Affordable
Prescription Drugs:
I support the State using bulk purchasing
power to negotiate steep drug discounts and rebates to lower drug
prices for the uninsured and State Medicaid programs. I believe the
cost of prescription drugs is usurious, and really “gouges” the
consumer. I support whatever legal remedy helps the consumer.
Additionally, I feel the best idea would be for employees to offer
insurance plans, or pay for State employee insurance plans, that
have prescription drug coverage.
As State
Representative I will support legislation that requires employers to
either provide reasonable health care coverage to their employees,
or pay a fee to the State to assist in providing health
care. Investing in employee health should be a requirement of doing
business in
Right to Work (for
less) and other Collective Bargaining Issues:
"Right-to-Work"
is simply another way of saying "Union-Busting."
As State
Representative I will aggressively fight any attempt to pass
"Right-to-Work" in this State. Legislation should support this
State's workers, and their ability to organize Unions, not weaken
their ability to do so. Closed-door meetings to hear anti-union
propaganda and threats to shut down, if employees join a union is
not right. Employers should remain neutral during organizing
campaigns, and I will support legislation requiring Union
recognition when a majority of employees choose to form, or join, a
"Right-to-Work" is a misnomer, and is just
wrong.
Right to Collective Bargaining vs.
"Right-to-Work":
Americans have
the right to bargain for a contract, and major Labor law reform
needs to occur at the Federal level. I support Senator Patty
Murray's and Senator Maria Cantwell's efforts in this regard.
At the State
level, Legislature can (and should) set parameters and community
standards around its own State expenditure and taxing policies. As
an example, companies that remain neutral in a Union-organizing
process should be the only companies entitled to tax incentives.
Substantial
penalties should be set in place and rigorously enforced for those
employers who participate in illegally firing workers during an
organizing campaign; and no employer should be allowed to require
workers to attend any sort of meeting for the purposes of talking
against or busting Unions.
Any sort of
intimidation directed at employees for this purpose should not only
be illegal, but require investigations and consequences severe
enough to stop this practice.
I support
majority rule for public employees, and as State Representative will
create legislation to protect workers' "right to organize" in my
Legislative District. I would oppose a State “right to work”
bill.
"Right-to-Work"
is simply another way of saying "Union-Busting."
Jean Marie with Darcy Burner, Marilyn Rasmussen, and Christine Gregoire .
