Election Win! WFSE Votes Save Jobs and Future Raises

Gillian Fulford on Tuesday, April 30 - 1:09pm

WFSE Wins! WFSE Voters Take Down Anti-Worker Initiatives and Elect Pro-Worker Representatives!

Our hard work paid off this election year. WFSE voters:

Took down three anti-worker initiatives, which would have resulted in job loss, income stagnation, and fewer services for Washingtonians
Elected labor-friendly representatives that will vote to fund our contract and fight for the labor movement in Olympia

Electing worker-friendly representatives is critical in this contract year as they will vote YES or NO on funding the contract we just negotiated.

With a budget shortfall on the horizon, some voices in the media are openly questioning whether the legislature should provide funding for the raises we just negotiated.

Learn more and RSVP for 2025 lobby training here

Our outreach to union siblings was especially important during this election. With a looming budget deficit, we must elect labor-focused representatives to protect our futures. Our paychecks, job security, and ability to provide for our families depend on the decisions made by the folks in the Capitol.

WFSE 872 members fighting against harmful initiatives

Thanks to hours of canvassing, phone calls, and conversations with fellow union members, we helped over 100 WFSE-endorsed candidates win state and national elections!

We said NO to I-2117, I-2109, and I-2124, the billionaire-supported initiatives that would have drained $9 billion from the state budget, hit our paychecks and resulted in job loss for WFSE members.

Members participated in phone banks every week to reach out to other WFSE siblings around the state and remind them to vote for WFSE-endorsed candidates. We made over 21,000 calls this election season and were joined by candidates from around the state, as well as Governor Inslee!

On the ground, WFSE members joined the Washington State Labor Council for canvassing through their Labor Neighbor series, completing 17 canvassing shifts! We also canvassed for our priority initiatives, logging 18 shifts for the NO to I-2117 campaign!

These results are a reminder that people-powered campaigns are still powerful in today's political landscape. The power of a simple conversation with a coworker can break down barriers and help us fight for a better future--a fairer future for workers across Washington.

Now we get to prepare for the next step in funding our contracts--lobbying our newly-elected legislators!

This legislative session is going to be incredibly important, thanks to Washington's projected budget deficit. We need you to come talk to your legislators about why supporting Washington's working families is so important.

Help Us win Funding for our 2025-27 Raises: Sign Up for Lobby Training

During contract negotiations this summer, our employers pointed to a pending budget shortfall when offering us 1 and 2 percent raises for the entirety of our next contract (July 2025 to June 2027).

We pushed back and walked out by the thousands and won a general wage increase of 5% in addition to many more targeted increases.

We won the raise, but the budget shortfall hasn't gone anywhere.

Now, some voices in the media are openly questioning whether the legislature should provide funding for those raises.

a news article with the headline: Facing $10B in budget overspending, Washington considers $1.4B state worker pay hike

Just like we did during contract negotiations, we'll have to work together during the upcoming legislative session to make sure that public workers and the services we provide are a priority.

We need all the voices we can get to protect our raises and win worker-friendly legislation in Olympia.

Click here to RSVP for training for our 2025 Lobby Days!

Help drive turnout to lobby training: Download the flyer.

Help drive turnout to Lobby Days: Download the flyer.

Remember--no workforce has more at stake from decisions made by elected officials!

Learn about the Ballot Measures We Defeated

How Our Members Endorsed a NO Vote on the Initiatives

WFSE delegates to our Endorsements Conference voted to oppose the three initiatives below.

*The Washington State Labor Council, which includes WFSE and 550,000 other union members in Washington state, is also opposed to these three initiatives.

WFSE's Executive Board -- the 66 members elected to conduct the business of our union -- committed significant resources to combat these billionaire-led initiatives, which would result in job loss for WFSE members and a loss in critical services for the Washingtonians who depend on our work.

WFSE is a key member of two coalitions opposing I – 2109, which would repeal the capital gains tax, and opposing I – 2117, which would repeal the Climate Commitment Act.

Both of these initiatives would drain close to $9 billion from the state's budget and seriously impact our ability to achieve the compensation we need.

It's about staffing, work-life balance, and being able to take care of ourselves and our families.

The folks backing these initiatives -- anti-worker billionaires and large corporations -- already don't pay the same share of their income that we do in taxes, thanks to our upside-down tax code. Now they want to pay even less.

How WFSE Members Endorse Candidates

Local delegates, executive board members, and members 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.

Many members were 1st-time attendees to the endorsement conference, which focused on selecting candidates based on their stance toward labor issues.

Click here to see photos from the Endorsement Conference!

No Workforce Has More at Stake

Since no other workforce has more at stake in decisions made by elected officials than us, these discussion-based meetings are vital in helping elect officials who want to fund our contracts, protect our healthcare, and ensure job security.

WFSE officers interviewed candidates on their relationship with labor, both personally and as political figures. The main issues focused on in interviews were salaries and pay raises, job security, working conditions, and workers’ right to bargain. Pro-labor candidates are more likely to receive an endorsement, no matter their party alignment.

“We want friends in the Republican and Democratic caucuses,” said Dennis Eagle, WFSE’s Labor and Political Action Director. He acknowledged that all candidates have a variety of issues that they care about, but WFSE’s endorsement process hinges on labor issues.

Because of this, members making endorsements consider whether a candidate has a labor-loyal, or just labor-friendly, voting history.

How Endorsements are Made

A WFSE member speaks in front of the rest of the Endorsements Conference

Before endorsements were made official, members were given the opportunity to comment on lobbyist and officer recommendations. Members asked about candidates’ stances on women’s health, treatment of workers, and demeanor in interviews.

If members weren’t satisfied with answers about candidates’ stances on labor or how they have treated workers in the past, they motioned to interview candidates again with certain people present, take no action to endorse, or endorse a different candidate.

During the conference, a candidate with a positive voting history towards labor got a suggested endorsement from WFSE officers and lobbyists. In one instance, DCYF members had personal experience of the candidate being unsupportive of their work and motioned to interview the candidate with a panel of DCYF members.

After any motion, a vote was taken. A 2/3rds majority is needed to successfully move any vote forward, and if that wasn’t achieved, voters were allowed to put forth additional motions. This ensures a democratic process and allows members to voice any concerns they have about candidates.

Want to help choose who our union endorses?

Input from community members all over the state is vital since our members come from communities all over Washington.