Latest news with #RainierSchool
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Political fights put spotlight on leader of Washington's largest public employee union
Mike Yestramski, president of the Washington Federation of State Employees, could not get a meeting with Gov. Bob Ferguson so he "called" during a March protest in the governor's office. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero) Mike Yestramski has enjoyed a low profile through much of his six years leading Washington state's largest public sector union. Not anymore. His very public clashes with the governor during a contentious 2025 legislative session put a political spotlight on the president of the Washington Federation of State Employees. The union represents 54,000 state government, higher education and public service workers. Ferguson and Democratic state senators — longtime union allies — wanted to furlough workers and make them pay more for health care coverage. They also called for curtailing programs and closing Rainier School, a rehabilitation center in Pierce County for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, moves certain to trigger layoffs. Yestramski and legions of fellow union members turned out in force to oppose these moves. Clad in the union's green t-shirts, they rallied on the Capitol steps, demonstrated at the governor's office and patrolled the hallways outside the House and Senate chambers to pigeonhole lawmakers through the final hours of session. The muscular, pony-tailed labor leader was ubiquitous, rebellious and, in the end, victorious in some of the most pitched political battles of the session. And he didn't hold back with rhetorical slights against the new governor, calling Ferguson a 'pseudo Democrat' at rallies and 'Ratfink Robbie Ferguson' on Facebook. The swipes further brightened the exposure of the union's demands. Yestramski said in a recent interview in the union's Olympia headquarters that he prefers 'adult conversations' to resolve differences, though he realizes what occurred in the legislative session 'may have painted a slightly different impression.' But the gravity of the situation demanded a strong retort, he said. 'I generally believe that collaboration tends to be more successful than aggression,' he said. 'But that takes all of the parties involved to do that.' Yestramski, 45, was elected to a two-year term as federation president in 2019. Then 39, Yestramski said he was reportedly the federation's youngest ever president. Yestramski was reelected in 2021 and 2023. He plans to seek a fourth term this fall. He started his public service career as a homeless outreach social worker in Baltimore. He came to Washington in 2013, taking a job as a psychiatric social worker at Western State Hospital. An active union member, Yestramski said he pursued the leadership post because he was 'just getting really sick of seeing my friends and co-workers getting beat up, really, really bad.' 'People ended up in ICUs. People lost digits,' he said. Jobs at the hospital can still be dangerous, but Yestramski credited CEO Charlie Southerland for working collaboratively with the union to come up with solutions to bolster worker safety. The following interview was lightly edited for clarity and length. Have you had a chance to chat with or meet face-to-face with the governor? I have not. You've called him a few names. How do you feel about him now? While his rhetoric during the session I didn't love, he did ultimately sign the budget that funds our contracts and did not contain furloughs. As far as what he actually did, he didn't harm us, which was the fear based on statements that were coming out. For that, I'm thankful. You did say you felt scammed and that workers were lied to because Ferguson's proposals didn't align with his pledges to labor leaders in the 2024 campaign. Do you think WFSE members now feel they can trust him to have their backs? As a social worker — this is going to be related, I promise — the therapeutic school that I was brought up in was behaviorism. One of its basic tenets is, 'I don't really care what your motivations are, as long as you do the right thing.' To that end, whether it was genuinely in his heart or whether it was due to the political pressure of our members, whatever reason it was that got that outcome, the outcome is what was important. As far as our members trusting him, obviously, folks are going to be a little bit hesitant. This isn't just the governor. This is any elected official where we have to continue to make it known that we're paying attention, that we'll show up and that we have expectations of our elected officials. When we do that in large enough crowds, they listen and they do the right thing. In the end, did Ferguson do the right thing enough to secure the union's backing for reelection? That's three-and-a-half years away. In sports terms, there's going to be a lot more game film to review by the time that decision comes up. Enough time for a reconciliation? As far as he and I, personally, I can't say. My door is always open, even if it's to say I don't like you, right? I don't care if it's me. I believe the narrative got a little bit into a personal thing between me and Bob. I need to know that there are people in the governor's office that he will listen to, who can make sure that our main issues are being heard and addressed. Do you feel that way today? I feel that now more than I did two months ago. Would I like to have a better relationship with the governor? I don't want to be in a feud with our governor. You're probably not going to call him a 'ratfink' again. Probably not.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Fight to close $52M WA school for adults with disabilities is over. What's next?
