WFSE leaders from 41 different locals across Washington gathered on May 31 and June 1, learning the best ways to organize for success within their locals.
Local delegates, executive board members, and member of PEOPLE, our union's political action fund, came together on April 27 to decide which candidates our union endorses in a critical 2024 election season.
Like many DCYF workers in Washington, Taylor Andrews-Garcelon loves her clients but has felt her job get more stressful and dangerous in the last few years.
“I value all of my clients and their relationships with their kids,” she said. “Despite Washington being so much further ahead than other states, I see it as unsustainable for the people in the field doing their jobs.”
Andrews-Garcelon has seen cases of fentanyl-exposed children under 2 skyrocket in recent years. She’s been threatened at gunpoint on the job. And she has been denied backup in unsafe home situations.
Big decisions about our working conditions and livelihoods were made in Olympia during the 2024 legislative session. Through our union, we had a seat at the table and came away with major improvements for public employees.
I visited the avalanche crew keeping Stevens Pass safe for drivers. I did a ride along with some of our Department of Corrections members in Mt. Vernon. I drove the Green Machine to Walla Walla. I flew to Medical Lake and met the WFSE heroes who pushed residents in their wheelchairs over a mile to safety when the blaze approached Lakeland Village.
Thanks to union action, a Department of Transportation maintenance crew in Eastern Washington is no longer facing a frigid winter without a critical piece of gear: fleece liners for their winter coats.
