WASHINGTON STATE—Thousands of State Workers, represented by the WFSE union, walked out during their lunch breaks Monday, August 31, as negotiations for a livable wage remain stalled with the state government.
According to the Washington Federation of State Employees, known as WFSE or AFSCME Council 28, members at about 125 locations across the state took part in the walkout. Most protests were scheduled during lunch or other paid time, typically lasting about 30 minutes. Organizers said the goal is visibility, not a prolonged work stoppage that would shut down services.
At the State’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) offices in Lynnwood, approximately 15 state employees joined the thousands across the state, walking out of their desks at noon and waving signs along 204th Street Southwest and 52nd Avenue West.
“We’re protesting Governor Ferguson not coming to the table when we asked him to. We want a pay increase, we’re not able to meet minimum wages and we have workers who are barely making it with the cost of living, rent, healthcare, and we want to be able to have something at the table,” Marla Scow, Customer Service Specialist for Developmental Disabilities with the State’s Department of Health, told the Lynnwood Times. “We understand there’s a deficit, but we are not responsible for that deficit. We still need to be able to make a living.”
According to Moses Ferriera, Adult Protective Services Investigator for the State, his department has been operating with a skeleton crew of eight investigators, covering Snohomish all the way down to Mountlake Terrace, with a caseload that’s almost doubled from his team’s average. While the typically caseload, per investigator, is 18, according to Ferriera, most of his team has been handed an additional 30 cases recently, each involving a time intensive process consisting of record pulling, interview conducting, home visits, and so on…all within a 20-day deadline.
“These are much needed services, and we care about our community, that’s why we love our job,” said Ferriera. “All we’re asking for is to pay our bills and we’re only doing this on our lunch hour so to not disrupt services. Our intention here is not to strike it’s a walkout to tell people that we need attention, and to urge people to talk to their legislators.”
Danica Noble, who is a candidate running for State Representative in District 32, also attended the protest in Lynnwood to show here solidarity.
“I’m a union member myself; I’m with the National Treasury Employees Union; we’ve been unrecognized but we’re fighting that. I’m very to come out and support state workers,” Noble told the Lynnwood Times.
WFSE represents roughly 52,000 workers who are staff employed at state agencies, the University of Washington and other four-year schools, community and technical colleges, the Department of Corrections, social-service offices, transportation crews, and some healthcare settings. The union is the state’s largest public-employee organization and is affiliated with the national AFSCME.
Talks for the 2027-29 contracts began in the spring. Workers received a 3% general wage increase in 2025 and another 2% in July 2026. Union leaders say those raises have not kept pace with inflation, housing costs, or growing caseloads. They also point to recruitment and retention problems that they say leave remaining staff with heavier workloads.
Negotiations for the 2027-29 contracts got underway this spring. Workers had already received a 3% raise in 2025 and another 2% this July, but union leaders say those increases have not kept up with inflation, housing costs, or steadily rising caseloads. They also point to ongoing trouble hiring and keeping staff, which they say only adds to the workload on those workers who remain.
The trigger for the walkouts came after a mid-July bargaining session where, according to union bargainers, the state’s team, led by the Office of Financial Management under Gov. Bob Ferguson, indicated no additional compensation money had been authorized for the next biennium. WFSE repeatedly described the position as “not a dime.”
The walkout is aimed at Ferguson’s administration, OFM negotiators, and leadership at universities and community colleges.
In recent months the governor and OFM Director K.D. Chapman-See have warned agencies of “significant” shortfalls in the 2027-29 biennium and instructed them to prepare cuts while avoiding new taxes. Ferguson has said his priorities are preserving core services, protecting vulnerable residents, and maintaining the state’s credit rating.
WFSE President Mike Yestramski, a psychiatric social worker at Western State Hospital, has framed the dispute as both a pay issue and a service issue.
A similar statewide walkout on September 10, 2024, drew thousands of participants at more than 130 sites. Union officials said tentative agreements on the 2025-27 contracts began arriving within two days. Organizers present the 2026 action as a repeat of that tactic.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
