Action Needed: Support Staff Pay Increases Challenged by OFM
Thousands of WFSE members in support staff positions organized statewide and launched the #SupportStaffSupportUsAll campaign and won increases through crosswalked reallocations during 2025-27 contract negotiations.
This was a long-overdue acknowledgement of the difficult administrative work that makes all our state agencies and colleges run.
Now the Office of Financial Management is trying to backtrack on a hard-fought victory.
- Click here to send an email to the Governor’s Office demanding the state honor what we negotiated for the hardworking support staff of Washington state!
- Call the Gov: Once you’ve sent a letter, increase your impact call the Gov’s office at 360-902-4111.
- Are you a member of the secretary series? If you're a member of the Secretary series who received notice of an incorrect reallocation, you are strongly encouraged to appeal that decision following the process in your contract. We know this is not what the state promised. Appealing preserves all possible rights.
- Contact your Member Connection Center (MCC) at [email protected] if you need further guidance on the appeal process
What is Happening Now?
During negotiations, the Office of Financial Management proposed to eliminate the whole Secretary series. They proposed to reallocate...
- All Secretaries to Administrative Assistant (AA) 1
- All Secretary Seniors to AA 2
- All Secretary Leads to AA3, and
- All Secretary Supervisors to AA4.
- In addition, increases to the AA series were agreed to.
Now they are walking that commitment back, telling agencies, colleges, and universities who use the state classification system to make their own reallocation determinations.
Members are already receiving notice that they are being reallocated to lower job classifications that what was committed to in bargaining.
Statewide Grievances in the Works, Unfair Labor Practice Considered
Our union is preparing to file statewide grievances on behalf of all impacted members, under all impacted contracts. This includes:
- General Government & Department of Corrections
- Community College Coalition
- Central Washington University
- Eastern Washington University
- The Evergreen State College (Classified)
- Washington State University
- Western Washington University
In addition, our union is actively investigating the filing of unfair labor practice charges. While we are pursuing enforcement action, this fight cannot be won without you – the real power of our union, the hard-working members of WFSE!
What should you do?
- Contact the Governor’s Office and tell them to honor the pay increases that support staff fought for and won at the bargaining table.
- Appeal bad decisions. Are you a member of the Secretary series who received notice of an incorrect reallocation? While we know this is not what the state promised, in order to preserve all possible rights, you are strongly encouraged to appeal that decision following the process in your contract.
- If you have questions. Contact your Member Connection Center (MCC) at [email protected] if you need further guidance on the appeal process
- Not a WFSE member?We’re stronger together. Join our union here.