It's really quite astonishing to see the lengths to which L&I Director Judy Schurke will go to bend the truth about the financial health of the state's workers' comp trust fund. While speaking at the Washington State Labor Council's Legislative Day earlier this month, Schurke claimed a letter from State Auditor Brian Sonntag said the workers' comp funds are in a financially strong position.

Schurke also intimates in her speech that organized labor helped extract "the letter" from the Auditor, which strikes The Hammer as more than a little unseemly.

But aside from thanking the labor community for the "big hand" they have in all the Department's work, the commitment she feels toward the labor community's issues, and continuing to peddle the delusional claim that we have a high-benefit/low-cost state for workers' compensation, perhaps the biggest doozy from Schurke at the Labor Council shindig was the claim that she is not a fan of "ram it through" legislation.

Wow, really? The Hammer could pretty easily rattle off a half dozen legislative proposals that have been "rammed through" the Legislature with the Department's help, despite opposition from the business community.

Apparently, the only kind of proposal they don't wish to see rammed through is anything supported by the people who pay the bills.

To watch more of Schurke's performance at the WSLC event, go to http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2010020038&TYPE=V&CFID=5419560&CFTOKEN=57177401&bhcp=1 (Schurke begins at about 1:38).