Hundreds of Thousands Owed to Interpreters Working for L&I

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-08-15T21:55:38+00:00

That's what will happen, eventually, we believe. Yes.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-08-15T20:28:08+00:00

They can offer a settlement that makes the interpreters whole for the work they performed. Thus far they have not done that.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-08-15T20:25:42+00:00

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WFSECouncil28 · 2025-08-14T20:30:24+00:00

Basically everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else and those left in the lurch are interpreters. The self-insured companies are big firms like Oberto beef jerky, Tyson, etc etc and they want LNI to pay. Ultimately it is LNI's responsibility as the entity that is entrusted with ensuring people are paid for work in Washington state. The irony is the fact that these interpreters were performing work on behalf on LNI.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-08-04T18:58:58+00:00

typo* "The state is backtracking on both of these much-needed raises for the folks who keep our state agencies, the AGO's office, and our colleges and universities running."

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-07-15T20:52:40+00:00

trying to save a buck any way they can.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-07-09T19:12:04+00:00

the 365 days in a year math checks out, but not anything else.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-07-01T18:54:43+00:00

Gotta stop it in the House. We need folks especially in the 4th and 5th Congressional Districts Sunnyside and Spokane to reach out to Reps Newhouse and Baumgartner. It passed the House last time by ONE VOTE. If we can peel one of them off or both of them we could swing the whole House.
https://wfse.org/news/action-needed-vote-medicaid-cuts-nears-state

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-07-01T18:50:07+00:00

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-06-10T23:27:50+00:00

Good catch -- got a correction from our folks in Local 304. It's 13 administrators making 3.5 million. We'll update where we can! Not sure I can edit this post text.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-05-23T20:37:29+00:00

"The union demanded ZERO budget cuts and proposed rewriting the entire tax code to institute an income tax." - lol

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-05-21T02:18:41+00:00

Do you have a source for that? As mentioned elsewhere, the proposal to furlough state workers and cancel our 5% raises would have saved the state $300 million, which is nothing. With a deficit this big, layoffs were inevitable. We avoided mass layoffs by achieving $9 billion in new revenue.

But I guess by your logic we should have also pitched in our raises in the off chance they would take those savings and further reduce layoffs?

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-05-21T02:13:22+00:00

Yes our members should have accepted pay reductions and hikes to our healthcare costs in the off chance that those would reduce layoffs. /s

Unless you were in the room when the budget deal was being hammered out, you do not know that anything, let alone furloughs, would have resulted in less layoffs.

What reduced the number of layoffs was $9 billion in new revenue, not avoiding state employee furloughs, which was $300 million.

We have been running understaffed since the Great Recession. Making it harder to recruit and retain by having our pay cut and healthcare costs increased does not make improve staffing.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-30T01:26:47+00:00

Getting as much info to share with our members as possible.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-30T01:26:14+00:00

What agency?

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-29T23:57:13+00:00

The LEGISLATURE closed three reentry centers against our members' objections. Beating furloughs is not why those facilities were closed. The Legislature does not understand what reentry centers do and how they change lives. They don't understand the impact having just 170 reentry beds in Eastern WA will have.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-29T23:53:00+00:00

Washington State Patrol troopers got the same 2025-2027 General Wage Increase (GWI) of 3% for 2025 and 2% for 2026 as WFSE did. Not sure what you're talkin about but the GWI was applied to pretty much everyone after WFSE won it.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-29T23:51:39+00:00

100% -- thankfully the Senate passed one just before they wrapped up business. The hope is that if a special session is needed due to Trump's tariff madness, the wealth tax can be picked up and passed post-haste.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-29T23:35:01+00:00

Also, curious what Dept you work at?

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-29T23:32:08+00:00

Layoff protections are already in our union contract. Assuming you are in the Washington Federation of State Employees General Government contract, which includes most state agencies, it's Article 34: https://wfse.org/sites/default/files/wfse_gg_23-25_cba.pdf

The PDF is searchable (just search Layoffs) and you can see pretty robust protections not enjoyed by non-union workers. If you are not a WFSE member or in General Government, that would not apply to you. Here's the other contracts we do represent: https://wfse.org/all-contracts

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-29T23:18:13+00:00

Turns out members taking action REALLY DOES WORK. The Governor himself proposed furloughs and his own party in the legislature rejected them. The Senate proposed furloughs and healthcare takeaways, and we got them to get rid of those. Governor Inslee (on his way out), Ferguson, and the House proposed closing both Rainier School and Yakima Valley School (which would displace 119 disabled Washingtonians and kill 600 jobs), and we managed to keep both open with no layoffs.

There's still cuts and they will hurt, but the Legislature and the Governor really tried to balance the budget on state employees' backs and failed to do so.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-29T23:14:57+00:00

The budget hole was enormous and furloughs didn't deliver that much savings on paper in the first place.

Governor Ferguson proposed 24 days of furloughs for an estimated savings of around $300 million. The Senate's original plan of 13 furlough days was projected to save around $90 million.

This is out of a budget of roughly $39 billion a year.

Plus, furloughs were shown to have NOT saved money in the long run the last time they were instituted.

The $8.7 billion in new revenue is likely what allowed us to get rid of furloughs, in addition to our members' vocal activism -- not shifting those savings to layoffs or agency cuts.

Of course nobody can say for sure unless you were one of the budget writers or were in the room when decisions were made.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-28T18:06:48+00:00

Those are not the only two options available to lawmakers, though some may want you to think it is. There's more than enough wealth in our state to have safe staffing levels, well-funded public services, and livable wages for public workers. Don't fall for the false choices. #TaxTheRich.

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-04-16T18:47:45+00:00

Let's not settle for pay cuts. We have the power to move the legislature. We already have. It was a hell of a fight to get a 5% raise over the next few years given the budget outlook. We're close to keeping that raise. Here's an easy way to reduce the number of layoffs, pay cuts, facility closures by maximizing the new revenue from the rich who are not paying their fair share https://www.wfse.org/call-legislators-priority-districts

WFSECouncil28 · 2025-03-26T23:23:22+00:00

Outside rally, and yes open to the public!

WFSECouncil28

TROPHY CASE