News

WFSE members have chosen who will represent them at the bargaining table to negotiate their 2025-2027 contracts.

Dedicated WFSE members at the Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families show up for kids and families during some of the hardest times in their lives.

Big decisions about our working conditions and livelihoods will be made in Olympia during the 2024 legislative session. Through our union, we have a seat at the table. Register for your lobby day today!

Child welfare workers in Washington came together for a major win this year: in addition to advocating for much-needed cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), WFSE members led the charge in securing 10% assignment pay for the majority of child welfare field operations staff at the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).

In this truly-member run campaign, the question was not “’What is the union doing for me?’ but ‘What are we working on accomplishing together?”

Turnover, Underfunding & Staffing Issues

In a rushed vote, the Tacoma Art Museum Board refused to voluntarily recognize TAM Workers United (TAMWU), which has over 80% support among employees.

At the University of Washington (UW), seven WFSE plumbers and pipefitters relied on the power of their union to stop their employer from hiring outside contractors to complete two large projects that were rightly their work. Thanks to solidarity and knowing their rights, they won the grievances they submitted.

When they received notice of the need to replace major machinery, WFSE members in the plumbing and pipefitting shop planned the two projects and coordinated with union steamfitters—but employer-side preparations for the project continued to lag.

Next action? Worker solidarity day at Tacoma Art Museum on Saturday, November 19 as 12pm.

Thanks to efforts by the Biden administration and AFSCME, many public service workers, including AFSCME members, have seen their student loans forgiven under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

Many AFSCME members work in high-stress fields such as public safety, health care, emergency medical services and firefighting. Their jobs have become even more stressful since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many of these workers to put their and their families’ well-being at risk while serving their communities.

But when these everyday heroes face mental health issues as a result of the high-stress environment and duties that expose them to trauma, they are often expected to deal with such challenges on their own.

It’s time to change that.