​The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is very excited to invite you to join us at the WSLC’s 2023 Convention beginning on July 18 - July 20. Please submit your registration by June 13th by completing the form on our website at the button below.  Please include your shirt size and if you wish to be a Delegate or Alternate. WPEA currently has seven Delegate and seven Alternate positions.

Under the theme “Stronger Jobs, Better Communities,” the 2023 Convention will explore how unions can leverage today’s surge in labor interest and popularity to grow their membership, build worker power, and improve our communities. Speakers and workshops will cover a variety of topics that will be of interest to union leaders, staffers, and rank-and-file members.

I will share with you that I have attended this conference as a member, and as WPEA staff, and I have found it to be a real highlight to my involvement in the labor movement. The convention brings all your WSLC labor siblings together in one place and offers lots of great information, opportunities to meet others, and wonderful educational sessions. I encourage all to consider volunteering. We are allotted a limited number, so please respond promptly to ensure your spot.

Dana Spain
WPEA President

As June 7 strike looms, University of Washington administration urged to reach contract with Postdocs, RSEs
SEATTLE (June 1, 2023) — April Sims, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, released the following statement today regarding the looming June 7 strike date for Postdocs and Research Scientists/Engineers at the University of Washington. Postdocs’ collective bargaining agreement expired on Jan. 31, 2023. RSEs joined together in a union in June 2022 and have been in negotiations for their first contract since August 2022.
“As the largest public employer in the state, the University of Washington sets an example of what it means to act in the public good. It’s time for UW to stop looking for work-arounds and pay people fairly. The state of Washington has made a clear policy choice that workers should be paid a living wage because wages have fallen way behind for too many. The University of Washington doesn’t get a pass: that would set a dangerous precedent for every employer in the state. I stand with Postdoctoral Scholars and Research Scientists/Engineers in their fight for a living wage, and think this fight affects all workers in Washington.”
The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is the largest union organization in Washington state, representing more than 500,000 rank-and-file members in some 600 union locals and organizations. Learn more at wslc.org.
Short URL: https://www.thestand.org/?p=117345

Higher Ed & General Gov Contracts
 As you know, the Governor recently announced that he was rescinding Directive 22-13.1, the requirement to be vaccinated for Covid-19 as a condition of employment, effective May 11, 2023.
 
This post is intended to explain what we know about this change and how it will impact our members and the collective bargaining agreement that is set to go into effect on July 1, 2023. 
 
Consequence of Rescission:
The impact of the Governor’s announcement is there is no longer a condition of employment to be vaccinated for Covid-19.  If you were already vaccinated, there should be no change in your working conditions.  If you are exempt from this requirement and currently being accommodated, your Employer will be contacting you to discuss withdrawing the accommodations.  
 
Any changes to your working conditions are a mandatory subject of bargaining and you are entitled to representation.  If you wish to have a WPEA representative in any meetings related to this discussion, please contact your local shop steward and or Staff Representative promptly. 
 
WPEA Contracts:
WPEA’s General Government and Higher Education contracts included a Tentative Agreement (TA) that outlined the condition of employment covered in Directive 22-13.1, this TA will need to be renegotiated to remove that specific language, together with the condition of employment mandate.
 
The TA WPEA negotiated included the $1,000.00 lump sum compensation as a voluntary booster incentive; that incentive will still go into effect on July 1, 2023.
 
The changes related to the condition of employment will not impact your compensation negotiated to take effect on July 1 of this year. 
 
WPEA’s bargaining teams will be meeting with the Office of Financial Management to make these changes to our TA.  As soon as we have an agreement, we will provide you with a copy of that TA so you can review the changes. 
 
Booster:
However, based on current CDC recommendations, we will need to modify the language in the TA to clarify that, from May 11, 2023 forward, the definition of being “up-to-date” under CDC will include the bivalent booster. 
 
If you received the “Booster” and provided necessary proof to your employer, you should be eligible to collect your lump sum on your July 25 paycheck. 
 
