In his Feb. 19 letter, Worksforce Safety and Insurance interim director John Halvorson claimed that WSI's "benefits to injured workers are among the finest in the country and have continually been enhanced in past legislative sessions."

I suppose that WSI employees work in anonymity behind bullet-proof glass to avoid getting struck by the bouquets of flowers thrown their way by injured workers. In truth, wage-loss benefits, permanent impairment benefits, medical treatment and vocational rehabilitation awards have all been reduced under WSI's employer-dominated board of directors. That's how WSI amassed nearly $2 billion in reserves without increasing employer premiums. It took every nickel out of the pockets of injured workers and their families.

Many of the benefit reductions were in the form of new laws passed by the Legislature at the urging of WSI and its big business boosters. Other reductions were made by WSI itself with new policies and procedures. If fewer claims are being litigated, it's because more and more injured workers have simply given up. The state's workers compensation system is broken; it needs an overhaul.

Everyone, including responsible leaders of both political parties, seems to recognize that WSI needs a new attitude. Everyone, that is, except WSI's board, its management and the business boosters who have profited from lower benefits to injured workers.