A heated debate concerning the future of the Rainier School in Buckley has winded down for now. On April 27, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 5393, an amended bill that will prohibit new admissions to the Rainier School and to the Yakima Valley School in Selah. The bill will allow current residents to stay at the facilities indefinitely. The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Bob Ferguson, who has not approved or vetoed the bill yet. The Rainier School and Yakima Valley School are two of the state's four residential habilitation centers, which provide housing, employment and care for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. 'I think we made the bill infinitely better,' said Josh Penner, a Republican from Orting who represents District 31 in the House. 'I think we created a sense of safety for the residents of Rainier.' The original Democrat-backed bill would have required the facility to close on June 30, 2027 and prohibit new admissions in the time between the bill's passage and closing. This would have given the state about two years to come up with alternative plans for each of the facility's residents. Proponents of the original bills pointed to the Rainier School's long history of abuse and believe residents should move from residential habilitation centers to community-based systems of care such as adult family homes, companion homes, group homes or supported living. Opponents believe the Rainier School plays a critical role and say community-based settings do not have the capacity to support those who rely on the centers. The Rainier School opened in October 1939 and serves people with disabilities by offering 24-hour residential care. This includes housing, medical care, occupational and speech therapies, employment, nutrition services, recreation facilities and more. The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services runs the school. DSHS previously told The News Tribune the facility has 81 residents and costs roughly $52 million to run each year — or roughly 0.03% of the state's $165 billion budget in 2024. The state's other residential habilitation centers include the Yakima Valley School in Selah, Lakeland Village in Medical Lake and the Fircrest School in Shoreline. The Rainier School and Yakima Valley School are the only facilities impacted by this bill. If Gov. Ferguson approves the amended bill, the Rainier School won't be able to accept new residents, but will operate until each resident either moves to a different setting or passes away. Each resident will get to choose between staying at the Rainier School, moving to one of the other residential habilitation centers or moving to a community-based setting. If they move to community care and want to come back to the Rainier School within their first year of transferring, they can return. The News Tribune reached out to a representative for Democratic senators June Robinson and T'wina Nobles — two of the three senators behind the bill — but did not get a response before deadline. 'I think if somebody can be successful in community-based care, it is a superior approach to that person — and I think it's really important to emphasize that there are a number of folks who rely on systems that the RHCs can provide,' Penner said. 'Without those systems, they would be homeless, in jail or in a hospital, physically and chemically restrained.' Employees at the Rainier School will also be able to keep their jobs, and the bill requires the state to offer them 'opportunities to work in state-operated living alternatives and other state facilities and programs.' DSHS previously told The News Tribune the facility has 460 full-time employees and Courtney Brunell, Buckley's city administrator, previously confirmed that the Rainier School is the largest employer in the city of 5,114 people. The bill also requires DSHS to submit a report to the legislature once a year, with the first deadline being Dec. 1, 2025. The report must contain the following information: How many residents are in each of the state's residential habilitation centers. How many former residents have transitioned out of the Rainier School and where each person ended up. How many former residents who transitioned out of the Rainier School have since died. The geographic distribution of residential placements. Information about 'former Rainier School employees who have transitioned to other state employment, left the industry or transitioned to private sector employment.' Penner said this report will allow lawmakers to have the information they need to make decisions about residential habilitation centers in the future. '[The report is about] laying down the feedback systems that are going to help me and other policymakers move forward in a good direction that I think is going to be informed, rather than just kneejerk, 'We have a budget crisis, let's take a shot at RHCs,'' Penner said. Penner called the original bills 'absolutely cruel policy' and said the Rainier School is essential for providing care. 'There is a place in the continuum of care for facilities in the Rainier School and RHCs, and to just try and shut it down is head-in-the-sand kind of behavior that will get disabled people killed and has gotten them killed,' Penner said. On April 23, Republicans in the House Appropriations Committee walked out in protest after the senate bill advanced. On March 25, 40 or 50 people attended a 'Save the Rainier School' town hall at the Buckley fire station. Penner mentioned that, while there has been abuse and neglect at the Rainier School, there has also been abuse in community-based settings. 