Washington Public Sector Labor Negotiations Blog
Trends and Developments Concerning Washington Public Labor Contracts
By Jim Cline
Last week, we reported the sudden drop in the National and Seattle CPI numbers and also discussed the potential impact on 2014 and 2015 negotiations. In October, we had also written about the 2% inflation target established by the Federal Reserve Bank as they use monetary policy to attempt to control inflation. We explained how the Fed seems to be falling short on those 2% goals:
By Jim Cline, Kate Kremer and Chris Casillas
In our last blog, we reported the significant drop in inflation reported in the October CPI report. With current CPI standing at 0.8% and 0.6% for the “All-Cities” and Seattle index, respectively, how might this sudden drop affect bargaining?
BY Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
Just last month, we noted that inflation appeared to be “trending downward” at that inflation at 2% or less might be the “new normal.” This week’s CPI report further reflects that downward trend.
By Jim Cline
The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council just released their November report on the State and national economy and like their report last month, it provided mixed news about the state of the economy. [Read more…]
By Jim Cline
The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council just released their November report on the State and national economy and like their report last month, it provided mixed news about the state of the economy. [Read more…]
By Jim Cline
The latest report of the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, provides a mixed picture of economic strength both nationally and locally.
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
As we had suggested in our last article on inflation trends, inflation seems to be trending downward. The CPI numbers confirm that trend. The latest inflation report both for Seattle and All-Cities is sub-2% and other recent inflation projections suggest that trend might continue. The recently released August CPI numbers report the National inflation index (All-Cities-W) at 1.5% and the Seattle-W even lower — 1.1%. A year ago, the corresponding were 1.7% (All-Cities) and 2.7% (Seattle): This graph shows the declining rate over the past year: [Read more…]
By Jim Cline
Recent economic news has been characterized as tepid at best, but the most recent Washington State Department of Revenue report offers one of our clearest recent indicators that a solid economic recovery may be underway, at least in Washington State. The recently released Department of Revenue First Quarter Sales tax numbers show a statewide jump from the preceding 12 months (Quarter 1, 2012) of 8 percent. The City sales tax numbers can be found here. The County numbers can be found here. [Read more…]
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
The just-released June CPI numbers show that inflation continues to be low. The Seattle CPI-W index came in at 1.2% up 1/10 of a percentage from April but down from 2.7% from last June. The All-Cities index came in at 1.8%, up from 0.9 in April and slightly up from last June’s 1.6%. This graph shows the movement over the past year.
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
As part of our spring 2013 wage series, it seemed important to interject a discussion about how arbitrators have ruled in the recent economic climate. I recently spoke on many of the same points at the Annual PERC sponsored Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) Conference, so this seems like an appropriate time for this review.
