The Washington State Executive Ethics Board on Aug. 6
dismissed a complaint filed by a State Senator who maintained that Gov. Jay
Inslee broke the law when he revoked authorization for state troopers to escort
grain inspectors past picketing longshore workers at the Port of Vancouver.
State Sen. Don Benton (R-Vancouver) had sent a letter to the
Ethics Board on July 30, arguing that by removing the security escort, the
governor was “forcing” terminal operator United Grain Corp. to negotiate with
the longshore union.
But in an Aug. 6 letter, the ethics board’s acting director,
Kathryn Wyatt, said that the governor’s actions “do not appear to violate the
substantive provisions of the Ethics in Public Service Act,” but also added
that the board didn’t have jurisdiction over the matter.
Benton has 20 days from the Ethics Board’s ruling to request
that the ruling be reviewed, but has not yet indicated whether he intends to do
so.
The labor dispute between United Grain Corp. and the
International Longshore & Warehouse Union workers has been ongoing at the
port for 17 months and law enforcement escorts of the grain inspectors dates
back to September 2013.
The escorts began in response to an incident the prior month
when one inspector filed a police report saying that they were verbally
harassed while crossing the picket line. The inspectors are state employees.
The escorts by troopers went on for several months, but on
July 7, Inslee halted the practice, and his office said it had been previously
made clear that the escort was only a temporary measure meant to give United
Grain Corp. time to hammer out a labor contract with the ILWU.
In response to the pulling of the escort, inspectors have refused
to enter the terminal, citing safety concerns, leading United Grain to halt
grain shipments and effectively shutter operations at the terminal for the time
being.
United Grain says it had been scheduled to ship 17 million
bushels in August, and that the grain-shipping season is expected to ramp up in
September. The company says it was able to get waivers on the inspections for
two shiploads of grain, equal to about three million bushels of product, but
that ships were delayed up to 11 days while undergoing the waiver process.
