COUNCIL 2 CONTINUES to be the fastest growing union in Washington State, President/Executive Director Chris Dugovich said at the 47th annual convention.

Members now number 16,000, with more than 600 King County library employees having been added in 2004 and more than 100
Lynnwood City employees in 2005, Dugovich said.

He attributed the strong growth to hard work by Organizing Director Bill Keenan, talented staff representatives around the state, Local presidents and members.

"All of you make this a great union to join, a great union that works hard to protect your rights and a great union in which to be an active member," he added. "Compared with most other unions of our size, we have a small organizing staff and a large number of staff representatives. So how is it we keep growing?

"We have placed a premium on taking care of the members we have, and letting our results around the bargaining table — not flashy organizing drives — speak for themselves."

The union needs to fight for the people it represents, to organize and grow, and to remain vigilant and protective of its members, Dugovich said.

Over the past two years Council 2:

In addition, Council 2 members devoted time and effort to keep I-864 off the ballot.

This year, Tim Eyman returned with a performance audit initiative that is little more than a massive unfunded mandate on our employers, Dugovich said.

"It requires cash-strapped local governments to tell us what we already know: that there aren’t enough resources to help us do our jobs as efficiently or effectively as we would sometimes like to do.

"Let’s face it. There is no group of employees under more scrutiny, who do more with less, and still try to smile, than local government employees. We should all be proud of what we do, proud to serve the people of our communities and proud to be a part of this great union."

Council 2 is now financially strong enough to rise to an unforeseen financial challenge, such as a strike, a lawsuit or a costly ballot initiative fight, Dugovich said.