'You can't get away from this by shutting down facilities — you have to get ahead of this by improving care at all facilities,' Penner said. The News Tribune reported in 2018 that a former supervisor at the Rainier School was sentenced for sex crimes against residents. In 2020, a resident's family sued the state, alleging the Rainier School staff's neglect following her bunion surgery led to her death in 2017. When The News Tribune asked Penner how he felt about the bill taking away the Rainier School's ability to admit new residents, he said it wasn't ideal but that it was necessary while Republicans were negotiating to protect current residents. 'Well, sometimes a win is buying time,' Penner said. 'I'm not happy with the fact that admissions [will be] paused at Rainier, but it does allow us time to look into what could be done with that property … and get ahead of the problem.' Stacy Dym, spokesperson for The Arc, a disability rights organization in Washington, said the bill is progress. 'I think, overall, it is a small step forward for reconsidering and reconsolidating the use of that facility for people with disabilities,' Dym told The News Tribune on Wednesday. 'The use of that facility just doesn't fit in with the future.' Dym has been an advocate for closing Washington's residential habilitation centers, arguing that community-based care is the more ethical option. She said the updated bill is a push in the right direction, and she disagrees with many of the arguments for keeping the Rainier School open. 'I think that there were some accusations that the community just doesn't offer robust care — over 4,500 people are cared for in supported living every day,' Dym said. 'Washington state is not turning its back on folks that need it.' In a March interview with The News Tribune, Dym pointed out that Washington is the only state on the west coast that has residential habilitation centers, with 18 states across the country closing the centers completely. She also mentioned the Frances Haddon Morgan Center in Bremerton, which she said the legislature closed in 2013 with successful results. On May 16, 2013, DSHS released a report that said 52 people who had been living at the Frances Haddon Morgan Center found new homes in community-based settings or at one of the state's other residential habilitation centers. It also said those 52 people were 'remain[ing] stable in their new homes.' Dym has also said residential habilitation centers are relics from a past where people with disabilities were treated poorly. 'I think that supported living and adult family homes offer exactly the same level of care, same level of training,' Dym told The News Tribune on Wednesday. 'We have a robust system of people living in the community, living closer to their families, and so we're making sure that the state plans for serving everyone.' The News Tribune asked Dym in March if she thought moving residents to community-based facilities was the safer choice. She said that while abuse is always a possibility, residents can experience better care in smaller settings because they have more autonomy and are treated as individuals. However, Dym does understand the fears that come up when moving out of a residential habilitation center. Her sister was a resident at Fircrest School and in 2003, the legislature ordered the school to be downsized. 'When [my mom] finally found a place that had other individuals my sister's age … that my mom felt was close enough for her to visit and she felt like the home was nice looking and met my sister's need, and she was willing to give it a try — she was really frightened,' Dym said. 'It took her time to build trust in those communities and those community providers.' Her sister ended up thriving, Dym said, because of the care and freedom that came with the community setting. 'My sister, she got to paint her room purple,' Dym said. 'She got to have a cat, she got to pick out the food she wanted to eat for dinner and lunch, she made new friends, she got a job at the food bank.' The News Tribune archives contributed to this report.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WA's 2025 legislative session has adjourned. Here are some defining moments
Sunday marked the final day of Washington state's 2025 legislative session, an occasion known as Sine Die. Much has happened in the 105 days since the session started Jan. 13. Tears were shed, brawls were fought. Descriptors for this year's proceedings have ranged from 'really hard' to 'grueling.' 'Certainly today, it feels like the toughest one that I've been through,' House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, a West Seattle Democrat, said at a Sunday evening press conference. 'But I'm sure every session to come will have its own challenges, too.' Earlier this year, then-Attorney General Bob Ferguson traded in his old title for a new one: governor. Washington said goodbye to longtime Gov. Jay Inslee. And residents got a glimpse of how the state could fare under the second administration of President Donald Trump. The Capitol saw policy squabbles and budget quarrels, thousands-deep protests and unexpected deaths. Washington lawmakers received a stormy revenue forecast in March, unwelcome news at a time when the state is facing a budget gap estimated between $7.5 billion and $16 billion, depending on the source. But it remains to be seen whether a special session will need to be called. Ferguson has kept mum about whether he'd approve lawmakers' final operating-budget offering; Democrats also passed capital and transportation budgets, too. In a lengthy statement Sunday, the governor thanked lawmakers for their hard work this session. 