House budget invests in Washington

On Monday, the House released a budget that fully funds our collective bargaining agreements and makes investments in K-12 education and mental health. This stands in stark contrast to the Senate budget, which rejects our contracts and cuts vital public services. 

The House budget is funded by a revenue package that also helps fix our broken tax code. The House proposes closing some corporate tax loopholes, supporting collection of sales tax on out-of-state online retailers, and creating an excise tax on capital gains (with broad exemptions for single-family homes and retirement accounts). 

The choice is clear between a budget that rejects our contracts (including our COLAs, our increased vacation accrual, and the specific pay increases we negotiated) and a budget that fully funds our contracts and helps build a fairer tax code.

Call the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and ask your senator to adopt the House's budget,  invest in Washington, and fully fund our contracts.  ​Find your legislator here.

​​How to call

1. Call your senator directly, or the legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000.
2. Leave a message. You may get a person or a recording.

If you get a person:
“I’d like to leave a message for my senator.”

They’ll ask you for your name, address, and phone number. Then they’ll ask for your message and transcribe it for you. Here’s a sample message you could leave:

“I work as a ________________ (job) at ___________________ (agency) and I’m a member of the Washington Public Employees Association. I’m one of thousands of state employees who provide critical services for the citizens of Washington. I’m proud to do this work, even though the state pays a salary that is below market rate, according to the state’s own salary survey. Now the Senate has released a budget that plays political games with the collective bargaining agreements we negotiated in good faith. Don’t play games with public service employees. Please adopt the House budget, invest in Washington and fully fund our contracts.”
 
If you get a recording:
“Hello, my name is _____________ (name).  I work as a ________________ (job) at ___________________ (agency) and I’m a member of the Washington Public Employees Association. I’m one of thousands of state employees who provide critical services for the citizens of Washington. I’m proud to do this work, even though the state pays a salary that is below market rate, according to the state’s own salary survey. Now the Senate has released a budget that plays political games with the collective bargaining agreements we negotiated in good faith. Don’t play games with public service employees. Please adopt the House budget, invest in Washington, and fully fund our contracts.” ​​