Labor lining up against I-747

OLYMPIA — The campaign against Tim Eyman's latest attack on Washington state's tax structure is drawing most of its money from labor unions — especially public employees unions with much to lose if the property tax-limiting initiative passes.

Of the $163,864 in cash donations the No on I-747 campaign has reported to the Public Disclosure Commission, $133,200 came out of labor coffers.

More than $100,000 came from the Washington State Council of County and City Employees and its parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Another $10,000 came from the Washington State Council of Firefighters.

Initiative 747 would limit the growth of local property-tax levies to 1 percent per year. Current law allows increases of as much as 6 percent.

By the 2005-2007 biennium, that loss of local property-tax revenue could be more than $500 million, the Department of Revenue estimates.

For public-employee unions, that's a bleak forecast. They see tax revenue falling quickly behind inflation — which typically far exceeds 1 percent — forcing widespread cuts, devastating local services and costing public employees their jobs.

"It's going to be tough, and you're going to see real cuts," said Chris Dugovich, president of the Washington State Council of County and City Employees.

"It's roads, it's libraries, it's public hospitals, things that are very basic," Dugovich said.

Politicking against Eyman has mostly proven unsuccessful. Only the courts kept Initiative 695 and Initiative 722 from attaching far stronger strings on taxes. Voters approved both measures handily, so handily in the case of I-695 that the Legislature hastily abolished the hated car-tab tax even when the courts overturned the initiative.

And Eyman's fund raising so far has far outpaced the unions'. The list of donors he disclosed to the PDC runs 67 pages for a total of more than $500,000. Only three donors gave as much as $10,000, and the per-donor amount swiftly dwindles to pages and pages of $100 checks.

Eyman says that the simplicity of his basic message — your taxes are too high — gives him a tactical advantage over his opponents.

"How many little old ladies sent them $20 saying, 'Whatever you do, keep those property taxes skyrocketing!' " Eyman asks.