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Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
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Opponents of Pierce County's partnership ordinance fail |
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| Opponents of Pierce County's partnership ordinance fail | |
| Bigots lack required signatures for ballot measure to repeal law by Josh Freides - Courtesy of Equal Rights Washington On Wednesday, April 23, a small group of ultra-conservative activists seeking to repeal Pierce County's Domestic Partnership Ordinance failed to turn in the 25,361 valid signatures necessary to qualify the measure for the November 2008 ballot. In December of 2007, the Pierce County Council passed Ordinance 2007-108, extending benefits to county employees' domestic partners and eligible children. While the ordinance covers both Gay and straight employees, these benefits are particularly important to Gay and Lesbian county workers who cannot secure basic rights for their partners through civil marriage. If successful, the signature gathering effort would have led to a ballot initiative aimed at preventing the families of Gay county employees from being eligible for such basic benefits as health insurance. "This is yet another sign that the citizens of Pierce County believe all families should be treated equally - that equal work should be compensated by equal pay and benefits, no matter who you are," said John McCluskey, longtime Tacoma civil rights advocate. "The people of Pierce County are fair-minded and will not be conned by the scare tactics and false information spread by the radical right." The Pierce County Council did the right thing by passing the Pierce County Domestic Partnership Ordinance, thereby ensuring that all employees will receive the same pay and benefits for doing the same work. The voters have validated that decision overwhelmingly by refusing to sign petitions to overturn the measure. The Pierce County Domestic Partnership Ordinance is very much in keeping with trends in Washington State supporting working families. At least 17 other county and city governments in Washington have adopted similar measures, including King County, Thurston County, and the city of Tacoma, which recently granted similar benefits to city employees through contract negotiations. Same-sex couples presently can register as domestic partners with Washington State, and on March 12 Governor Chris Gregoire signed into law the Domestic Partnership Expansion Bill, which provides registered domestic partners in Washington an additional 170 legal protections at the state level. Registered domestic partners in Washington State are now eligible to receive nearly 200 of the 1400 legal rights and responsibilities of marriage. As healthcare costs soar, family healthcare benefits have become an increasingly large portion of employee compensation packages. "This is simply the right thing to do - to treat all county employees equally," said John Ladenburg, County Executive. "Not only is it the fair thing to do, it also makes good business sense. Employees can perform their jobs better knowing that their families are secure." As testament to the fact that domestic partner benefits are a smart business move, over 600 Washington businesses, including more than half of Fortune 500 companies, have extended these critical health and other financial benefits to employees in domestic partnerships, including Amazon, Costco, Boeing, Starbucks, Weyerhaeuser, and many others. The failure of the effort to overturn domestic partnership benefits proves that Pierce County voters are dedicated to ensuring that all families have the ability to be financially secure with access to affordable health care, pensions, and death benefits. |
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