(The Center Square) – Thousands of Washington public workers represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees walked off the job Monday at more than 100 worksites, as the union presses for a better contract.
“Workers who are helping this state work and here at UW [University of Washington] helping the university function are really suffering because of inflation in the state. Our benefits aren’t stretching as far because of the cost of living in this area,” said WFSE communications specialist Gillian Fulford in a Monday interview with The Center Square.
Fulford said she expected several hundred UW union employees and supporters to join her in Red Square on campus Monday to press for pay increases and other concessions from Governor Bob Ferguson and the Office of Financial Management, as contract negotiations continue.
Ferguson and his budget team have warned that Washington faces a significant budget shortfall and have told state agencies to plan for major spending cuts because tax collections will not cover current program costs.
“There will be significant budget shortfalls next biennium in both operating and transportation budgets,” wrote the governor’s budget director, K.D. Chapman-See In a June memo.
WFSE, which represents about 52,000 workers, is asking for higher pay alongside broader demands for affordable healthcare, expanded paid time off, and compensatory time options.
The union is also seeking improved staffing levels and workload management, hazard pay, stronger accountability for management, and greater access to training and tuition reimbursement.
Mike Yestramski, president of the Washington Federation of State Employees, has worked for Western State Hospital for about 15 years and is currently a social worker. His hope for this labor action is that it will get Gov. Ferguson to the table.
“I’m a social worker at heart, and I want resolution,” he said. “But it takes two sides to make this work.”
For April Sims, president of the Washington State Labor Council, the fight is personal – Sims’ mother was able to get their family off of welfare by landing a job at the hospital. Sims later worked there as a ward clerk.
“These people are never going to get rich off this work,” she said. “Right now, they’re having to choose between groceries and gas. No one, including state employees, should have to make that choice.”
According to the WFSE site, “most WFSE members just received a 2% general wage increase as of their July 25th paychecks, after receiving 3% in July of last year. Every bit helps, but it doesn’t address the affordability crisis that far too many of our members are experiencing.”
Fulford said their members are struggling with the current cost of living and without additional compensation, she suggested taxpayers will end up on the hook for further costs down the road.
“These folks aren’t just asking for more money and better benefits because they’re greedy or they want to hurt the university. They love the university. They love Seattle. They love their communities and they want to stay in state service, but they also want to pay rent. They want to have a good future for their families,” said Fulford.
Details of how wide the gap is in labor talks between Ferguson and the union are not publicly known as the negotiations are being held in closed-door sessions.
“It kind of seems like the governor has his head stuck in the sand and he’s looking at this very narrow metric of how can we save money right now and not realizing this will cost taxpayers in the state of Washington in the long run,” said Fulford.
She said that’s why WFSE supports the state’s new income tax.
“We know that there are several incredibly wealthy people in this state who could contribute just a little bit more of their revenue to the state.”
While the fate of the income tax isn’t known, due to legal challenges and a voter initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot, any proceeds from the tax, should it be upheld, would not be available until 2029.
Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood, who’s group is leading the fight to repeal the income tax, said the union walkouts were just to get support for the tax.
“This really seems like a publicity stunt by the public unions designed solely to extort the public into supporting an income tax but there is a real possibility that their plan backfires,” he said.
“Public spending keeps going up while services and performance spiral downward. Repealing the income tax may be the only way to send a clear enough message back to Olympia that we have had enough of their careless spending and uncontrolled taxation.”
Washington GOP Party Chair Jim Walsh responded to a request for comment about the walkouts via text.
“The problem is the terrible and arguably unlawful process which lnslee, Ferguson and the WA Democrats have concocted in recent years,” Walsh said.
“The governor negotiates these deals with government unions in secret, behind closed doors and ahead of each legislative session. Then they present the dark deals as fait accompli to their minions in Olympia. No sunlight. No checks and balances. No one in the Democrat Party is looking out for WA taxpayers, who foot the bill for unchecked payments,” Walsh said via text.
Reporter Sydney Jackson contributed to this report