As a resident of the Snoqualmie Valley I am saddened and angered by how many of my neighbors have lost their employment recently due to layoffs. I am part of the ranks of the unemployed, having been laid off from my family-wage job at the Port of Seattle. I have been a union crane mechanic on the waterfront for the past seven years.

Unlike the 60 workers laid off [Jan. 16] by Weyerhaeuser, I lost my job due to a poor decision by the Port of Seattle commissioners. The Port of Seattle is run by publicly elected commissioners and receives $35 million each year from King County taxpayers. The commissioners manage the public assets from the airport to the waterfront. They are supposed to do this in the best interest of the public. They haven’t been doing that lately.

Last September, despite public opposition, the Port of Seattle commissioners voted to give public control over crane maintenance to Stevedoring Services of America, a multinational corporation. This privatization of public property into the hands of a corporation resulted in over 35 union crane mechanics and electricians being laid off from their family-wage jobs effective Jan. 14, 2002.

I am a member of the Port Profits for Human Needs Campaign, which was founded in August 2001 by members of the community and crane maintenance workers. The campaign formed due to our opposition of privatization and layoffs at the Port of Seattle, as well as our deep concern for people struggling due to millions in cuts to basic human services by King County.

The Port Profits for Human Needs Campaign believes that since the port is profiting and these profits belong to the public, they should be used to provide basic services to those most in need in our community in King County. The port should not be laying off workers, especially when it is profiting. You can reach the campaign at (206) 568-1781.

As a taxpayer living in King County, I am interested in seeing the Port of Seattle finances and profits directed toward the long-term good of the entire community, not merely the short-term profits of corporations with contracts on the waterfront. Only by working toward the stability of family-wage jobs and providing basic services to those in need in our county will we be able to ensure the stability and development of the economy in this region.

Steve Weber

North Bend