King County workers protest job conditions

Public defenders, parks staff, and wastewater treatment workers marched and picketed at three locations as they continue their fights for fair contracts

SEATTLE, WA (January 15, 2026) — Three different groups of workers. Three different contracts. One unifying issue: management stonewalling at the bargaining table.

King County workers hit the streets Wednesday in Federal Way, Renton, and downtown Seattle, raising awareness of their ongoing fights for fair contracts. Public defenders and support staff marched marched from their offices in downtown Seattle and then over to the courthouse to demand King County take seriously their concerns about caseloads and staffing ratios. King County Parks staff protested outside the County’s Aquatic Center in Federal Way. These workers have not received wage increases, outside of basic annual cost-of-living adjustments, in 15 years, per their union, SEIU Local 925. And wastewater treatment workers picketed in Renton outside King County’s South Plant. Per the union, workers want to protect their leave and sick time, particularly important as workers who are routinely exposed to hazardous waste and sewage, and secure competitive wages.

Photo: SEIU Local 925

Molly Gilbert, union chapter president for King County Dept of Public Defense, shared her colleagues concerns in a statement.

“We want to know what the county’s plan is for slowly lowering caseloads, and we want any money allocated to DPD to be spent on replenishing our non-attorney ranks,” said Gilbert. “There are fewer investigators or social workers available to help prepare cases for trial. Cases are not moving and our clients are languishing in jail. We want a contractual agreement on how the County will invest in DPD, which they have been ordered to do by the Supreme Court and Washington State Bar Association.”

Ryan Porter, union chapter president for King County Parks Department, shared that while Parks workers care about their work, they’re not seeing that care reflected back in the County’s contract proposals.

“We take pride in our work, serving the People of King County, protecting and preserving the parks, natural areas, community and recreation centers that are so beloved by our communities,” said Porter. “It takes the effort and dedication of good hard-working people to provide that to our county. As our community has grown so have our duties, and yet our pay has not kept up. Aside from minor cost of living adjustments we have not seen a raise for 15 years.

Each unit bargains a separate contract with King County, and each has been in negotiations since summer of 2025, per SEIU Local 925. Buoyed by a strong showing at Wednesday’s actions, workers will continue those negotiations until the County agrees to fair contracts.