​Today, a state court of appeals issued a decision blocking an attempt by the Freedom Foundation to obtain the date of birth of WPEA members.  The court held that releasing the birth dates of WPEA members would violate their constitutional right to privacy. 
 
From the decision:
“We hold that state employees have a constitutionally protected expectation of privacy in their full names associated with their corresponding birthdates. Because the employees have a constitutionally protected expectation of privacy, and the unions have satisfied the requirements for an order granting permanent PRA injunctions, the trial court erred by denying the unions’ motions for permanent injunctions. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
 
You can read the full decision here.
 
The case is now headed back to superior court and we will continue to post updates on the case as they happen.  

Ballots for the WPEA Officer Elections were mailed on October 24, and should be arriving in your mailbox in the coming days.
Every three years, WPEA members have the opportunity to nominate and elect union officers.

This year, there are two contested statewide offices, and one contested District Vice-President race. All officers elected will serve a term beginning January 1, 2018 and ending December 31, 2010.

Candidates for WPEA President

• Michael Nelson, Wenatchee Valley College
  
• Kent Stanford, Department of Natural Resources
  

Candidates for WPEA Secretary Treasurer

• Candace Alvarez, Olympic College
  
• Randy Karnath, Grays Harbor College
  
• Mark Baca, Department of Revenue
  

Candidates for District 1 Vice-President

• Billie Garner, Clark College
  
• Carl Sofie, Fort Vancouver Regional Library
  

Learn more about the candidates and elections here.

All ballots must be received at the WPEA post office box by 5pm on Monday, November 13, 2017, in order to be counted.