If the $1,000 lump sum was not posted on your July 25 paycheck or, if you made an attempt to provide proof of compliance and the Employer did not acknowledge your efforts, please contact us immediately to sort out the issue. 
 
Who to Contact:
If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please reach out to our Contract Administration Director, Amanda Hacker, at amanda@wpea.org or (360) 489-2315

Yakima & Highline Contracts
WPEA Members:
 
As you know, the Governor recently announced that he was rescinding Directive 22-13.1, the requirement to be vaccinated for Covid-19 as a condition of employment, effective May 11, 2023.
 
This email is intended to explain what we know about this change and how it will impact our members and the collective bargaining agreement that is set to go into effect on July 1, 2023. 
 
Consequence of Rescission:
The impact of the Governor’s announcement is there is no longer a condition of employment to be vaccinated for Covid-19. 
 
WPEA Contracts:
WPEA’s Highline and Yakima contracts included a Tentative Agreement (TA) that outlined an incentive for receiving a booster (as define by the CDC and what they consider “up-to-date”).  The $1,000.00 lump sum compensation as a voluntary booster incentive; that incentive will still go into effect on July 1, 2023.
 
The changes related to the condition of employment will not impact your compensation negotiated to take effect on July 1 of this year. 
 
WPEA’s bargaining teams will be meeting with your Employer’s to make sure that our TA aligns with recent changes to the definition of “up-to-date”.  As soon as we have an agreement, we will provide you with a copy of that TA so you can review any changes. 
 
Booster:
If you have already received the “Booster” and provided necessary proof to your Employer, you should be eligible to collect your lump sum on your July 25 paycheck. 
 
If the $1,000 lump sum was not posted on your July 25 paycheck or if you made an attempt to provide proof of compliance and the Employer did not acknowledge your efforts, please contact us immediately to sort out the issue. 
 
Who to Contact:
If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please reach out to our Contract Administration Director, Amanda Hacker, at amanda@wpea.org or (360) 489-2315.  
​

Short URL: https://www.thestand.org/?p=116931
The following is from AFT Yakima Faculty, Local 1485:
YAKIMA (May 10, 2023) — Fed up with the actions of an increasingly unaccountable administration, AFT Yakima Faculty, Local 1485, held a vote of confidence in the college’s president, Dr. Linda Kaminski. The vote follows several years of the administration’s anti-transparent actions, including lack of transparency in policies regarding faculty hiring and tenure, concerns from faculty and staff who were unable to have their harassment claims investigated or tracked, closure of essential programs, and a general lack of communication and transparency between Yakima Valley College’s administration and the college community of students, staff, and faculty.
The American Federation of Teachers faculty union, which represents roughly 300 full- and part-time faculty at Yakima Valley College, is holding a press conference Thursday, May 11 at 12:30 p.m. to announce the results of the vote and speak about the issues which led to it being held.

