Trouble is a-brewin’ in Washington State! It’s expensive here, like everywhere else, but state employees in particular are throwing down to get some changes made and improve their situation.
Here are Five Fast Facts about the recent wage walk-out:
- 📣 Hagglefest - The union representing around 50,000 state workers has been haggling with the state over a new contract for several months now. The state presented its first plan back in July, but it went over about as well as a lead balloon.
- 🏫🌲 Who’s Who - At stake are the wages of government employees, public service workers, higher education staff, folks from social services, fish and wildlife departments, and more across the state.
- 🚫 Try Again - The union snubbed the state’s first proposal, calling it “short-sighted and disrespectful,” and said it would actually result in wage cuts since it didn’t account for inflation. Yeah, who wouldn’t want automatic raises to compensate for inflation?!
- 👋 Byeeeeeee - The state is saying the budget is tight, with a drop in revenue expected next year. In response, thousands of state employees in around 130 cities walked off the job for an hour on a recent Tuesday. Or maybe they all just had a really important lunch date.
- ⏳ Time Is Short - They’d better get it together quickly. The new contract has to be approved by October 1st to be included in the next 2-year state budget.
🔥Bottom line: The union is definitely swinging around its…clout…on this one. And hey, if you’re one of those workers who gets a salary tied to inflation, that’s great for you! One other question: is anyone talking about the downstream economic effects of this kind of increase for all state employee wages? Just asking for a friend.
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