'I look forward to carefully reviewing the budgets line by line over the next few weeks,' he said. 'When that review is complete, I will share my thoughts with the public in greater detail.' Here are some of the highlights — and lowlights — of the regular session. Some of the biggest fights of the 2025 session centered around housing. Among the most hotly debated bills: one that would cap rent hikes. House Bill 1217 would limit annual rent increases to 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower, and up to 5% for manufactured homes. Another bill that divided lawmakers would allow striking workers to receive unemployment insurance benefits for up to six weeks. Democrats also pursued the closure of the residential habilitation center Rainier School for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, located in Buckley in Pierce County. One short-lived, but quite controversial, proposal would have created a redesign committee charged with overseeing a makeover for the state flag. Democrats broadcast a slew of revenue options this year. Republicans, naturally, objected — and Ferguson also poo-pooed the suggested mountain of taxes as being far too high, citing looming federal threats to funding, programs and jobs. The majority party this session gave the green light to a 6-cent increase on the state's gas tax to help address the transportation budget's own multi-billion-dollar deficit. Tesla would get hit with a new tax under one House proposal. Democrats also attempted to tax the state's wealthiest residents, a concept that Ferguson has said he'd be open to discussing with a $100 million figure. The bill cleared the Senate but stalled out in the House. Republicans pushed back against Democrats' efforts to lift the 1% annual property-tax growth cap. They also slammed a proposed 50% increase on the price of state-park Discover passes and other taxes on 'joy.' Ferguson hasn't said which taxes he would support. Republicans registered outrage after House Democrats tweaked the rules on floor debate, accusing majority-party leadership of 'censoring' dissent. Democrats, incidentally, said the rule changes would help focus debate and end redundant filibustering. One explosive moment occurred in the House days before the end of session. State Rep. Jeremie Dufault, a Selah Republican, was prohibited from returning to the House chamber following an outburst that interrupted proceedings on the so-called parental bill of rights. (He was still allowed to participate virtually.) Ferguson also ruffled feathers after suggesting that most state workers should take furloughs one day per month over two years to assist with the state's budget problem. As the state scrambled to fix its own budget woes, the Trump administration took a chainsaw to federal funding, programs and jobs. Shortly after assuming office as attorney general, Democrat Nick Brown came out swinging against the Trump administration. Months into Trump's second term, Washington state has led or participated in several lawsuits against the federal government. Litigation topics have included alleged unconstitutional federal executive orders, including attempts to end birthright citizenship and restrict mail-in voting. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, has led a one-woman charge to warn against perceived ills emanating from the White House. And earlier this spring, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins said that if federal Medicaid funding were ever yanked, 'there is not a state in this country that can backfill that in any way, shape or form.' Ferguson has also directed state lawmakers to brace for additional federal hostility. State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, himself a former Democratic state lawmaker, doubled down on the state's position concerning the ability of transgender athletes to play in girls' sports and undocumented-student protections. The Washington Legislature mourned the lives of multiple state leaders. State Sen. Bill Ramos, an Issaquah Democrat, died unexpectedly April 19 while on a trail run near his home in Issaquah. Ramos' Senate colleagues commemorated him Sunday as someone who made Washington better. Former longtime Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, a Seattle Democrat, died last month from cardiac arrest at age 71. Ferguson described him as 'a force in Washington politics.' Days before Chopp's passing, former Republican Secretary of State Ralph Munro died at 81. Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said his predecessor had 'embodied the drive and attitude of a true statesman.' After lawmakers released the final operating budget on Saturday, Sen. Chris Gildon, the upper chamber's Republican budget lead, was called away because his wife of more than 31 years, Autumn, was discovered unresponsive at her workplace. She died of unknown causes. 'Legislators are people first, and at a time like this, our families are more important,' Senate Minority Leader John Braun of Centralia said in an emailed statement. 'We hold Chris and his family in our hearts and pray that they will find comfort and peace.'