TAKE A STAND — AFT Yakima Faculty is asking students, union members and community supporters to come to the press conference on the northeast corner of 16th Ave and Nob Hill at 12:30 PM on Thursday, May 11. The union is also asking those interested to attend the Board of Trustees meeting later Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. in Room 122 of the West Campus Conference Center (building 38) on the Yakima Valley College campus.
At a meeting of the union membership, on April 12, a vote of confidence was held on Dr. Kaminski’s leadership. After the final tally, 88% of the membership in attendance voted that they had “no confidence” in Dr. Kaminski’s leadership of the college. No members voted “confidence” in Dr. Kaminski’s leadership, and 12% abstained from voting.
“We didn’t want to do this, but all of our other efforts have failed,” said Rachel Dorn, AFT-Yakima Faculty president, “We have been trying to reach out to the school leadership and the Board of Trustees about our concerns for over a year, but there has been very little dialogue and we get the impression that leadership is not taking these concerns seriously.”
AFT Yakima Faculty President Rachel Dorn speaks to reporters.
Throughout the year, AFT-Y has been bringing attention to issues ranging from a lack of policies around promotion and hiring, to concerns over the college’s failure to follow policies related to reporting and investigation of harassment and retaliation.
“We’ve lost valuable members of our YVC community due to the college administration’s inability to follow or enforce these basic policies,” said Steve Rodrigue, Physics and Engineering Instructor at YVC.
Most recently, the YVC community has been upset by the sudden closure of the Bachelors of Applied Science in Teacher Education (BAS-TE) program, whose graduates are helping to fill in the shortage of K-12 teachers in the region. After finding out about the proposed closure and the layoff of a beloved faculty member, students, faculty, and community members attended the March Board meeting in an attempt to prevent the Trustees from voting for the closure, which faculty say was unwarranted and contrary to the needs of the program and its students. The Trustees approved of the closure and layoffs before hearing from students and supporters.
“The Yakima Valley needs this program and it needs quality instructors.” said Julie Schillreff, Education Instructor at YVC.
At the May 11 Board of Trustees meeting, the faculty union is asking the public to come and support the seven full-time instructors whose contracts were non-renewed at the board meeting in March. The college did not follow the contractual process for non-renewal of Special Faculty faculty, claiming, instead, that the faculty who were non-renewed were designated as “temporary,” a category of faculty that is not defined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

AFT-Y has filed grievances protesting the closure of the BAS-TE program and the non-renewal process for the impacted faculty.
“Through anti-transparent hiring processes and her [Dr. Kaminski’s] influence on the makeup of the Board of Trustees, she has created a college structure and culture that does not allow for shared governance,” said Vicente Lopez, faculty counselor at YVC.
Liz DeVilleneuve, another faculty counselor, said, “The college speaks about diversity, equity and inclusion but doesn’t follow through in its actions. Harassment and retaliation are not seriously addressed, and the Board does not hold the president accountable.”
In the wake of accusations of retaliation from staff and administrators, YVC employees at all levels feel that speaking out puts their jobs at risk.
“It’s the culture of intimidation and fear, the perception that if you speak out you risk being retaliated against and possibly losing your job,” said Shannon Hopkins, English Instructor at YVC.
“Faculty, via tenure and via their union, are the YVC employees best positioned to bring these concerns to light, because it is harder to retaliate against us for speaking up for the good of our students and the college,” said Tim Jeske, Political Science Instructor at YVC.

By COURTNEY BRADDOCK 
Short URL: https://www.thestand.org/?p=116631

VANCOUVER, Wash. (May 3, 2023) — With rising gun violence, extreme climate conditions and an increase in accessibility challenges, employees who can lead and assist in these areas are more important than ever in education institutions such as Clark College.
In addition to a recent proposal to cut a mental health counselor, Clark officials are seriously considering proposals to:
●  Cut the Emergency Manager whose duties include emergency response planning, coordinating the college’s mass notification system, and conducting routine emergency preparedness drills and
●  Cut the College Architect whose duties include overseeing college construction projects and providing leadership in ADA compliance issues for office layouts, projects, remodels, and the Clark’s Disability Support Services office.
Both are represented by the Washington Public Employees Association (WPEA)/UFCW Local 365.
It’s concerning that the college continues to pile more and more work onto positions that are already stretched thin from prior budget cuts. This is how important work falls through the cracks. I don’t think work like this should be treated as a luxury item.
Both cuts would also involve skimming bargaining unit work either to managers or to agencies outside of the college.


