Campaigns and Actions

Washington for All, Not Just the Rich - DCYF/Statewide Action

We fought off proposed furloughs by Governor Ferguson and Senate Democrats, we spoke up against increases to our healthcare costs and attempts to take away our rights to bargain those costs, and we managed to get our contracts fully funded. We kept Yakima Valley School open, and Rainier School will stay open until there are zero long-term residents, meaning residents aren't displaced and employees are not laid off.

That budget is now sitting on the governor's desk, and he has promised a line-by-line review - of revenue items in particular. Given how reluctant he has been to fairly tax the super-rich, rather than public employees and working people, we need to remind him who keeps our state running. Targeting state employees and services hurts regular Washingtonians and has even greater impacts on the most vulnerable individuals in our state.

Throwing away our values to buy the super-rich another vacation home is not a solution. We can’t cut our way out of this mess. Our workloads are already through the roof, we're in the middle of a hiring freeze, and we can't retain anyone we do hire. We can fix the structural budget deficit that got us here by asking the super-rich to begin contributing like the rest of us - without giving up on the values that we hold as a state.

Every one of us can attest to how having to do more with less each year impacts us and the general public that depends on our work, and how budget cuts will make it worse.

We have to tell our stories in order to protect our work and the people we serve.

Learn about our upside-down tax code and the structural budget deficit.

**How you can take action (*starred actions are most needed)**

For all of these, remember to avoid implying or stating that you are speaking on behalf of DCYF. You're speaking as an individual or as a WFSE member. Do not use any work resources, devices, or time for any of this (your lunch and 15 minute breaks are fine!). You can talk about your experiences at work, just remember to keep confidentiality in mind.

*Call Governor Ferguson's office at (360) 902-4111 (8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday),and remind him who really runs the state. Ask that he sign the budget approved by the legislature. Not sure what to say?

I'm a member of the Washington Federation of State Employees who works at ________. I want a final state budget with:
No furloughs or pay cuts for public workers
No increases to public workers' healthcare costs
Taxes on the super rich instead of layoffs, budget cuts, and facility closures.

*Send Governor Ferguson a message about why he needs to approve the budget, fund our contracts, and avoid raising our healthcare costs, furloughing us, or laying off state workers. You can send a short reminder to sign the budget, talk about how this will affect you or other Washingtonians, or take inspiration from our previous letter campaign with the legislature. You can send him an e-message here, or find his mailing address and other ways to contact him here. Our state hired us to protect children and support families - and we will do just that now.

*Join our empty chair social media campaign. Post on social media or send us a photo of an empty chair and a short story of something you've done at work recently, or that you're proud of. It should not contain any confidential or identifying information for clients or providers (double-check your photos as well). Our goal is to show the governor, our representatives, and regular Washingtonians the impact that furloughs or budget cuts will have, as even more chairs are emptied, and we're all less able to manage our already high workloads.

If you're posting it yourself, use hashtags EmptyChairsWA, safestaffingsaveslives, and WashingtonForAll and add a line such as "Could an empty chair do that?". You can tag Governor Bob Ferguson, Washington Senate Democrats, Washington House Democrats, and your representatives as well if you like! See an example here, although yours can be just a story, a few tags, and an empty chair photo.

If you're sending it to us, let us know if you want the post to be anonymous or not! We can also supply the photo if you don't have one, or overlay text onto your photo for you.

Contact your elected officials to share your stories and ask them to fight for state employees and services! - Use the district finder to locate your legislative district and contact information for your representatives.

Check WFSE.org for more updates and other ways to act!

Do you have an idea for an action? Is there an issue relevant to WFSE DCYF workers that you want us to know about or share? Talk with your local union or contact us at wfsedcyfpolicy@gmail.com.