WASHINGTON STATE—Thousands of State Workers, represented by the WFSE union, walked out during their lunch breaks Monday, August 31, as negotiations for a livable wage remain stalled with the state government.
According to the Washington Federation of State Employees, known as WFSE or AFSCME Council 28, members at about 125 locations across the state took part in the walkout. Most protests were scheduled during lunch or other paid time, typically lasting about 30 minutes. Organizers said the goal is visibility, not a prolonged work stoppage that would shut down services.
At the State’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) offices in Lynnwood, approximately 15 state employees joined the thousands across the state, walking out of their desks at noon and waving signs along 204th Street Southwest and 52nd Avenue West.
“We’re protesting Governor Ferguson not coming to the table when we asked him to. We want a pay increase, we’re not able to meet minimum wages and we have workers who are barely making it with the cost of living, rent, healthcare, and we want to be able to have something at the table,” Marla Scow, Customer Service Specialist for Developmental Disabilities with the State’s Department of Health, told the Lynnwood Times. “We understand there’s a deficit, but we are not responsible for that deficit. We still need to be able to make a living.”
According to Moses Ferriera, Adult Protective Services Investigator for the State, his department has been operating with a skeleton crew of eight investigators, covering Snohomish all the way down to Mountlake Terrace, with a caseload that’s almost doubled from his team’s average. While the typically caseload, per investigator, is 18, according to Ferriera, most of his team has been handed an additional 30 cases recently, each involving a time intensive process consisting of record pulling, interview conducting, home visits, and so on…all within a 20-day deadline…