Jeffrey Kaliner has held the Emergency Manager position since 2018 and led the college’s COVID-19 response. His was the only personnel cut proposed by the college’s Security & Safety Department.
Ironically, Kaliner was awarded the Exceptional Classified Staff Award in 2021. As quoted in the 2021 Clark College Commencement program, “Jeff performed exemplary in managing several crises confronting the college last year… All of his experience and skills were an asset in managing the college community safely through the crisis and onto recovery.”
But things took a turn for Kaliner in the fall of 2021.
“I was basically harassed and sidelined from my position soon after I expressed my concerns that the college administration was not being honest with the community about how we were responding to the event,” Kaliner said recently about the college’s response to COVID-19.
Richard Nevis has held the College Architect position since 2008 and has completed most of the college’s office and classroom layout and reconfigurations to align with fire codes and ADA accommodations and was the only filled position proposed to be cut in the Facilities Department.
If Nevis is cut, the department staff could see an increase in their workload, and the college may move some of this work to an “on-call” architecture firm outside of the college.
When asked if eliminating this position would put the college at risk of being out of compliance with federal regulations, college officials responded, “We have an on-call architectural firm that we utilize, and we will continue to use their services. So, they will definitely keep us within the law.”
The college recently reached a resolution agreement to resolve alleged complaints filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Among other things, the complaint alleges several accessibility issues on the physical grounds of the campus.
Cutting the architect position is a paradoxical move – it would eliminate the person who would focus specifically on resolving Clark’s agreement with the Department of Education.
College officials stated during the budget forums that the priority for the Operations Department is “ensuring we are still able to keep the campus as safe and secure as possible within our limited resources.”
So why are these positions that are critical to ensuring that the college fulfills this priority proposed to be cut?
TAKE A STAND — Please click here to send an email to Clark College leadership at executivecabinet@clark.edu letting them know that current and future students, staff, and faculty deserve a campus that is safe and accessible and that the community will not tolerate skimming union work as a budget-saving measure.

 For questions about the 2023-2025 contracts click here. 

The legislature wrapped up its 105-day session on April 23, passing a final budget that fully funds state employee contracts for WPEA members. This legislative session, WPEA members successfully pushed the legislature to pass a host of bills that will benefit public employees. Here's a list of WPEA priorities that passed this year:
 
Full Funding of Contracts
The 2023-2025 state employee contracts that WPEA members negotiated are fully funded in the final budget, including...

• 100% funding for Higher ED contracts. Two earlier versions of the budget had state funding levels at only 83%, but WPEA members joined with community college faculty and administration to convince the legislature to fully fund community college collective bargaining agreements.
• A 4% across-the-board pay increase effective July 1, 2023 and a 3% across-the-board pay increase effective July 1, 2024.
• A $1000 retention bonus for state employees who were employed on July 1, 2022 and still employed on July 1, 2023.
• A $1000 incentive for being fully boosted for COVID-19, eligible to be paid out between July 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.
• Targeted pay increases for 63 job classes
• Lump sums totaling $4000 for certificated members of the Washington State School for the Blind and the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth.

 
Union Communication Privacy
HB 1187 (David Hackney)
Status: Passed
 
Union members rely on confidentiality when talking with stewards or other union representatives about issues at work; WPEA stewards and staff work hard to protect the confidentiality of those communications. Just like talking to a lawyer, a doctor, or a counselor, talking to a union rep can involve personal or sensitive information that must remain confidential. But that kind of communication with a union rep doesn’t have the same protection under law that communication with a lawyer or counselor does. HB 1187 is a common-sense, bipartisan bill to protect communication between union members and their union representatives.  
HB 1187 passed the House unanimously and passed the Senate 34-14.
 
Data privacy for survivors of DV/stalking/sexual assault
HB 1533 (Sharlett Mena)
Status: Passed
 
Arising from a case originally brought by a WPEA member, this bill protects personal information in the personnel files of public employees from being disclosed under the Public Records Act. For survivors of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault, this bill would provide stronger protections than HB 1888 (2020’s birthdate bill) currently does. Under the bill, their birthdate, job title, addresses of workstations and locations, work email address, work phone number, and bargaining unit will be protected from disclosure under the PRA. Members could provide a sworn affidavit that they need protection because they are survivors of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault, along with some form of verification such as a police report, a petition for protective order, or simply by providing the name of their harasser. The protection from disclosure would last two years and can be renewed if necessary. As part of a compromise to get the legislation passed, we incorporated the same carveout for news media that was included in HB 1888.
This bill took quite a hard road to get to passage. Lots of WPEA members signed in supporting the bill or wrote their lawmakers in support, and two testified in public hearings.  Senator Sam Hunt, chair of the Senate State Government committee, specifically credited WPEA members' senate testimony as the thing that pushed the bill over the finish line in his committee.
The final version of the bill passed the Senate unanimously and the House with an odd bipartisan vote of 57-41.
 
