Workforce Retraining Challenged State Association Questions Unemployment Tax Funding

More than 21,000 laid-off workers have been retrained since the state employment and training act was passed in 1993.

The law is scheduled for review by the Legislature in the upcoming session and a fight already seems to be shaping up - not over the programs but the funding.

A recent report by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges suggests workforce-training programs are a tremendous success throughout the state.

But the Association of Washington Businesses is questioning the funding used for such programs.

So far, the law has been funded by a percentage of the unemployment taxes paid by Washington businesses. The state has spent $61 million to expand existing training programs and develop new ones in community and technical colleges to guarantee classroom space to unemployed workers. Limited financial assistance is available to help cover tuition costs.

The 3,500 organizations that belong to the business association support workforce retraining programs.

But they oppose the use of unemployment tax revenues to pay for them.

The funds - 12 cents on every $100 - used were earmarked in the mid-1980s for a reserve in case of an economic downturn, such as the massive Boeing layoffs early in the decade, said Earl Tower, association vice president for governmental affairs.

The state decided in 1993 to use that money for education, but “we never agreed with that decision,” Tower said.

“The point is, that’s not what the unemployment insurance tax was designed for,” he said.

Association members are looking for alternative funding sources to maintain the programs.

“We don’t have one single thing we’re looking at right now,” Tower said. “It is automatic that people look to the (state’s) general fund, but that may or may not be the way to go.”

Educators say it’s a matter of principle, not money.

“We’re talking peanuts,” said Bob Roberts, president of Renton Technical College. “This can’t be about money, it’s a matter of principle.”

“We think it’s a good idea and we want it to continue,” said Ron Cass, director of workforce training at the Renton school. “We want to continue to give people who are laid off priority access to our classes.”

The workforce program is extremely effective, say officials at Green River Community College in Auburn, Highline Community College in Des Moines and Renton Technical College. The percentage of last year’s graduates who found employment equaled or exceeded the state average of 85 percent. About 80 percent of the students who left before graduating also found work.