So you're a union member (You're not? Join now!) and you want to get involved, but so far you've heard more acronyms, initialisms, mysterious committees, and numbers than you do in a whole week at work.
This page is for you: We broke down how you can participate in many of the major parts of our union up to our Policy Committee. If you're more interested in learning about WFSE's structure and the decision-making process, go here.
Once you know how you'd like to be involved, check our Campaigns and Actions page to learn what we're working on right now, and how to be a part of it. If you have a specific issue that isn't listed there, check out our Have a Problem page instead.
Jump to a section of this page:
Get Involved in Your Office
Take Action in Your Area
Address Issues That Are Region- Or State-Wide
Other Options
Be an active member: Take part in our actions and help us make our workplace better for everyone.
The most grassroots level of engagement in our union is to Become a Member and participate in our actions and campaigns. This may be taking photos on bargaining day, wearing green to raise awareness for an issue, or talking with new coworkers about joining the union. Your office may have monthly Lunch and Learn meetings that you can attend, but you can also learn more by talking with a steward, involved coworker, watching for emails from WFSE, or by reading the Take Action page on this website. If you haven't been receiving emails, contact the Member Connection Center at [email protected].
Member Action Teams (MAT): Organize your coworkers.
Do you have a coworker who always knows what's going on with the union, coats your desk with flyers, and encourages you to attend events? That person is part of your office's Member Action Team. MATs are really just motivated union members who talk with coworkers, plan events, distribute flyers, and generally make things happen. There's not an official process to join a MAT (although this may vary by local or office), but you can talk with your steward or other involved coworkers about what you can do. If you don't have anyone at your office to talk with, you can build up your own team! Check the Take Action! page of this site, reach out to your local leaders or to us at [email protected], or look through your emails from WFSE for ideas!
Check out the WFSE MAT webpage for the Toolkit, Campaign Planning Packet, and other resources. Take a look at how one group of WFSE members built up a MAT team when they were asked to do work above their job class - without the pay to go with it.
Stewards: Advocate for, educate, and organize your coworkers.
Stewards are trained volunteers who organize actions, represent workers, and educate and recruit new union members. Stewards are part of an office's MAT, and they are typically the union leaders and go-to people in an office. If you have a grievance (your employee rights are being violated), a question about your rights or a workplace situation, or you are concerned about a meeting that might involve discipline - these are the people to go to.
To become a steward, you'll need approval from your local's president. You can get in touch by attending a local meeting, talking with a current steward, contacting leadership in your local, or by reaching out to the Member Connections Center (MCC) at 833-MCC-WFSE (833-622-9373) or [email protected]. The MCC can also get you in touch with your steward if you aren't sure who that is, or with another steward if you don't have one available.
https://www.wfse.org/steward-center
https://www.wfse.org/federation-hotline-wfseafscme-news-service/resources-stewards
Take action in your area:
Locals: Learn the issues and take action to address them.
Locals are often exactly what their name implies: groups of fellow union members in an area. Your local may include people from other agencies, and some locals in our union are statewide, but DCYF Licensing Division and Field Operations Division employees do not have a statewide local.
Locals meet regularly, typically once per month, to discuss issues, work on campaigns, share updates, and coordinate actions. Members of a local elect officers and executive board members who run meetings and perform other duties. They also elect delegates and alternates to policy committees, and send representatives to other union and non-union functions. Some locals have committees of their own, but the specific structures and positions within each local can range widely.
If you're a union member, you're part of a local. If you aren't sure which local you're in or when meetings are, ask your steward, check WFSE's website, or reach out to the Member Connections Center. Attending meetings is a great way to learn what's going on in your area, to find new opportunities to get involved, and to meet other members outside of your office.
Address issues that are region- or state-wide:
Policy Committee (That's us!): Plan and coordinate state-wide actions and campaigns.
As of September 2024, there are 12 different policy committees within WFSE. The DCYF Policy Committee is relatively new, but very active (if you work at DCYF, you probably understand why that is). This committee includes DCYF's Licensing and Field Operations Divisions; Child Care and Juvenile Rehabilitation are each in different policy committees (Human Services and Institutions, respectively).
Our agendas and topics of focus are largely determined by members and by locals, through methods such as proposing resolutions, submitting bargaining proposals, suggesting UMCC topics, creating petitions, and a variety of other means. We work to make goals set by our members into actionable tasks. This means planning actions such as Green Shirt Days and Unity Breaks, creating petitions (see the Support Staff pay petition), and otherwise coordinating members across the state to accomplish our goals.
You don't have to know a ton about WFSE or have been involved for years to become an alternate or a delegate; it's a good way to learn more about how WFSE works. If you're not sure who to ask for more information, reach out to [email protected] with your questions.
Policy committee delegates and alternates are elected by locals, so check with your local leadership or a steward for information on upcoming elections. You need to be a delegate (or an alternate substituting in for a delegate) to vote in meetings, but any members are welcome to attend. We currently have four officer positions: Chair, Eastern and Western Washington Vice-Chairs, and Secretary. Check our calendar or reach out to a policy committee officer at [email protected] or delegate to learn the next meeting date.
PEOPLE: Advocate for or against bills, political candidates, and issues that impact our workday.
All the above parts of WFSE are how we make ourselves heard by and work directly with (or against) DCYF. AFSCME PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality - No, basically nobody actually has this memorized) is how we work towards political change. This includes campaigning for and endorsing labor-friendly politicians, informing our representatives of the impacts of their legislation (or what proposed legislation will do), and working to pass laws and budgets that result in reduced workloads, improved benefits, and safer working conditions for us, and better outcomes for those we serve. We also work to prevent damaging reversals in the progress that we make.
Since PEOPLE works for political change, it is funded separately from our union dues. You can sign up to contribute a few dollars per paycheck here, and learn more about how to participate in PEOPLE here.
Other options:
There are a lot of other ways to get involved, but these are the most directly accessible options for most people to start. As you attend meetings, learn more about how WFSE functions, and work to solve problems that you or other members face, new opportunities will become available. These include serving on the statewide executive board, going to WFSE or AFSCME conventions, discussing issues with management during UMCC meetings, and potentially even negotiating for all of us on our next contract.
https://www.wfse.org/get-involved
