They didn’t forget us.

They chose to leave us behind.

Saturday, April 26th we broke the news that legislation did not include WPEA Higher Education Coalition, General Government, and Highline Contracts in the budget. We were left out, and this news hit hard.

No funding for General Government, no funding for Higher Education, no funding for Highline College. The contracts you fought for, voted to ratify, worked to win; callously discarded.

This wasn’t an oversight. It was a choice. A deliberate decision to punish workers for standing up and pushing back. The Office of Financial Management (OFM) stacked the deck against us from the start, delaying and obstructing. Why? Because we refused to accept cookie-cutter bargaining.

This is our Turning Point:

this was no mistake; it was a message.

If the governor signs the budget 5,300 of you won’t see a COLA this year. You’ll fall even further behind not just compared to the private sector, but even compared to your fellow state employees.

That’s not just unfair. It’s outrageous, but this was not created in a vacuum.

In just the past twenty years, your purchasing power has dropped almost 21%. They want you poorer, quieter, more desperate.

But this is not about despair, It’s about direction.

They think this will break us. It will build us.

There is a way forward—but only if we walk it together.

Not Funded, Not Finished! Show up for UNITY tomorrow, join at 12:00, 5:00, or 6:00pm.

Get your questions answered. Unity Zoom Link

Take Action Today!

If we want a system that works for us, we must build it ourselves, from the ground up, hand in hand.

Governor Bob Ferguson is reviewing the budget right now! He has 20 days to consider the budget before signing it in full, vetoing it in full, or vetoing only certain sections (known as line-item veto).

Write to him, tell him that he shouldn’t sign this budget. Below is a sample letter you can use entirely or as inspiration to write your own letter. Governor Ferguson needs to hear how this impacts you. How it impacts the state of Washington.

President Amanda Hacker will be writing to the Governor—you should too. Write the Governor

Sample Letter to Send

I’m a proud member of the Washington Public Employees Association (WPEA), and I work at [your workplace here] as a state employee.

WPEA has been told that our contracts weren’t funded because we were “too late.” But that doesn’t tell the full story—and it’s important that you understand what really happened.

As union members, we exercised our rights. We voted down a contract that would have continued to erode our purchasing power—a contract that looked nearly identical to what every other union was being handed. We said: enough is enough.

We stood together and expected the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to do their part—to return to the bargaining table, to negotiate in good faith. Instead, they refused. We waited for months before they came back to the table. This delay didn’t come from us.

We’re not being unreasonable. We’re not being greedy. We’re exhausted.

For years, OFM has pushed pattern bargaining on Washington’s labor unions—pressuring us to accept deals that don’t reflect the real needs of our members or the real value of our work. This practice has worn us down. And this time, we pushed back.

We understand the state’s budget constraints. We know what it means to make difficult decisions. But being left out of the final budget entirely is devastating.

The result? A WPEA-represented employee could leave their current job, take the exact same position at a different agency, and receive an immediate 3% raise – at least. That makes no sense. One of our central concerns during bargaining was attrition—and how constant turnover affects the quality and continuity of the services we provide. This decision only makes that problem worse.

We spoke up because we care—not just about our wages, but about the future of public service in Washington. We deserve to be heard. And we deserve to be treated with respect.

Please, I respectfully ask that you not sign the 2025 budget. This budget harms 5,300 of us.

Not still. Not silent. Not done. And never alone.

For more information, the latest updates, FAQs, and ways to get involved, please visit us online: Contract Funding Webpage

They forced us into survival, but we are fighting for dignity, equity, and a future where our work is honored and our voices are heard.

They hoped we would give up.

They underestimated what happens when workers come together.

In solidarity,

WPEA