Have a favorite local coffee shop? 

Get them involved in our fight for a fair union contract!

On Saturday May 30th, WFSE members will be in local communities asking business owners to put signs in their windows supporting our fight for a fair 2027-29 union contract.

We'll take out ads in newspapers and online thanking businesses who stood behind us.

When our campaign escalates later in the summer and when we go to Olympia in early 2027 to win funding for our contracts, we'll have partners in communities across the state in our corner.

Find events near you or create your own

If you'd like to organize your own event, reach out to your Council Rep to see if anything is being planned or simply submit the information for your event here and you'll receive the materials listed here.

Jump to:

• Details
• Materials
• Talking points and stats

The Details

WFSE members' union contracts have a huge impact on our surrounding communities, whether it's how much our 50k+ members have to spend at local businesses or if we're able to recruit and retain enough people to the jobs Washingtonians depend on. See the stats.

Members will gather together at community engagement events to:

• Visit local business near where they work 
• Share information about impending cuts and how that will impact the people who depend on our work
• Ask them to sign our petition and put up a WFSE window cling and our community support signs in their windows.

Once these connections in our communities have been made, we’ll know who we can reach out to for support when we need to escalate and hold bigger actions.

Good for us, and good for them!

We'll purchase newspaper and digital ads to highlight businesses that support our contract fight throughout the campaign and during the 2027 legislative session when it's time to lobby elected officials to fund our contracts.

The Materials

Here's everything you need to know about the materials we're using to generate support from our communities on May 30th.

Get these items from your local Field Office or through your WFSE Council Rep. Contact the Member Connection Center if you don't know your rep. You can also print the digital petitions above in our May 30 Toolkit at home.

The materials will be available at WFSE's four Field Offices two weeks prior to May 30. 

Printable versions of the toolkit materials on 8.5 x 11 paper are available online in our May 30th toolkit. 

If you want to further customize the toolkit items for your specific worksite or employer, there are customizable Canva designs for each of the toolkit items below.

Business support petition - Paper

If the business is an immediate YES after hearing what we're asking for, we'll ask them to sign our paper petition.

Want to customize these for your worksite, employer, etc? Here's a Canva template for this design.

Business support petition - Digital

If the business is a MAYBE because the owner isn’t there or they need to research the issue more, we'll leave this digital petition with them along with a sign so they can support later. 

Want to customize these for your worksite, employer, etc? Here's a Canva template for this design.

11 x 17 sign for photo ops and store windows

If business is a YES, we’ll ask them to hold the one of the signs below for a photo op and offer to put it up in their window. 

Want to customize these for your worksite, employer, etc? Here's a Canva template for this design.

Script and instruction sheet

Each participant will have a script and instruction sheet including our pitch, helpful talking points, and a QR code to upload photos of the business owners holding our signs.

Want to customize these for your worksite, employer, etc? Here's a Canva template for this design.

Vinyl window clings for store windows

Each business that signs our petition will receive a vinyl window cling to hang on their window. 

Some locations may not receive window clings. The sooner you create an engagement event in your area, the sooner your Council Rep can arrange for you to get these from a local WFSE field office or through the mail. If you don't know who your Council Rep is, contact the Member Connection Center.

The 8.5 x 11 signs in the May 30 toolkit and in this Canva design are similar to the window clings and can be printed at home and put up in business windows.

Our Message to our Communities 

Already on shaky economic footing thanks to inflation and our inefficient tax code, Washington State faces the loss of an estimated $4b in Medicaid dollars beginning next year thanks to the disastrous “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Every penny counts this round of negotiations, which will determine what portion of the state’s resources will go toward frontline, caseload-carrying workers who directly support the public and what will be spent elsewhere. 

Prioritizing frontline workers has a clearly demonstrated net positive impact on the economy.

• Every $1 invested in the public sector generates roughly $1.60 in local economic activity. It’s one of the most effective ways to strengthen local economies.
• Money invested in higher education has an even greater local impact. For every $1 of state taxpayer invested in UW, $28 dollars of economic activity is generated. For WWU, $12 dollars of economic activity come at the cost of just $1 of investment

By contrast, short-staffing leads to tragic outcomes for vulnerable Washingtonians and costly legal liability for the state. 

• The price of tort claim settlements and judgements has jumped from $100 million in 2020-21 to over $500 million in 2024-25.
• Turnover in state government alone cost the state around $287 Million in 2024, according to standard replacement cost benchmarks and the state’s FY 2024 HR Management Roll-Up Report.

That's the message we're bringing to the communities we support through our work and with our paychecks on May 30th and asking them to stand with us in holding the line.