Bright spots in a layoff: Peer Outreach workers

by CHELSEA MASON-PLACEK

(July 17, 2025) — The Lamb Weston closure in Connell, Washington late last year was a shocking blow to the nearly 380 union workers, members of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 280, who kept the potato processing facility running. It was a loss that rippled through the local economy that had relied on good Lamb Weston jobs for decades.

For some, like Erica Garcia, a 19-year Lamb Weston employee and union shop steward, generations of family members had worked at the plant and were now displaced by the closure.

There are few bright spots when there is a large closure in a small community, but the “peer outreach worker” program offers one for workers left looking for work and navigating complex programs, like Unemployment Insurance (UI) and healthcare options.

Erica presenting on WorkSource resources in Spanish for Lamb Weston workers. Photo: WSLC

Made possible via funding from the state Employment Security Department and facilitated by the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO (WSLC), the peer outreach worker program provides workers a trusted and familiar person to help bridge what they need with the workforce system resources available to them. It’s administered via a partnership between the local union, the WSLC, the state and local workforce development boards, and their layoff Rapid Response teams.

When Lamb Weston closed, Erica transitioned from being a production supply attendant for the company to being a highly successful peer outreach worker for IUOE Local 280 and the WSLC.

Working on-site at WorkSource in Kennewick and SkillSource in Othello, Erica helped connect her former colleagues, mostly Spanish-speaking, to the range of re-employment and education resources offered at both “one-stop” job centers. And she worked closely with WSLC Unemployment Insurance Navigator Michael Pichler, also a former peer outreach worker, to address any challenges workers had filing for unemployment benefits.

From left: Chelsea Mason-Placek (WSLC), Jessie Cardwell (Benton-Franklin Workforce Development Council), Erica, Heather Woodruff (WorkSource Columbia Basic), and Cynthia Garcia (Benton-Franklin Workforce Development Council).

“Being in this role showed me that there is a lot of help out there when you need it,” said Erica. “And we weren’t just left to figure things out on our own, whether it was for WorkSource or UI services.”

Intended to be short-term, Erica’s role ended in the spring. But her impact was significant. Erica encouraged her colleagues to stay positive and gave them the confidence to tap into resources to help them and their families and to land the next good job. A big thanks also goes to leadership of the Benton-Franklin Workforce Development Council and SkillSource Regional Workforce Board who were strong partners in the effort.

Erica was optimistic as she wrapped up her work. “[This program] showed me that I can do something different than what I was doing in my previous job,” she said. “So I’m looking forward to what I’m capable of in this next chapter in my life.”

Chelsea Mason-Placek is a Workforce Development Director at the WSLC. To learn more about services the WSLC can provide to union members facing layoff, contact Chelsea and fellow Workforce Development Director Emmanuel Flores at cmasonplacek@wslc.org and eflores@wslc.org.