Seattle, WA

On February 15, over 6,000 gathered in Olympia, WA on the steps of the state capitol building to protest further cuts to education, health care, and social services, and attacks on state workers. The rally was organized primarily by the union, AFSCME Council 28, which represents state workers, and it was endorsed by the Washington State Labor Council. Dozens of other unions and progressive organizations endorsed and mobilized for the rally. (A full list of endorsing organizations can be read at the event’s website: www.oureconomicfuture.org).

Judging by the hundreds of green shirts, AFSCME was the main mobilizer, although hundreds of students were also present from high schools and public universities across Western Washington.

The main slogan of the rally was “Revenue YES!” which didn’t at all effectively counter or answer the anti-tax message of the Tea Party rally at the same location an hour earlier. The vague slogan didn’t put forward how or who should pay for the budget deficit. At our Socialist Alternative table and with our banners, we demanded that the rich and big business be made to pay for the $2.8 billion budget deficit, not working-class people.

While the protest was exciting and a welcomed development compared to last year, when the unions did virtually nothing to oppose the Democrat-controlled legislature and the Democratic Governor from imposing an all-cuts budgets, union leaders had no plan for what was next in our struggle to defeat the cuts and accepted that some cuts would be necessary.

The earlier Tea Party rally had an estimated turnout of 3,000, according to the Seattle Times article below. The article spends a disproportionate amount of the article on the Tea Party rally, while little space is given to the union rally, which was double in size.

The larger turnout was a clear statement of the power that the unions have, where even a limited mobilization can dwarf the Tea Party movement, which has numerous wealthy backers and the support of current and former Republican politicians. (A similar Presidents’ Day rally in 2002 had 20,000 out in force after a major mobilization by the teachers’ unions.)

This excess of attention by the corporate media exaggerates the size and influence of the Tea Party movement, perpetuating a myth that most working-class and ordinary people in the U.S. are right-wing, when most polls that a majority of the population favors more taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.

Members of Socialist Alternative from our Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle branches attended the rally. We sold copies of our newspaper Justice, and raised donations for the protests were organizing against cuts in education funding and tuition hikes on March 4. We had our “Bailout Workers, Not Wall Street” banner, and also our “Money for Jobs and Education, Not War” banner (which is mentioned in the article below). We marched both banners through the crowd during the rally, and got loud, enthusiastic cheers from protesters.

Olympia Socialist Alternative members assisted in organizing a feeder march of college students from a nearby park. The students, from Evergreen State College and University of Washington, were in Olympia for state-wide conference against higher education cuts that took place the previous day, which we helped organize.

Thousands rally for and against tax increases in Olympia
By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times
Link to story
OLYMPIA – Thousands of people swarmed the state Capitol on Monday to protest tax increases and then an hour later thousands more gathered to support them.

A crowd that State Patrol officers pegged at around 3,000 people chanted “no more tax” at the statehouse, only to be replaced by an even larger throng yelling “no more cuts.”
The roar of the rallies couldn’t be heard through the thick walls of the Capitol, but there’s little doubt which group has the ear of Democratic lawmakers.

“I promise you,” Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, told the pro-tax crowd, “we are going to close tax loopholes and we’re going to raise revenue.”

The same message is coming from all Democratic leaders in the House, Senate and the governor’s office, who say they’re considering options ranging from a tax on bottled water to a general sales tax increase, as well as closing tax exemptions. The money is needed, they say, to help close a projected $2.8 billion budget shortfall and avoid deep cuts in state services.

In fact, the question is not so much whether lawmakers will increase taxes, but when. Budget writers in the Senate were planning to release plans this week for cutting spending and raising taxes, but now they’ve pushed the date to next week.

The legislative session is scheduled to end on March 11.

Anti-tax protesters warned of payback during the November election if Democrats, who control the Legislature, increase taxes.

“The message is pretty clear. Quit spending money and start listening to the voters or you are going to be replaced. It’s very simple,” said Dale Halbert, 63, a retiree from Whidbey Island.
Tax opponents carried signs reading, “Give us liberty, not debt,” “Don’t tread on my money,” and “Deliver us from weasels.”

“I’m just taxed to death,” said Clo Foote, 61, who runs a printing company in Olympia.
“They’re killing us.”

It was an angry crowd at times, shouting “no more tax,” and “liar, liar” when speakers talked about Gov. Chris Gregoire and her past opposition to tax increases. The governor in recent months has said taxes are needed to prevent deep cuts in state services.

When asked about being called a liar, Gregoire on Monday said: “I’m not into the name calling. Let’s have a good discussion, let’s be respectful of each other. I respect their views. I respect what they have to say, but not when they resort to name calling.”

The opposing rallies were spaced far enough apart to keep the two groups from running into each other.

The pro-tax rally was organized by Rebuilding Our Economic Future, a coalition of labor, education, health care and other groups.

It was a decidedly different crowd from the earlier gathering. People carried signs such as “Robin Hood was right, tax the rich” and “Money for jobs and education, not war.”
“We’re opposed to any further cutbacks to education and social services,” said John Martinez, 56, a community college teacher in Seattle.

“We need to expand services and raise salaries for educators and health workers,” he said. “We think a tax on wealthy individuals and corporations will contribute to that.”

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said Democrats will propose some budget cuts, but tax increases will be needed as well. “You just can’t do an all cuts budget,” she said. “We cut so much last year we don’t have much left.”

Andrew Garber: [email protected] or 360-236-8268