This year’s JwJ Scrooge has waged a war on Pierce County workers and the staff that she supervises. In front of top local politicians, a delegation of Jobs with Justice activists presented a framed Scrooge award to the Tacoma-Pierce County Employment and Training Consortium Director Linda Nguyen during the Consortium’s Board meeting. Other festivities included holiday costumes, singing “You’re a Mean One, Ms. Nguyen” to the tune of Dr. Seuss’ Grinch, and posting the Washington State order of Unfair Labor Practices issued against her at the public comment podium. The Scrooge was then driven home, ditching the Consortium’s big holiday party that she normally hosts.

The Board of the Consortium is comprised of Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma, County Council member Tim Farrell, City Council member Mike Lonergan. Many other community leaders have roles in the Consortium as well as attended the holiday party at which the Scrooge bailed. We hope that Ms. Nguyen’s heart will grow and welcomes the union rights of the Consortium staff. In the alternative, we hope the Board members will fulfill their worker-friendly commitments made on the campaign trail and change the divisive and nasty management track record at the Consortium.

Ms. Nguyen won in a runaway election with 726 votes. Staff from the Consortium told an earlier JwJ holiday party of their compelling struggles of Ms. Nguyen targeting them and losing their jobs for simply exercising their legal and human rights to organize a union. The workers fought this anti-union retaliation through their Teamsters Local 117 union and won back jobs and lost pay. State investigations and hearings confirmed the workers’ struggles and even reinstated at least one worker twice.

Yet, Ms. Nguyen continues to spend our tax-dollars to thwart the workers’ clear voice on the job. This Scrooge won the contest for running an aggressive union-busting campaign against Consortium staff that is as worker-hating and heinous as any private sector employer. Ms. Nguyen has refused to comply with multiple State orders to cease anti-union discrimination and retaliation, rehire union activists, and compensate for her unlawful activities. The workers organized 3 years ago and this Scrooge candidate still won’t bargain a fair first union contract. During negotiations currently ongoing, Ms. Nguyen:

• rejects a union proposed change in health and welfare plans that would save over $200 per month per employee to the detriment of the Consortium and taxpayer and refuses to share with employees the monthly cost savings


• demands to violate the employer’s current seniority principle and to give herself dictator reign to decide which workers to lay off.


• fails to propose even a single complete contract proposal for workers to vote in over 2 years

Scrooge Nguyen’s anti-worker policies have also subverted the mission of the consortium by prioritizing for-profit corporation services over helping laid off and under-employed job-seekers at a time when corporate greed has rocketed the unemployment rate. As a result, there are more complaints of lack of service coming from workers in this area than any other area in the State covered by WorkSource Consortiums.

Background

This year’s South Sound contest had two other South Sound candidates, Sick Rick Talbert and Healthcare Profitizer Cheri Dolezal, Executive of OptumHealth. Reasons for the losing candidate nominations are online. More details on the Scrooge are available at the Teamsters 117 website.

‘Scrooge of the Year’ candidates are nominated for doing the most harm to working families in our community. Previous winners of the award have met an untimely demise, such as former Tacoma Macy’s Store Manager Carol Lorton, former Tacoma City Councilmember Kevin Phelps, former Darigold CEO John Mueller, former US Senator Slade Gorton, former UW President Richard McCormick, and former Congressperson Newt Gingrich. Even some runner-ups like Henry Richards, former Superintendent of McNeil Island Special Commitment, left his position after being nominated. Other Scrooge [1] winners have since grown a heart three times larger and have become socially responsible community leaders. We hope that Linda Nguyen hears Consortium staff and community members no matter how nasty she has been, just as in the Dickens’ story of A Christmas Tale.

JwJ activists pledge “we’ll be there,” we’re not scared of any Scrooge. By publicly awarding the Scrooge of the Year, our expectation is that Linda Nguyen’s heart will grow, as Charles Dickens envisioned.

[1] Formerly known as Grinch of the Year until Dr. Seuss Enterprises Inc. threatened a trademark lawsuit in the spirit of holiday giving.