Interpreters United Contract Funded! Leg Session 2025

In a legislative session with a historical budget crisis, we successfully fought off attempts to strip our collective bargaining rights, AND lobbied the legislature to fully fund our 2025-27 interpreter contract and rate increase.

Together, across our union, we lobbied our elected officials face to face at over 150 appointments, hand-wrote 1,500 postcards, wrote thousands of emails, made thousands of phone calls, and rallied across the state—including a march into the Capitol chanting “No cuts. No furloughs. Tax, tax the rich!”

When public services are under attack, we STAND UP and FIGHT BACK.

2025-27 Union Contract Highlights

For L&I Interpreters:

We secured our very first Labor and Industries (L&I) contract with the state.

An interim agreement went into effect 11/1/2024 for L&I interpreters, which included a five (5) percent increase to all rates, created a union management committee, an economic process workgroup, and a process to address feedback and the incident resolution process.

L&I Update:

Throughout CBA negotiations last year, and until today our elected bargaining team has advocated for the 480 minute per day limit on interpretating to be removed.   Beginning July 1st this year L&I has agreed to remove the 480 minute limit, per LAP, per day for services provided.

The 2025-2027 contract recognizes our union as the union for L&I interpreters:

• Creates a grievance procedure
• Increases transparency and accountability in how you are paid through increased reporting requirements for the coordinating entity
• Gives you a voice in how your work is done and the standards you are held to.
• Rates for in-person interpreting (IPI) increased to $1.08 per minute on 11/1/2024, will increase to $1.12 per minute July 1, 2025, and $1.15 per minute July 1, 2026;
• Rates for over-the-phone interpreting (OPI) increased to $0.70 per minute on 11/1/2024, will increase to $0.72 per minute July 1, 2025, and $0.75 per minute July 1, 2026.
• Rates for video remote interpreting (VRI) increased to $0.87 per minute on 11/1/2024, will increase to $0.90 per minute July 1, 2025, and $0.93 per minute July 1, 2026.
• Independent Medical Exam (IME) no-show rate increased to $63.16 11/1/2024, will increase to $65.37 per minute July 1, 2025, and $67.33 per minute July 1, 2026.

For DSHS/DCYF/HCA Interpreters:

We also achieved a solid contract with HCA-DSHS-DCYF for 2025-2027.

We were able to:

• Protect all benefits related to HCA no-shows and late cancellations
• Increased the cap on payments for an appointment’s early completion to $150,000 per fiscal year.
• Despite the expected State Budget shortfall, we were able to achieve 3.5% and 3% general wage increases, respectively, for all modalities and agencies.
• DSHS block appointment hourly rate will be $38.00 per hour effective July 1, 2025 and $40.00 effective July 1, 2026.
• IPI: LAPs will be paid a minimum of $49.20 per hour effective July 1, 2025 and $50.60 per hour effective July 1, 2026
• OPI: LAPs will be paid a minimum of $0.70 per minute effective July 1, 2025 and $0.72 per minute effective July 1, 2026. The 2025-2027 contract also increases appointment minimums for OPI appointments to five (5) minutes.
• VRI: LAPs will be paid a minimum of 3.38 per minute effective July 1, 2025 and $3.45 per minute effective July 1, 2026 for the first ten minutes of the appointment.
• LAPs will be paid $0.68 per minute effective July 1, 2025 and $0.70 per minute effective July 1, 2026 for every minute thereafter.
• The 2025-2027 contract also increases appointment minimums for VRI appointments to fifteen (15) minutes.
• Social Service IPI Appointment Premium for DCYF and DSHS appointments, excluding Block Appointments, will be paid an additional hourly premium of $2.00.
• These OPI and VRI rates include a 2025-2027 biennium compensation increase and a contribution toward LAPs’ health and welfare expenses in recognition of the LAPs having a variety of health and welfare plans and expenses in compliance with RCW 41.56.510 (2) (c).

The complete and detailed tentative Collective Bargaining Agreements and the L&I Interim agreement are posted on our website: Interpreters United Bargaining Updates

All Progress Made is At Risk from Trump and Musk Funding Cuts

All the work we’ve accomplished this legislative session could be thrown into question if Trump and Musk successfully slash Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – which many of our jobs depend on – so they can give themselves and fellow anti-worker billionaires trillions in tax cuts.

And we may find ourselves in special session with our jobs, our raises, and services at risk.

Federal funding makes up 28 percent of the Washington state budget.

Over 20k WFSE members’ jobs are funded in some amount by federal dollars, ranging from a little to 100%. Federal cuts to research grants are already putting many of our state’s higher education programs at risk.  

We need to fight back or we could find ourselves in a special legislative session

Your union is fighting back.

AFSCME led a lawsuit that successfully reinstated tens of thousands of federal public employees after their illegal firing by the Trump administration. We’re actively fighting against unlawful attempts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for federal workers.

Their greatest fear is that we will continue to stand up for ourselves and each other.

Join us on May 12 to learn about your union’s advocacy on the national level and see how you can get involved.

Not a member? Join Interpreters United Local 1671 here.