Legislative Update 8: Big News Coming Tomorrow

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WFSE members demanding NO FURLOUGHS and a balanced tax code with shared responsibility for the services we all depend at the Rally for Revenue on March 17

Some combination of cuts and revenue will ultimately be agreed to by the House, Senate and the Governor to balance the state's $12 billion budget shortfall.

The more new revenue we get from the super-rich who are NOT paying their fair share in taxes, the fewer cuts there will be do our pay and to the services we provide.

We'll get a really good idea of what's on the table in terms of new revenue and cuts as soon as TOMORROW — but definitely by next week — when the House and the Senate release their budgets.

Their budgets could be worse than what the Governor has proposed, which includes:

  • Furloughs 1 day a month for two years (equating to a 4.8% pay cut)
  • No new taxes on the super-wealthy
  • 6 percent cuts across the board to every agency
  • $63 million funding cut to higher education, which in the past have led to furloughs and layoffs
  • Closure of Rainier School and Yakima Valley School and two DOC reentry centers
  • and more

But the House and Senate could break from Ferguson and propose real fixes to our upside-down tax code.

If that's the case, we'll pivot our #WashingtonForAll campaign to get behind the best proposals there are for new revenue, and fight against the worst cuts.

One things we may see in terms of a revenue proposal is a modest 1% tax on those with wealth exceeding $100 million, which would be paid by approximately 3,400 individuals and could generate $10.3 billion in the next 4 years.

Here's What's Next

Once we learn what is propose by the House and Senate, we'll pivot our #WashingtonForAll campaign to push key elected officials to adopt the components of the budgets we like most and get rid of components we don't like, like furloughs and facility closures.

All that will be happening while the House and Senate will begin to reach a compromise between their two versions of the budget over the next few weeks. They need to hear from ALL of us during this time.

It's time to GET LOUD: Here's How

One of the most effective ways to reach our elected officials and impact their decision-making is by going to their town halls.

We've collected the most important town halls and WFSE members are bringing signs and asking tough questions to elected officials face to face.

RSVP and join a priority town hall near you

Send in a Video: How Would Furloughs Impact the Public?

 

Our best bet for convincing our elected officials to reject cuts to our pay and our work is to explain to them how our work helps their constituents, and how their constituents would be harmed if your pay or programs are cut.

Fill out this short form and then upload a video here so that we can get it in front of decision makers.

More information on your rights to speak out are available on this Video Action Sheet flyer, which is on our landing page here.

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