State employees conduct walkouts across Washington for fair union contract, staffing

Public service workers at state agencies, community colleges and four-year universities walked out Tuesday across Washington over fair pay and staffing concerns.

Employees marched during their breaks in Olympia, Tri-Cities, Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Bellingham and other cities demanding a fair union contract.

Dubbed Walkout for Washington, 10 walkouts were scheduled around the state to support a fair contract for Washington Federation of State Employee members and to bring attention to the staffing crisis in public services.

Participants ranged from employees at the Special Commitment Center for high-risk sex offenders on McNeil Island and employees at Western Washington University in Bellingham to workers with the Department of Ecology and Department of Social & Health Services in Tri-Cities.

The Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) represents some 50,000 state and other public service workers.

In Olympia, one group of employees from departments around the state capitol campus marched from the Department of Enterprise Services to meet another group at the Tivoli Fountain.

Before marching, Ashley Fueston, vice president of AFSCME Council 28, said the walkout represented a moment of unity for all public employees in Washington.

“We’re in the middle of bargaining, and in the midst of a staffing crisis in the public sector, our employers are proposing what amounts to a pay cut for WFSE members’ 2025-27 union contract,” said Fueston, who works for the Employment Security Department.

Fueston said 40% of the state’s workforce has turned over in the last eight years due to resignations alone. She said the only way to recruit and retain the most qualified professionals for public service is to raise pay.

“Our employers’ proposals at the bargaining table are going to harm public workers, their families and the Washingtonians that depend on us and our work,” she said.

Rally participants were handed a sheet of chants to sing while marching to the fountain. On the way, the group picked up a few more state employees.

Once they reached the fountain, the two groups chanted back and forth across Capitol Way. One of the chants said if the union doesn’t receive a fair contract, “Shut it down.”

Kurt Spiegel, executive director of AFSCME Council 28, said the committee of about 20 people has been at the bargaining table since April, and they aren’t getting very far.

“Public employees deserve better,” Spiegel said. “They do hard work every day. Some put their lives on the line, either on the side of the road or in some of our critical 24/7 institutions on a daily basis.”

He said the governor and the Office of Financial Management are giving them a proposal that’s ultimately a pay cut.

“They are taking away pay where they’re experiencing severe staffing shortages and they can’t hire enough people, and they don’t want to stay mainly because they’re not well paid,” he said. “So we just want the money that state employees deserve to do the important work for the state of Washington. Our members make this state happen, from DOC to DOT to State Parks to our institutions, they work hard every day, and they just want a fair wage and a fair contract.”

He said the bargaining committee has been spending back-to-back late nights at the table, and their next meeting is Sept. 12.

“We’re trying to partner to solve problems with OFM, and they’re just not coming to the table to problem solve,” Spiegel said. “They’re pretty much just telling us they’re not interested, and telling us about the state of the budget. And we understand the state of the budget, but it’s about priorities, and the work of the state has to get done. So they need to prioritize state employees and the public service they provide.”

He said the walkout was a major action, but if it doesn’t send a clear enough message to OFM and the governor, the union is prepared to escalate tactics, though he couldn’t specify what that meant.

Mike Faulk, spokesperson for Gov. Jay Inslee’s office, said OFM is leading these negotiations, and that he’d defer to them about the bargaining process and any claims being made about it. The Olympian has reached out to OFM for comment.

“The governor’s support of our hard-working public employees over his 12 years in office speaks for itself,” Faulk said.