Thousands of state employees across Washington are set to walk out of work Monday in protest of slowed contract negotiations with the state.
According to state and union data, the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) represents roughly 50,000 state employees.
According to the union, walkouts are planned in Seattle at Harborview Medical Center, the University of Washington, and the Washington Department of Transportation’s Seattle Office on Monday at 11 a.m.
“Years of cuts and ballooning workloads for employees in high-stakes jobs, like protecting vulnerable children, maintaining public safety, and caring for intellectually and developmentally disabled folks, are a recipe for avoidable suffering and billions in liability,” said WFSE President Mike Yestramski, a psychiatric social worker at Western State Hospital, in a statement on the union’s website.
“We are sounding the alarm that the governor’s team seems intent on following the same failed policies that produced the shortfall in the first place,” Yestramski said.
The union alleges that as caseloads for public workers grow, wages have failed to keep up with the increased cost of living.
In a recent appearance, Governor Ferguson is reported to have answered questions about union negotiations by saying, “We are negotiating; I do not have anything else to add”
KIRO 7 has reached out to the governor’s office for comment and has not received a response as of Sunday evening.
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