WFSE: Tentative deal reached on 2-year deal with 6% raises

UPDATE from WFSE (Oct. 1, 2018) — Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME members ratify contracts — “The hard work of our bargaining teams, and advocacy of our members resulted in historic gains in our 2019-2021 contracts,” said Amy Spiegel, WFSE Director of Negotiations. “We are stronger together.” WFSE’s General Government contract included across-the-board raises of 6 percent over two years and other gains.

The following is from the Washington Federation of State Employees, Council 28:

OLYMPIA (Sept. 13, 2018) — A tentative agreement was reached Tuesday on a new General Government contract for state employees that includes:

► Across-the-board raises of 6 percent over two years
► Holds the line on employees’ share of health insurance premiums
► UMP out-of-pocket costs, and creates a new flexible spending account benefit for workers making $50,000.00/year or less
► Targeted pay adjustments for over 10,200 members
► Regional compensation of 5% for members who work in King County!

The agreement will go a long way to bringing real raises to some 32,000 state agency workers represented by the AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE).

“The groundbreaking gains we made in this contract would not have been possible without members’ persistent job actions, phone calls, strategic planning and, most of all, their solidarity. I’m so proud of the collective action of our members at the bargaining table and on the ground. Together we have made a real difference in the lives of all of our members,” said WFSE President Sue Henricksen.

Thank you for taking action across the state to close the gap on compensation. This contract helps struggling state employee families and protects taxpayers by taking steps to address the revolving door in state hiring so dedicated state employees can afford to answer the call of service.

General Government Union members now must vote to accept or reject that tentative agreement. More details on the tentative agreement and ratification will be posted soon.

The new two-year General Government Collective Bargaining Agreement would take effect July 1, 2019, and expire June 30, 2021. The ratification vote must take place by Oct. 1 and information about the vote will be coming soon. It then goes to the governor’s budget office for inclusion in his budget request. The 2019 Legislature will vote up or down on funding. If they reject the funding, the contract will go back for renegotiation.

To ensure legislative ratification of our contract, is it important for all members to vote in the upcoming General Election in November. We are Stronger Together!

Find details, tentative agreement documents and ratification vote information here.