We Now Know The L&I Request: A Surprising Call

At about 4:00  more or less this afternoon I got an unexpected telephone call.  It was from Judy Schurke, the Director of Washington State Labor & Industry.  This was my first verbal contact with her.  I had emailed her a number of times, and that, along with the various L&I contacts I have made in the past four weeks appears to have prompted her to call.  In my letters to her I attempted to communicate the realities of the taxi business from someone who knows.  My request was reasonably simple, emphazing the need for a fair and just decision. It seems to have been an effective approach.  She said that a decision had been made concerning the L&I request and she wanted me to be one of first of the many interested individuals to know.  As some of you might already know, the rumor was that L&I was holding firm to the much discussed amount of $1.11 per hour which translated into a request of $380.00 per month.  I was greatly relieved when she said that the amount was downgraded to 55 cents per hour, just less than half of what was expected.  She did acknowledge that some folks would still have problems with that but stated that this was the beginning of the process, not the end, and that L&I would be monitoring the overall effect of their decision.  She also invited continued input and I believe that I and perhaps other representatives of the local indsutry could be meeting with her as soon as next week.  I hope that is true.  The official announcement is scheduled for tomorrow.  I will keep you updated as new devleopments occur.