SUBJECT: WFSE Updates
Hello Wonderful WFSE DCYF Siblings!
We have a lot of updates, but first please take a moment to give yourselves a round of applause and a pat on the back - because everyone is crushing organizing! You are making phone calls, signing in on bills, and organizing satellite rallies.
We know there is a lot of uncertainty and things are generally just scary, but we are organized and ready to take it on together!
Washington For All Rallies:
On April 9, WFSE Local 443 is hosting a mass rally in Olympia at 11 AM. You can RSVP here https://actionnetwork.org/events/wfse-fight-against-cuts-closures-and-furloughs. If you are able to attend this rally but need help with transportation, WFSE Local 889 has organized a bus and will be leaving from Seattle and stopping in Tacoma. Sign up for the bus by emailing [email protected].
If you can’t take the day off, we still need you on April 9! We have satellite rallies occurring across the state from 12-1 PM and we have been working hard to contact other unions and community groups to come out and show their support! Find a rally near you on our website. https://www.wfse.org/dcyf-policy-committee/calendar/washington-all-day-action. If you want to host a rally at your office, email [email protected]. We will make you a flyer, add your rally to our website and Facebook event, and help share your event with other unions and agencies, and connect you with your local if you are not already!
Update on Open Letter Action
At our last adhoc policy committee meeting, the membership voted to endorse an open letter to be shared on social media and with the news media.
You can read the full letter on our website https://www.wfse.org/dcyf-policy-committee/resolutions-and-statements/open-letter-washington-all
Chair Jeanette Obelcz posted the letter on her Facebook page, tagging key lawmakers and Gov. Ferguson. We shared the posts with the WFSE Local 889 Instagram and the WFSE DCYF Facebook group. Along with the letter, we shared caseload sizes and vacancies for each region.
Thank you to everyone who shared their picture!
You can see the posts, share, and like them here https://www.facebook.com/jeanette.obelcz
We Need YOU to Phone Bank in Priority Districts
We need members calling representatives in key priority districts every day. You can check if you live in a priority district here https://www.wfse.org/call-legislators-priority-districts
If you don’t live in a priority district, or if you do but you want to go the extra mile, you can sign up to phone bank, and contact members in the districts at the link above!
Save Our Facilities
Rainier School, Yakima Valley School, and DOC Reentry Centers remain under threat of closures. If that wasn’t bad enough, legislators recently stood up members and the families of residents at a town hall scheduled for Rainier School.
We know from previous facility closures, dating from Northern State Hospital to the more recent closure of Naselle Youth Camp, that facility closures cost more in the long-term than keeping them open. Overcrowding in remaining facilities, homelessness, and increases in emergency services cost the state money; it isn't as simple as being able to say that closing a facility helps the budget. Knowing that this will happen, and choosing to close more facilities anyway, is just plain cruel.
Closing Rainier School and Yakima Valley School will push residents into homelessness and emergency rooms. Closing reentry centers will mean fewer opportunities for those being released to get back on their feet, costing more in recidivism and making our communities less safe. The failure of long-term thinking, and the lack of compassion, from our representatives who proposed or are supporting these closures is astonishing.
If you are able to attend, there are rallies on April 10 in Buckley for Rainier School, and Selah for Yakima Valley School at 3 PM.
Can’t make it to a rally, or can but still want to do more? You can write to your representatives about how these closures will impact you and your community.
Find information on all actions here https://www.wfse.org/news/take-action-furloughs-and-facility-closures, or on DCYF specific actions here https://www.wfse.org/dcyf-policy-committee/campaigns-and-actions.
How to Get More Involved
In February, our policy committee passed the resolution "Opposing Attacks on Washington’s Most Vulnerable". In that resolution we committed to promoting education and actions, and to mobilizing in support of our membership - which includes immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ community, women, and people of color who are under attack. It also recognized that all of our rights to organize and have a union are threatened. You can read the full resolution here https://www.wfse.org/dcyf-policy-committee/resolutions-and-statements/opposing-attacks-washingtons-most-vulnerable
We need your help in living up to this resolution. Please share events happening in your community! Not sure what is happening in your community? One place to start is to check in with your Central Labor Council (CLC). CLC’s are where all local AFL-CIO unions go to organize together. You can learn more here https://www.wslc.org/afl-cio-central-labor-councils/. Many have a mailing list and/or social media, so even if you can’t make it to a meeting you can still stay informed.
You can send organizing opportunities to [email protected] for us to share, or share them on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/2437495776357336.
We are stronger together!
In Solidarity,
Jeanette Obelcz, WFSE DCYF Policy Committee Chair
Shauna Lowery, Eastern WA Vice Chair
Reef Landrum, Western WA Vice Chair
