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.
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.
Leanne Kunze began serving as the union’s executive director this February after being selected by the AFSCME Council 28/WFSE Executive Board in January. She is the fifth person and first woman to hold the position.
Kunze brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job, both as a member activist and staff leader.
Thousands of public employees from across the state called in for a tele town hall on January 30 hosted by President Mike Yestramski and Vice President Andrea Vaughn. WFSE's new executive director, Leanne Kunze, was also available to answer questions about pending legislation to protect state employees' personal information (HB 1888).
We'll keep you posted on upcoming tele town halls. But if you missed January's, check out the video below.
Executive Director and International Vice President Greg Devereux retired in January after nearly 40 years in the labor movement. His leadership made the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) one of the strongest AFSCME councils in the nation and a progressive force for working people in Washington State.
Devereux began his career with WFSE in 1993 as the deputy director, and in 1994 he was selected to serve as the union’s fourth executive director. Prior to that, he worked at AFSCME’s Public Policy Department and ran corporate campaigns at the AFL-CIO.
Welcome to the 2020 Legislative Session! You are the best advocate for the issues that affect your workplace. Join us for a lobby dayor call 855-982-1762 to reach your legislators immediately. Read below for the key legislative issues we're standing up for in 2020.
Lobbying as a Public Servant: What Are Our Rights?
As a public employee, you have a special role in our state. Public employees protect some of our most vulnerable citizens, preserve our natural resources, and keep our roads safe. But what about your personal rights? Many state employees express concern about their ability to lobby their elected officials.
When a harsh, disruptive lighting change gave employees watery eyes and headaches, WFSE Local 872 members took action. Their collective voices and strategy convinced management to do the right thing and correct the problem.
“The agency went to LED lighting, which was a good thing,” said Alan Bogner, Brownfields Manager and Vice President of WFSE Local 872. “But the lighting that they put in came with a pretty wide range of brightness level, and they unfortunately set the level at high, at maximum, throughout the entire building. It was just too much. It was way too bright.”
