OLYMPIA — Members of the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) have accepted a tentative agreement covering the union’s general government contract for the 2027-29 biennium, locking in healthcare funding and a package of workplace protections while leaving general wage increases for a second-year reopener.
The agreement contains no additional general compensation in its first year. It does include a reopener so the parties can return to the table and bargain over compensation increases in the second year. The union said negotiators fought off takeaways and protected 24/7 facility pay, the supplemental shift premium and assignment pays.
On health care, the union said it defeated what it described as a second attempt in a year and a half to raise employee costs, securing nearly $350 million in new funding to keep the current split in which the employer pays 85 percent and employees pay 15 percent. The agreement also protects SmartHealth benefits earned in 2027 and flexible spending arrangement benefits for workers making $68,004 or less a year.
The agreement also includes a new statewide memorandum of understanding on generative artificial intelligence, attached to the contract rather than written as a numbered article. It bars the state from relying on the technology for employment decisions, requires any such use to be disclosed, and prohibits using it in a way that lays off represented employees. The union has described the memorandum as a two-year ban on layoffs caused by generative AI for the roughly 40,000 workers covered by the deal.
Other terms drawn from the union’s summary of the tentative agreement include:
- Two additional personal leave days, one in each year of the contract.
- Expanded shared leave for immigration purposes.
- Notice of permanent schedule changes increased to 14 days, and notice of temporary changes increased to five days.
- In 24/7 operations, credit for voluntary overtime no longer requires working a full shift. Mandatory overtime waivers rise to two per quarter for employees outside institutions and the state Department of Agriculture.
- Telework language moved into the contract, with written notice required for modifications, a 15-day notice period, a ban on arbitrary denials, and the ability to grieve telework disputes to step 3.
- A seniority-based transfer system for employees who do not have access to the bid system, and job postings that must list salary range, represented status, a link to the contract and benefits.
- Layoff notice increased to 10 days for temporary layoffs and 20 days for permanent layoffs. Project employees reach expanded layoff rights after three years instead of five. The duty-station threshold for layoff options drops to 25 miles.
- Expanded bereavement leave to great-grandparents and great-grandchildren, wildfire leave extended to all disaster types, and new critical-incident leave in the Department of Children, Youth and Families and the Department of Social and Health Services.
- A full workday of contract training for stewards, with no hourly cap, and new-employee orientation increased to 60 minutes, to occur within 60 days of a start date.
- A new union-management committee for Parks maintenance and trades employees.
The ratification follows a summer of public pressure against the Ferguson administration.
On Aug. 31, WFSE members joined short walkouts at about 125 locations, generally during lunch or other paid time and lasting about 30 minutes, after union bargainers said the state’s team had indicated in mid-July that no additional compensation had been authorized for the next biennium. WFSE repeatedly described the state’s position as a “not a dime” slogan.
WFSE, also known as AFSCME Council 28, represents roughly 52,000 workers at state agencies, the University of Washington and other four-year schools, community and technical colleges, corrections, social-service offices, transportation crews and some health-care settings.
The general government agreement is the largest of those contracts. which covers about 40,000 of WFSE members.
Workers covered by the current contract received a 3% general wage increase in 2025 and another 2% in July 2026. Union leaders said those raises had not kept pace with inflation, housing costs or caseloads, and they pointed to recruitment and retention problems that leave remaining staff with heavier workloads.
Gov. Bob Ferguson and Office of Financial Management Director K.D. Chapman-See have warned agencies of significant shortfalls in the 2027-29 biennium and have told them to prepare cuts while avoiding new taxes.
Under state law, a ratified agreement must be communicated to the Office of Financial Management before Oct. 1 to meet the deadline for funding requests and the contract still requires legislative funding before its economic terms take effect.
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
