The Votes are in for your Favorite 2004 Cuddly-As-A-Cactus Crooks
‘Grinch of the Year’ candidates are nominated for their actions that lead to social and economic injustices, including stomping on our rights to organize or other wrongs that cause harm to our community. Previous winners and candidates of the vote have met an untimely demise, such as former Seattle School Board President Nancy Waldman, former US Senator Slade Gorton and former UW President Richard McCormick and last year's Seattle Grinch, Darigold CEO John Mueller.
JwJ activists pledge “we’ll be there,” we’re not scared of any Grinch. By publicly awarding the Grinch of the Year, our expectation is that the 3 Grinches’ hearts will grow 3 sizes bigger, as Dr. Seuss envisioned. This year’s Grinch candidates cut against the grain of what it means to be an American. They could have shown great leadership to support people in need at a time of national economic crises. Instead they have turned to Grinchy motives.
Kevin Phelps Tacoma City Councilperson Publicly Runs Away from Jobs with Justice's 'Grinch of the Year' Award
A delegation of 10 Washington State Jobs with Justice activists finally got the opportunity to present Tacoma City Councilperson Kevin Phelps his 2004 Pierce County 'Grinch of the Year' award on Tuesday, February 1. He had previously declared, "if they (Jobs With Justice) want to make me the Grinch, then I will wear this award with a certain amount of pride...” Phelps won for:
- opposing quality and affordable healthcare for Tacoma city workers
- bringing the privatized NW Federal Detention Center to Tacoma and having it built on a toxic waste Superfund site with an intent to imprison hundreds of innocent residents swept up by Ashcroft-style raids
- providing the prison-privatizing company space at the Landmark Convention Center to train guards
- trying to rename the people's union-made Tacoma Dome after a union-busting company.
For Phelps, “Pride” Meant Running Away
But when the opportunity arose to accept his award, Phelps briskly slinked past the delegation and attempted to get lost in a crowded meeting room of city officials. Undeterred, JwJ activists read the award to the entire room and took some photo opportunities when Phelps eventually had to take his seat. He muttered “get a life” through gritting grinchy teeth. We responded that this is our life and we refuse to give him permission to ruin it. We declined to be added to the meeting agenda.
Jobs with Justice activists wait patiently
with the Grinch award for Phelps. |
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Finally, Phelps gets his Grinch award and turns away |
Phelps fueled a debate on the front page of the Tacoma Weekly, in the blog New Takhoman, and on the website of United for Peace for Pierce County over whether he deserves his Grinch award. Phelps publicly declared that he does not believe Tacoma should be a state leader in setting standards for living wages or healthcare, that he was just seizing a profit-making opportunity when helping the private prison corporation, that there is nothing wrong with siting a Federal Prison in downtown Tacoma when it is operated by a greedy and nationally disgraced company. He didnt even address his attempted (and losing battle) Tacomadome sell-out to union-busting Comcast company.
UPDATE: Grinch of the Year Kevin Phelps Resigns Mid-term -- Did his heart did grow bigger?
Dogged by a sketchy ethics track record raised by his 2004 Pierce County Grinch award, Tacoma City Councilmember Kevin Phelps has resigned from his position mid-term.
We do applaud Phelps for tending to his family long-term illnesses. As he indicated in his resignation letter, his family needs his services far more than the working people of Tacoma where his policies have been mean-spirited and driven by elite profiteering. It's a shame that Phelps' published resignation letter had to take more Grinchy pot shots like blaming city workers for sky-rocketing healthcare costs. Hey Grinch Phelps: pick on somebody at your own greed level like the drug or insurance companies causing these higher costs. No city worker is getting rich asking for affordable family healthcare. It seems you are the one getting rich while trying to cut budgets on the backs of hard-working Tacomans.
Will media or government investigate Phelps' scandalous legacy of conflicts of interest?
Phelps has helped bring many poverty wage jobs to Tacoma along with developing his pretty buildings. So far we've seen media backslapping for a businessman who during his Council term raised his personal fortune while paying low-wages, attacking the right to healthcare, conducting unauthorized developer negotiations, and manipulating deals that benefit him but not Tacoma.
Bon-Macy's CEO Dan Edelman wins 2004 'Grinch of the Year' Vote
Washington State Jobs with Justice coalition members awarded 'Grinch of the Year' honors to CEO & Chairman Dan Edelman of Bon-Macy's. Edelman won for paying lower wages than all the other responsible janitorial companies in town, getting paid a filthy rich salary from an extremely profitable multi-national corporation Federated, and refusing to provide full family medical and dental benefits when small janitor companies are able to make the $2.41 hourly contributions for these benefits. The Bon pays janitors starting at $8.80per hour and topping at $11.25 at 17 years seniority. Even very small contractors such as Ryther (employs only 8 janitors) provide the full family healthcare benefits.
The Bon Janitors, who are members of SEIU Local 6, have been negotiating with Edelman for a very long time to preserve their healthcare. Edelman recently went back on negotiation progress the Bon had made to reach a compromise. The company was nominated by the janitors and their union SEIU Local 6, a member organization of JwJ.
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