By Jake Goldstein-Street | Reporter
A new two-year union contract for 42,000 of Washington’s state workers includes no guaranteed pay raises, but the federation’s president thinks the deal is “the best we could get.” It avoids takeaways on healthcare and other benefits, and opens the door for the Washington Federation of State Employees and the governor’s office to go back to the bargaining table next August for a potential pay raise in the second year of the contract.
Also in today’s edition…
• Gov. Bob Ferguson asks the feds for millions to recover from wildfires.
• Legislators push for nuclear campus in Idaho.
• And, the president faces frustration over axed funding.
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Union members across the state, including about 100 in Olympia, held a midday informational picket in late August to spotlight their demand for higher wages. (Photo by Aspen Ford/Washington State Standard)
By Jerry Cornfield
As of Friday, at least six other units represented by the federation had approved new two-year collective bargaining agreements without any across-the-board salary increases. These contracts separately cover administrative law judges, classified workers and student support services staff at The Evergreen State College, and employees at Central Washington University and Washington State University. There is an agreement with the Community College Coalition that negotiated on behalf of workers at 12 community colleges.
Elsewhere, members of several other public sector unions are in the midst of deciding whether to approve or reject new contracts. These also include ones representing employees at state agencies, community colleges, universities and the Legislature.
By Jake Goldstein-Street
Gov. Bob Ferguson on Monday announced his request to President Donald Trump for federal aid to recover from this summer’s wildfires, especially the complex of blazes in the Spokane area. Across the state, 649 primary residences were destroyed, mostly in Spokane County, and another 2,500 were damaged to some extent, according to the governor’s office. The financial toll of this damage exceeds $188 million, Ferguson said. He’s seeking at least $11 million to help individuals recover and tens of millions of dollars more for help with debris removal and recouping costs for emergency protective measures, like hundreds of generators that were deployed.
By Clark Corbin
While the Department of Energy says new nuclear innovation campuses would create thousands of jobs and attract financial investment, the states selected to host a campus will be required to accept shipments of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing from other states. Idaho is one of the states under consideration for a campus. Some lawmakers say the risk of nuclear waste is too high to accept. But supporters believe it’ll be an economic boon for the state.
By Jennifer Shutt
The Trump administration has again used a controversial maneuver to cancel funding previously approved by Congress, this time $810 million for refugee assistance programs, among other uses. Members of Congress from both political parties are infuriated. Washington U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said the pocket rescission represented “theft from the American people, plain and simple.”
ICYMI
With tax receipts flat, budget hurdles remain for WA leaders | by Jerry Cornfield
COMMENTARY: To train and retain Washington’s future doctors, look to local med school, clinic partnerships | by Kristen Wyrick
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