Public Safety Telecommunicator Pensions
HB 1055 (Drew Stokesbary)
Status: Passed
 
911 communication centers, including those operated by Washington State Patrol, have been hit as hard as any agency by the ongoing staffing crisis at the state. The Wenatchee communication center was closed last year due to short staffing, and the rest are in dire straits. This bill would put these members into the Public Safety Employee Retirement System, which offers earlier retirement for those who serve at least 10 years. The bill recognizes the value of the work that public safety telecommunicators are doing, and should help with recruitment and especially retention.
 
It passed the House unanimously and passed the Senate 48-1.

Public Employer Data Sharing
HB 1200 (Emily Alvarado)
Status: Passed
 
This bill standardizes and improves the data that public employers share with public employee unions. This bill covers our libraries and higher education employers, but not general government agencies.
It requires employers to provide info within 21 days of hire and a bargaining-unit-wide update every 120 days. Much of the information covered in the bill we have contractual language for, but some we do not in most contracts.
The Senate amended the bill to prevent unions from selling member personal information, an amendment we happily accepted.
 
The final version of the bill was mostly a party-line vote, passing the Senate 29-20 and the House 57-41.
  
Other wins
There were other successful bills we worked on this year, including...

• HB 1122 (Beth Doglio), granting collective bargaining rights to the lowest bands of state employees in the Washington Management Service.
• SB 5217 (Manka Dingra), allowing Labor and Industries to issue rules protecting against ergonomic injury.
• HB 1068 (Dan Bronoske), concerning the rights of injured workers during independent medical examinations.

 
Not all our priority bills passed this year. Here are some bills that didn't make it all the way through the process, that we will keep working on through the year, to get passed next session.

• HB 1566 (Jessica Bateman) - increasing vacation leave accrual for state employees.
• HB 1774 (Mia Gregerson) / SB 5694 (Sam Hunt) - improving the state's salary survey. (While the bill died, some of the bill was incorporated into a budget proviso this session)
• HB 1825 (Paul Harris) - fixing compensation for certificated staff at WSSB/CDHY.

 
Thanks to all the WPEA members who contacted lawmakers, signed in on bills, and spread the word about legislation this year.

The attendees for the Summer Institute for Union Women are now announced. They include:
 
Debi Schoonover             Walla Walla Community College
Sarah Frazier                   Yakima Valley College
Elizabeth White                DOR
Serena Mitchell                Pierce College

We wish our attendees well and hope they have a great time learning!

Labor Resurgence: Learning from the Recurring Conflict with Capital
 
Our annual conferences bring us all together to keep our members informed and award significant contributions to labor history in the PNW
Join us for this year’s conference May 5-6, 2023!
Labor Resurgence: Learning From the Recurring Conflict with Capital
Featuring Keynote speaker: Moon-Ho Jung, Harry Bridges Endowed Chair in Labor Studies at UW
Also including: Michael Honey, Dan Berger, Ragya Kaul, Sara Palmer, Aaron Goings, Jim Gregory, Michael Goldfield and more!
Workshops on the history of labor on the waterfront, in timber and canneries, racial justice and the fight against restrictive covenants, migrant workers’ unions, Black liberation struggles and more Pacific Northwest working class history.

More Information Click Here

WPEA would like to approve 6 members and 2 E-board/WPEA Staff to attend this conference. Please send your name for approval by April 25th to aubrei@wpea.org and the attendees will be announced on April 27th.

