Your Contract Your Voice: Fight for Our Next Contract Today

Patrick Sugrue

Jun. 10, 2025

Let’s beat the odds again.

Last bargaining cycle, we mobilized en masse and refused to accept a bad deal for public workers, winning 5 percent general wage increases and hundreds of job-class specific increases when budget projections were down and our employers were offering 1% over two years.

Then the legislature tried to take away everything we’d just won at the negotiating table, AND jack up our healthcare costs, during the 2025 legislative session. We said no, and emerged from the largest budget crisis in our state's history with no economic takeaways.

Still, we suffered avoidable layoffs thanks to an upside-down tax code that predictably produces budget shortfalls. and puts our pay and benefits on the line We need to convince our elected officials to fix it, or we'll be in the same boat when we negotiate our next contract.

Negotiations for most WFSE members' 2027-2029 contracts will begin in the spring of 2026. The fight for a fair contract begins today.

Let's build our next contract from the ground up.

WFSE members are involved at every step of the process below. You can get active in this fight today and make your voice heard–but you must be a member to participate! If you’re not a member yet, make sure to join today.

Spring 2025 - Ongoing | How much money is there for public services?

Drastic cuts at the state and federal level will slash the pot of money we'll have to negotiate for when we enter contract negotiations in the spring of 2026.

If Washington state revenue forecasts fall in June and/or in September, we may end up in a special legislative session defending our raises and jobs yet again. Even without a special session, we should be communicating with elected officials about the impact of the cuts they just made so they don't cut further during the next legislative session in January 2026.

And if anti-worker extremists in U.S. Congress go forward with the largest cuts in history to Medicaid, which makes up almost a third of Washington's state budget, we'll be hard pressed to defend our current pay let alone negotiate for any improvements for 2027-2029.

Use the link below to write and call our elected officials in both Washingtons, demanding that they balance our upside-down tax code here in Washington and stop drastic cuts to Medicaid to pay for billionaire tax breaks.

Summer 2025 - Winter 2025| What will we fight for?

Our members decide what goes into our union contracts. If you're not familiar with yours, find it here. It details all your rights and protections at work.

WFSE members can submit contract proposals all year, but we recommend waiting to submit until you're familiar with the new 2025-2027 contracts that go into effect in July before you decide what changes you want to it.

When it’s time to go to the table, bargaining teams and staff review these proposals and prepare to bring them to negotiations.