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 in 2027. 

Our members support the Washingtonians who rely on these funds most: veterans living in Veterans Homes, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, vulnerable children and families. 

This round of negotiations will determine the state of our safety net and our members ability to the work Washingtonians demand. 

Everything from safe roads and communities to clean air and water and our world-class outdoors are brought to you by public workers. 

Prioritizing public 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

Let's not make the same mistakes again

During the Great Recession, states like Washington that made kneee-jerk cuts to the public sector took longer to recover and suffered more job losses in both the publc and private sectors than states that maintained funding levels.

Our spending gives small businesses dependable revenue, and our work underpins the state economny. 

Chronic short-staffing has led to tragic outcomes for 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.

Every business, every connection counts

As a statewide union, we have active members in every corner of the state. We showed on May 30th when we launched our first big day of community engagement actions.

Our legislators will vote YES or NO to fund our contact during the 2027 legislative session, which begins in January. 

Highlighting to legislators that we have support from their constituents will be vital in January 2027 when we begin lobbying the legislature to fund the contracts we're negotiating right now. 

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 are visiting local businesses near where they work to:

• Share information about impending cuts and how that will impact the people who depend on our work
• Ask them to 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.

Tips for Successful Canvassing

There are instructions and a script in the materials, but make sure to watch this video for some tips on what makes a good visit. 

If you want to further customize the signs and other materials for your contract, worksite, or employer, scroll down to the Materials section of this page for Canva designs that you can edit and print out.

The Materials

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

You may be able to 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. 

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. 

These vinyl window clings can't be printed out at home. But your WFSE Council Rep may have some. If you don't know who your Council Rep is, contact the Member Connection Center.

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