On this page we answer some of the most frequently asked questions that members have. If the answer to your question isn't on our website, you are welcome to ask a steward, contact the Member Connections Center (MCC) at [email protected], or send us an email at [email protected]. If you send us a question that is especially good, we may post it (without any identifying information) on this page, our Facebook, or somewhere else, unless you ask us not to.
Our FAQs are focused on general questions about the union and broader issues we address. If your question is about specifics of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, your rights at work, or concerns you're having in the workplace, then we suggest talking with a steward in your office or reaching out to the MCC instead at [email protected]. You may also want to check out the Have a Problem? page for more information.
- What is a union?
- A union is an organization formed by workers who join together and use their strength to have a voice in their workplace. Through their union, workers have the ability to negotiate from a position of strength with employers over wages, benefits, workplace health and safety, job training and other work-related issues. Unions also serve an important role - they make sure that management acts fairly and treats its workers with respect. Our union is a democratic organization and its leaders are elected by our membership.
- Why do I need a union?
- You work in public service because you care about your community. We can do more for our neighbors, our families, and each other if we speak with one voice. When we organize as a union, we gain the strength to make real change. Together, we speak with one voice that no one can ignore — not our bosses, not the people we serve, and not our elected officials at any level. See Become a Member for more information about joining WFSE.
- What is WFSE? What is AFSCME Council 28? Is WFSE AFSCME? What cruel PEOPLE (oh no) came up with all these acronyms?
- WFSE is the Washington Federation of State Employees, also known as AFSCME Council 28. It is the statewide level of our union. WFSE/AFSCME Council 28 is an affiliate of AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. See Structure of WFSE and Get Involved! for more information.
- Take a look here for some union terms to know.
- What are council reps?
- While stewards are union members who volunteer as leaders, council representatives are employees of WFSE. They coordinate internal organizing, visit worksites, help address workplace issues, and assist union members and leaders in their goals.
- The role of a council rep is generally not to take positions on what should be happening or what actions need to be taken, but to assist with the process and the "doing." You might find a council rep providing information on how a local election works, delivering t-shirts or pizzas to your office, sharing status updates from WFSE meetings, encouraging new hires to become union members, or answering questions about WFSE's structure.
- What is a Demand to Bargain?
- When DCYF wants to update the position description or location for a job or to change a policy, they are supposed to give us notice. But, unfortunately for us, giving us notice requires ethics and competence, so sometimes they just don't do it.
- Demands to Bargain are intended to mitigate the workload impacts of the changes that management makes.
- When management decided to dissolve our court unit, they didn't properly notify us - they attempted to skip this process. Management wanted to just appoint people to whichever offices and programs they felt like, without giving them a choice in that decision. We filed a Demand to Bargain that resulted in management giving those workers more choices with the programs they went to and which offices they would be working at.
- What is a UMCC?
- See our UMCC page.
- I feel like my voice isn't being heard by union leadership.
- WFSE is a democratic system that represents a lot of people with, at times, very different jobs. This provides us with stability, a voice with our employer, and some amount of order, but it also means that sometimes things have to be done in a certain way, or that they might take longer than we would prefer. If you want your voice to be heard, you absolutely can speak out and we want to hear from you: on our Facebook, in our meetings, in surveys, with bargaining proposals, with emails to your officers, and in many other ways. Speaking out does not always mean that you'll get what you want right away; there may not be enough people who want something, no means to accomplish it, not enough people to work on it, or just no one who knows where to start.
- The most important thing to remember is that if you want to make change, you have to be present. Official decisions are not often made on Facebook, they are made in union meetings on Zoom, Teams, and in-person. They are made using member-submitted bargaining proposals and surveys. And they are often made by the people who run for offices, become delegates and stewards, or take the lead on projects and actions in their offices and regions. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it means you get experienced, devoted people making decisions. But it means that if you want something specific done, you might have to take the lead yourself. See the Have a Problem? page for more information and examples of how to do that.
- If there is something you care about that isn't being addressed, check out our Get Involved!, Structure of WFSE, and Have a Problem? pages, ask on our Facebook, or reach out to a steward, to your local leadership, or to us ([email protected]) for ideas or support for achieving your goal.
- What is lobbying? Are wealthy union leaders taking politicians to their private clubs in Indonesia?
- Alas, there is no WFSE yacht for wining and dining politicians. Even wining and dining ourselves can be difficult with our salaries.
- One of the core components of lobbying is education. Our elected representatives have to make decisions to vote on and propose or amend bills that cover hundreds of issues, ranging from the safety assessment tool used by DCYF field staff, to funding (or not funding) housing and transportation services. Lawmakers can be experts on issues (Yes! It does happen!) and proposed legislation, but they aren't experts on all issues and all bills.
- When a bill is proposed that doesn't fully make sense, or that will end up harming WFSE members, our lobbyists work to educate the involved politicians. A bill proposed with the best of intent may have impacts that aren't foreseen by people who aren't out in the field with families or coordinating logistics in our offices. And our management may say we don't need more workers for a piece of legislation, when we all know the opposite is the case. We also may suggest bills that are needed to address issues that members bring up. If a member-submitted bargaining proposal can't be included in our next contract, it may be sent to our legislative team and eventually be proposed by a representative in a new bill.
- All of this is why we also rely on member lobbyists to go to Olympia and share their experiences and perspectives with lawmakers. When we do this, we show our representatives the impacts of their legislation and what we need to support the children and families of our state.
- We may help get labor-friendly candidates elected to office, but our members interview candidates and decide who we endorse.
- I'm the only person at my worksite who is involved with the union. Help?
- Check out the Get Involved! and Take Action! pages for ideas on how to build up a Member Action Team at your office and for other ways to get involved. You can also reach out to the MCC at [email protected], or to us at [email protected]. We're happy to work with you, or to connect you with nearby offices or with other activists.
- Can I be represented by a steward if I'm not a member?
- Yes. Stewards are required to represent you even if you are not a union member. However, if you ever do find yourself in this situation, please consider that your representation is only possible because your coworkers, who are union members, pay for it, and because they volunteer their time to make it happen.
- Our union's strength comes from its membership: the more of us who join, the better working conditions, pay, and benefits we can achieve. Choosing not to be a member is also a choice to make your coworkers pay for the cost of securing any raises you receive as part of a new contract, a choice to make it more difficult for our bargaining team to fight for a better contract, and a choice that leaves you without a voice at the table.
- Join WFSE or learn more about membership here.
