One special session over, another one begins

Today the legislature wraps up a 30-day special session without coming to an agreement about education funding or whether to approve public employee contracts. Governor Jay Inslee is calling for a second special session to begin immediately. 

​We’re getting perilously close to a potential July 1st government shutdown.  The House has already passed a budget that funds our contracts and invests in public service. The problem is in the Senate, where they passed a budget that would reject our contracts and cut public services.

So the thing to do now is to call your Senator to urge them to adopt the House budget and invest in Washington!

Here's a sample script:

“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.”