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WFSE Corrections Employees Win Multi-Million Settlement | AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE)

WFSE Corrections Employees Win Multi-Million Settlement

Three union grievances, hundreds of letters, and a statewide petition result in $2k cash payment for all employees in 2023 and a retention bonus of 3% in 2024 for those deemed “essential” by DOC.

Download the settlement flyer here.

As a new DCYF employee, Michele Anslow was dismayed when her entire unit was dissolved and employees were reassigned to less than ideal roles and offices.

Local delegates, executive board members, and member of PEOPLE, our union's political action fund, came together on April 27 to decide which candidates our union endorses in a critical 2024 election season.

WFSE members have been hard at work making DOC a safer and better place to work.

WFSE DOC employees keep communities safe.

Federal money for programs and services that help millions of vulnerable Americans and employ many AFSCME members could be in jeopardy next year.

AFSCME is teaming up with allies to fight drastic cuts proposed by right-wing lawmakers. More draconian proposals are likely if Donald Trump is elected president in November and his allies seize control of Congress.

WFSE leaders from 41 different locals across Washington gathered on May 31 and June 1, learning the best ways to organize for success within their locals.

Mike Yestramski, WFSE's president, speaks at the opening of WFSE's Leadership Summit

As labor unions gain in popularity, workers’ rights remain under threat. But while private sector workers have the right to form unions under federal law, public service workers lack that same guarantee.

WFSE members at the Child Study and Treatment Center run the only state-operated and funded psychiatric hospital for children and youth ages 5-17.

Assaults have been rising dramatically due to management inaction.

23 staff were injured on the job between December 9, 2023 and January 31st 2024.

An engaged membership is an empowered membership. Download graphics, print signs, find Teams backgrounds and much more!

The last few years have seen a rise in worker momentum, with unionized workers raising their voices to demand higher pay, safer working conditions and more.

Like many DCYF workers in Washington, Taylor Andrews-Garcelon loves her clients but has felt her job get more stressful and dangerous in the last few years. 

“I value all of my clients and their relationships with their kids,” she said. “Despite Washington being so much further ahead than other states, I see it as unsustainable for the people in the field doing their jobs.”

Andrews-Garcelon has seen cases of fentanyl-exposed children under 2 skyrocket in recent years. She’s been threatened at gunpoint on the job. And she has been denied backup in unsafe home situations.