Thousands of state and community college workers in WA reject new contract

A union representing nearly 5,000 state government and community college employees in Washington has overwhelmingly rejected a new two-year contract, putting it in a position its leaders have described as “uncharted territory.”

Members of the Washington Public Employees Association voted down the tentative agreement, which contained a proposed 5% pay hike. Union negotiators derided this as a pay cut, saying it would not enable worker salaries to keep pace with rising costs of food, housing and health care.

The union sought a 30% hike as it looked to make up for what leaders said has been two decades of contracts with little or no increases leaving workers with 21% less in purchasing power over the past 25 years.

“Our members love their work, they love serving the public, but they cannot afford to keep falling further and further behind,” WPEA president Amanda Hacker said in a statement. “With these votes, our members are calling management back to the table to negotiate so we can break this negative spiral. We look forward to reopening negotiations as soon as possible.”

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/09/30/thousands-of-state-and-community-college-workers-in-wa-reject-new-contract/