‘Get back in session, get our government back open’

More than sixty local unions and labor organizations representing more than 700,000 union members demand action on Day 23 of the GOP government shutdown

SEATTLE, WA (October 23, 2025) – Local unions, councils, and labor organizations representing working people across Washington released a statement yesterday calling on the Republican-controlled Congress to act now to protect health care access for working families and end the shutdown. 

The full statement and list of signatories is as follows:

Slashing jobs and shutting down our federal government is wrong. Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration need to stop messing around with working people’s lives. Working families are missing paychecks, and with funding cut or frozen, job-creating infrastructure projects are stalled, food banks are trying to figure out how to feed people, and the future of programs that support our kids’ health and education is up in the air. 

These politicians are out of touch with the needs of working people. We need better jobs with higher wages. We need affordable health care coverage. We need safe and healthy communities. We need an economy strong enough for working families to thrive. What we don’t need is the billionaires and anti-worker politicians who put us into this mess making workers’ lives worse. The Republican-led Congress needs to get back in session, take action to keep healthcare costs from skyrocketing, and get our government back open. Now.

Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1765

American Federation of Government Employees Local 498

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 2

AFSCME Council 28/Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE)

AFSCME Local 618

AFSCME Local 3758-B

WFSE Local 443

WFSE Local 843

WFSE Local 1181

WFSE Local 1400

WFSE Local 1495

Interpreters United, WFSE/AFSCME Local 1671

WFSE Local 3488

American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Washington

Shoreline Community College Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1950

Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Washington Area Council

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 48

IBEW Local 483

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 15

IATSE Local 887

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 5

IUPAT Local 10

Machinists Union District 751

Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals

Professional & Technical Employees Local 17 (PROTEC17)

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 6 Property Services NW

SEIU Local 775

SEIU Local 925

SEIU Healthcare 1199NW

SMART Sheet Metal Workers Local 55

Teamsters Local 117

UNITE HERE Local 8

UAW Local 4121

UAW Local 4591

UAW Local 4929

United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 367

UFCW 3000

Washington Education Association (WEA)

Clover Park Education Association

Seattle Education Association

Soundview Uniserv Council WEA

Tacoma Education Association

Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council

Pierce County Building & Construction Trades Council

Washington State Council of Fire Fighters

Washington State Nurses Association

Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties Labor Council

Kitsap County Central Labor Council

MLK Labor

Pierce County Central Labor Council

Snohomish & Island County Central Labor Council

Spokane Regional Labor Council

Thurston-Lewis-Mason Central Labor Council

Yakima South Central Counties Central Labor Council

A. Phillip Randolph Institute, Seattle Chapter

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Seattle Chapter

Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Puget Sound Chapter

Labor Council for Latin American Advancement PNW

Pride At Work, King County Chapter

Pride At Work, Pierce County Chapter

Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action

Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans