Puyallup, Tukwila educators ratify contracts

More Washington educators and support professionals ratify collective bargaining agreements as vote results anticipated this week in Seattle and Shoreline

PUYALLUP, WA (September 15, 2026) — Educators in Puyallup and Tukwila have ratified new contracts, as education support professionals in Shoreline reached a tentative agreement that averted a strike planned to start on Monday.

In Puyallup, the new agreement includes improved class size remedies and a state cost-of-living increase, per the Puyallup Education Association.

“This is a substantial step forward to an ongoing issue,” Puyallup Education Association president Bob Horton said over the weekend. “Overcrowded classes and huge caseloads hurt all of our students. That puts immense pressure on educators and students but it’s not anyone’s best learning environment.”

Puyallup educators rallied on Tuesday, September 8. Photo: Puyallup Education Association

Puyallup educators had engaged in bargaining since April, agreeing to start the school year as negotiations continued to address class sizes, with the union reporting that more than half of fourth-grade classes were overloaded with students.

“We’ve put in hundreds of hours to get to this deal,” Horton said. “Class size has been an ongoing and long overdue issue in our district. Our students need the room to grow and our members can’t be successful in addressing individualized needs.”

Two bargaining units in the Tukwila School District also ratified contracts on August 31, covering about 250 certificated and education support professional educators. The collective bargaining agreement made strides in improving special education supports, per the Tukwila Education Association, which described the new contract as a starting point for improving the safety of students and staff.

Education support professionals in Shoreline will meet on Wednesday to consider and vote on the tentative agreement reached over the weekend, per the Shoreline Educational Support Professionals Association. If ratifed, the contract will cover 300 employees from paraeducators to crossing guards.

Seattle educators previously reached a tentative agreement on September 2, averting a strike on the first day of school. Results of the ratification vote are expected this evening, per the Seattle Education Association.