Hard economic facts demand examination of labor costs
Friday, August 15, 2003 9:18 AM PDT
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E-mail this articleHere's a dirty little secret that no one seems to want to talk about, but it affects our prospects for getting jobs in the future, so we'll bring it up.
Washington is increasingly hindered in its attempts to attract new employers because of its high labor costs and costly regulations.
The problem could hit us between the eyes soon if Boeing decides to produce its 7E7 Dreamliner somewhere other than Washington state. The Seattle Times reported yesterday that Washington officials believe Texas poses the greatest threat to luring the 7E7 away from our state.
The advantages Texas has are strong. Its state Legislature has set up a $295 million fund that the governor can tap to attract major new employers. And Texas is one of 21 states with right-to-work laws that make it harder for unions to organize, making unions scarcer and weaker than they are here, where Boeing and its unions have gone toe-to-toe many times.
Also, Texas also does not have a strong ergonomics law, as Washington has, and its worker's compensation rates are lower.
Put those together -- higher labor costs, strong unions, the nation's most expensive ergonomics laws and higher worker's compensation costs -- and it's easy to see why an employer might think Washington is not the most ideal place to locate a business when there are less costly options around the country.
Our Legislature has tried to lower worker's comp costs, and a pro-business group has a measure on the November ballot calling for the repeal of the state's ergonomics laws, which business argues is a job killer.
No one, though, is talking about the high cost of labor. If the state loses the Boeing 7E7 production -- which seems increasingly likely -- to a right-to-work state, then it will be time to talk about whether we, too, should become a right-to-work state.
The national shift in manufacturing jobs to southern states is clearly driven by their lower labor costs, which are directly tied to their right-to-work laws.
Washington and Cowlitz County have long and strong union traditions that have resulted in good-paying jobs for many people. The facts of life, though, are that Cowlitz County's unemployment rate has been higher than the state's for all but one of the last 25 years, and that new manufacturing jobs are going to other parts of this country.
So the question then becomes: Do we want a declining economy that has good-paying jobs for fewer and fewer people, or do we want an expanding economy that gives more and more people the opportunity to work?
That's a tough question and the answer is not easy. Longview and Kelso are losing population as workers move somewhere else -- quite possibly to right-to-work states -- to find new jobs. Do we want to grow or decline even more? Should we become a right-to-work state?
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