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WA lawmakers shift approach on closing center for people with disabilities
The Washington state Capitol on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard) A highly contested bill around the closure of a residential center for people with disabilities passed the Washington state House and Senate this weekend with mixed support from lawmakers and some major changes. Senate Bill 5393 intended to shutter Rainier School, a rehabilitation center in Pierce County for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, by June 30, 2027. But a Republican amendment approved on the House floor, and agreed to by the Senate, will instead prohibit new long-term admissions starting July 27 this year and stop short-term admissions starting June 30, 2027. Under the amended version, the center would close when there are no more long-term residents. Former long-term residents would have the ability to return within one year of transitioning out of the center. The rewrite gained some Republican support but lost some among Democrats. Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, was one of the lawmakers concerned that the bill was rushing the closure and didn't have enough safeguards. He and other GOP legislators walked out of a House committee hearing this week when the panel advanced the legislation. After the amendment, he felt better about the bill, even though he still voted against it. 'This is a pill I can swallow,' Couture said. The bill would also require the Department of Social and Health Services to provide regular reports to the Legislature until June 1, 2030, and offer residents the choice of alternative placements with careful planning. It now heads to Gov. Bob Ferguson's desk. Debates around the closure of the Rainier School and the similar Yakima Valley School have been a hot topic in the Legislature this session. Rainier School has faced scrutiny in recent years over incidents of abuse, neglect and safety lapses. Some disability rights advocates have pushed for its closure. The facilities are also expensive, with a year of services for a patient at Rainier running around $775,000. Proponents of closing them said it could allow for resources to be shifted in a way that gives people improved options for services and reduces costs for the state. 'This isn't about buildings or dollars, this is about the people who live at Rainier, people who have been hurt, forgotten, ignored, and betrayed,' said Rep. Darya Farivar, D-Seattle. 'If home means fear, being silenced, bruised, and even death, we have an obligation to show some better options,' Farivar added. But Republicans argued that centers like Rainier provide a crucial form of services and care and that people would be left with few nearby options if the center were to close. Workers at the facilities also opposed the closure plans. In 2017, the Legislature passed a bill that would close the Yakima Valley School once the number of permanent residents had dwindled to eight people. There are roughly 36 long-term residents at the center, according to figures presented to lawmakers. A House bill that stalled this year proposed closing both the Rainier and Yakima Valley schools by June 30, 2027. The amended version of Senate Bill 5393 does not change when the Yakima Valley School would close.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republicans walk out after WA House committee votes to close center for people with disabilities
Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, speaks on the House floor in an undated photo. He was among the Republicans who walked out of a House Appropriations Committee meeting this week in protest of a bill that would close a facility in Pierce County for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (Photo courtesy of Legislative Support Services) Republican lawmakers walked out of a committee meeting in the Washington Legislature on Wednesday to protest approval of a bill that would close a residential center for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 'We voted no on the bill first and, when it was apparent that the bill was going to pass, we were upset and we just decided to leave,' said Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, the top GOP lawmaker on the House Appropriations Committee. Senate Bill 5393, which the committee voted out Wednesday, aims to close the Rainier School in Pierce County and relocate its residents by June 30, 2027. House Bill 1472 calls for the closure of both the Rainier School and the Yakima Valley School in Selah. Republicans say the centers are crucial for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, providing paths to educational and employment opportunities. And they say that there are limited options for where people could end up if these closures occur. But Democrats say the facilities are expensive to operate and that closing them could allow for resources to be shifted in a way that gives people improved options for services. The 'residential habilitation centers,' operated by the state's Department of Social and Health Services, have also faced scrutiny in recent years. Groups like Disability Rights Washington have documented extensive problems with abuse, neglect, and safety lapses. The group and other advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have called for the centers to be closed. 'Washington is one of the states that had the highest investment in folks with intellectual and developmental disabilities, yet with the poorest outcomes,' said Rep. Darya Farivar, D-Seattle. 'When the RHCs were built, they were intended to be short-term placements,' Farivar said. 'The intent was not for these to be permanent placements, and so the facilities we are using, the level of care that we are using, is failing pretty horrifically for these individuals.' She also explained how the Rainier School is in an isolated location, compared to Fircrest School, in Shoreline, which allows residents greater access to the surrounding community. A new 120-bed facility is under construction at Fircrest, Farivar later noted in an email. Including the Rainier and Yakima Valley schools, the state operates four residential habilitation centers. An analysis of the Senate bill says that the Rainier School has 58 long-term residents. Farivar said she wants people to have the choice between a residential habilitation center and living in housing in the broader community, with support services. Both Fircrest and Lakeland Village, near Spokane, have the capacity to house more people and can provide services at a lower cost than the Rainier School, Farivar said. 'At $775,625 per person annually, Rainier is the most expensive care setting in the state,' she wrote in the email. Farivar said she and others are pressing to ensure there's funding in the budget for the staff needed at Fircrest and Lakeland Village so people can transition out of the Rainier School. But Couture said closing the Rainier School would raise the odds of people with disabilities ending up in hospitals, jails, or living on the streets without access to care. And, he said, 'the amount of abuse and neglect that happens in community care settings is just as great, if not greater, than what has ever happened at some of these RHC facilities.' Couture said that if the bill to close the Rainier School makes it to the House floor for a vote, Republicans 'will grind the brakes off of this place and do every procedural motion in the book, we will throw the kitchen sink at defeating this. It has to stop.' He derided the bill as the 'most cruel and disgusting' one introduced this year. The walkout after the House Appropriations Committee vote was not pre-planned, according to Couture, but rather a decision after Republican committee members became frustrated. 'Most of us had tears in our eyes and there's only just so much you can put up with,' Couture said. It is unclear when the House could take up the bill for a floor vote. Only a short time is left until the session is scheduled to end on Sunday, April 27.
