Thousands of Washington state workers lose out on wage hikes

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Nearly 5,300 state government and community college employees in Washington won’t be getting a 3% pay raise in July when most other state workers will.

That’s because those members of the Washington Public Employees Association did not ratify a new two-year contract until April 3, long past a statutory deadline and too tardy to be cribbed into the next state budget.

“It came very, very late in the process and it would have been quite difficult to respond to,” said Sen. Derek Stanford, D-Bothell, one of the Democratic lawmakers who pieced together the final budget agreement. “We need these groups to get their work done by the deadline.”

Amanda Hacker, the association president, said not getting the cost-of-living adjustment this year means the workers will “fall even further behind not just the private sector, but other state employees.”

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/04/30/thousands-of-washington-state-workers-lose-out-on-wage-hikes/

[MichMan]

1. Sounds like they overplayed their hand

Their members overwhelmingly voted down a tentative agreement on Sept. 30 with the pay hikes. Association negotiators derided the proposal as a pay cut, saying it would not allow worker salaries to keep pace with rising costs. They initially sought a 30% hike.

Union leaders told employees then that rejecting the accord would put them in “uncharted territory.”