More than 70% of West Virginians polled said they opposed privatizing or abolishing the state's health insurance agency for public employees, according to a new poll by RABA Research.

The agency is responsible for providing health coverage for around 200,000 police officers, teachers and other public employees but is struggling financially and premiums are expected to rise by at least 14%. Now, some Republican lawmakers are floating the idea of abolishing it.

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said if the state wants its roads and bridges maintained and a robust first-responder, educator and law-enforcement workforce, privatizing the agency is the worst course of action.

"We often tell them the pay is not great but the benefits will be," Pushkin explained. "Over the years, the benefits have gotten a lot less great; their premiums keep going up without pay raises to match those. That's effectively a pay cut."

House Bill 2623 would abolish the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Act and subsequently provide health, dental and vision coverage for state workers through private contracts beginning next Jan. 1.

Supporters of the legislation say the move will help the state save money.

Among West Virginia voters polled, 67% said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who wanted to cut the amount of health insurance benefits public employees receive. Pushkin believes privatizing the agency will create more administrative costs. Amid rising prescription drug prices, he suggested the state should instead come up with a solution for a permanent funding source.

"That means a designated funding stream, whatever that may be," Pushkin added. "We have to set money aside that's coming in, designated revenue that goes in to keep that agency solvent."

The agency's finance board said public-sector retirees also will see premium increases next year.


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New research showed when employers struggle with personal money problems, they do not always leave their stress at home, and can instead take it out on their employees.

Trevor Spoelma, associate professor of management at the University of New Mexico, said in general, people experiencing financial stress are less satisfied with their jobs and less productive. But when the boss also is under financial strain, it can affect everyone they supervise.

"For instance, when leaders are experiencing financial stress, that spills over to affect how they treat their subordinates, how effective their teams are," Spoelma explained. "We're finding that the costs are a lot more widespread than we might have initially thought."

Spoelma found when leaders were more financially stressed, they felt less in control. To try to regain control, some engaged in abusive workplace tactics including hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors, like ridiculing or demeaning their subordinates.

The number one stressor across the globe is reported to be money and Spoelma said New Mexico is no stranger, with one of the highest poverty rates in the nation. Like the rest of the country, he noted, housing takes a big chunk of every paycheck.

"Places like Albuquerque, Santa Fe, I know like the costs of housing have really increased," Spoelma observed. "Whereas in the rural areas, maybe it's financial stress due to jobs that aren't paying as much, or limited hours."

Despite the challenges, New Mexico is among the top states where money goes the farthest. The minimum wage and cost of living are about 6% below the national average.

The state's minimum wage is $12 per hour and higher in the City of Santa Fe, at $15 per hour. Spoelma added statewide, what is known as the "livable wage" is $21 per hour for an adult without children.