Hundreds of union members and supporters have learned how to run a successful campaign for public office via the WSLC’s candidate training program
OLYMPIA (April 12, 2023) — Unions strive not only to win strong contracts for their members, but also to elect pro-worker candidates who will support policies that strengthen our communities and benefit all working people. There’s no better place to find great candidates for public office than from labor’s own ranks.
That’s why the Political Department of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO seeks to build worker power not only by supporting the election of pro-worker candidates, but also by recruiting and training our own members and supporters to run for office.
On March 29-31, in partnership with its affiliated unions, the WSLC hosted its latest Path to Power political candidate training program in Olympia. This in-person training hosted by WSLC President April Sims and Secretary Treasurer Cherika Carter provided about 30 union members and local community activists with the tools and tips necessary to run a successful political campaign.
Path to Power training — facilitated by union political directors, campaign gurus, and elected leaders — covers fundraising, crafting an effective message, creating a campaign plan, building a campaign team, effective targeting, how to talk to voters, and more. Because many labor supporters may not have an opportunity to join a union at their workplace, the Path To Power program provides space for both union members and union supporters to learn to run successful campaigns.
The 2023 cohort of the WSLC Path to Power candidate training program.
Because this year’s Path to Power training was held in Olympia, participants got to hear from some true labor champions in the Washington State Legislature. State Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines), a former WSLC staffer and OPEIU member, and Rep. Liz Berry (D-Seattle), who was a Path to Power participant herself, shared their campaign experiences and advice.
“The Washington State Labor Council and its affiliated unions continue to offer the Path to Power program because it works,” Sims said. “Since 2017, we have identified and trained hundreds of union members and community partners to run for public office through this program. Many of them have been elected and are making a difference in their communities.”
SEIU Local 925 member Chelsea McElroy is a great example.
McElroy returned to this year’s training to speak to participants about her successful 2021 campaign to become a member of the Tacoma Public School Board. One of the primary concerns she heard from the students was regarding the financial costs of campaigns. Asked for her advice about how much money a campaign requires, McElroy said, “Child care workers are broke, so I ran broke and I won broke, and I’m going to keep running and winning!”
Craig Woodard, a retired member of the International Union of Operating Engineers who was among the 2023 Path to Power cohort, called the training a “first-rate experience.”
“For me the highlight was when all of the participants gave their three-minute stump speeches and received feedback from fellow participants. It was a good way to practice public speaking and to hear others share their thoughts and ideas,” Woodard said. “All in all, it was a very comprehensive and useful program that laid out exactly what is involved with running for office. I also made some friends, and met people I want to be around!”
The WSLC thanks the following additional facilitators and guests for their participation in the 2023 Path to Power training:

• Mike Adams — SEIU 775
• “Landslide” Larry Brown — IAM 751 and Auburn City Councilmember
• Cassie Carrillo — Washington Education Association
• Samantha Casne — Washington Education Association
• Djibril Diop — Washington Education Association
• Maddie Foutch — SEIU 775
• Erin Haick — SEIU 925
• Matthew Hepner — Certified Electrical Workers of WA and East Wenatchee City Councilmember
• Hillary Hunt — Washington Education Association
• Dustin Lambro — UFCW 3000
• Chris Lampkin — SEIU Healthcare 1199NW
• Erin Lee — SEIU 775
• Guillermo Mogollan — Teamsters 117
• Zak Nelson — SEIU 925
• Andrea Ornelas — LiUNA 242
• Christine Reid — IBEW 77
• Shaunie Wheeler James — Teamsters Joint Council 28
• Bryan Yambe — Fife City Councilmember
• Corina Yballa — MLK Labor

Thinking about running for public office? The WSLC will continue to offer Path to Power candidate trainings. Subscribe to The Stand to stay informed about when the next one is scheduled.

WSLC Wednesdays is a regular feature of The Stand where different departments of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO describe their recent activities and the services they are providing to WSLC-affiliated unions.
Short URL: https://www.thestand.org/?p=115893