WPEA calls out State’s failure to fund contracts

The union is calling on the public to stand with workers demanding dignity, fairness, and accountability from state leadership

OLYMPIA, WA (May 2, 2025) — The 2025 Session finished up with one glaring omission in the budget passed by the Legislature; full funding for all state employee contracts. While it’s widely been reported that the Legislature chose not to include state employee furloughs in the final budget balance (thanks to a massive public pressure campaign led by the workers), some state workers are still not whole. Funding for the negotiated contract covering workers represented by the Washington Public Employees Association (WPEA) — firefighters, public safety staff, administrative professionals, and many others — was not included in the final budget, leaving thousands of workers without raises even as they continued to provide critical services for Washington communities.

While the cost of living has soared, WPEA has called out the State of Washington for repeatedly ignored growing disparities in wages and working conditions, disparities that don’t just harm workers, but erode the quality of public services that all Washingtonians rely on. Frontline workers have been told to sacrifice again and again, without dignity, respect, or basic fairness.

WPEA members rallying for a fair contract in September. Photo: WPEA 

Last fall, WPEA members rejected a proposed contract that offered no meaningful wage recovery, no improvements to working conditions, and no recognition of the sacrifices made by frontline employees, per the union.

Then, in a September 27, 2024 letter, the State’s Office of Financial Management (OFM) Director Pat Sullivan warned that funding for over 5,000 WPEA-represented positions could be withheld unless union leaders ignored the democratic will of their members. In the words of WPEA: “No public servant should be punished for standing up for fair treatment. No union leader should be pressured to undermine the votes of their members.”

Ultimately, WPEA was forced to take legal action to compel the State to honor its responsibilities after OFM refused to negotiate further, wrongly asserting it had no legal obligation to do so. While the union prevailed, WPEA reports that even when negotiations resumed, the State dragged its feet — delaying talks, throwing up procedural roadblocks, and failing to meet a fair or timely bargaining schedule. 

Photo: WPEA 

Despite these tactics, WPEA bargaining teams negotiated in good faith, unpaid, through the winter and into early spring. When a revised agreement was finally approved by members in April 2025, the State claimed it was “too late” to include in the budget—a delay entirely of their own making.

“Let’s be clear: Public employees are not to blame for this funding delay,” said WPEA in a press release. “The fault lies with bad-faith bargaining and procedural obstruction by the State.”

“Washington taxpayers deserve a government that treats its workers fairly and honors its commitments. WPEA members are proud of the services they provide—and they are asking the public to stand with them in demanding dignity, fairness, and accountability from state leadership.”