WA public employee union sues state following failed contract vote

A 5,000-member public employee union in Washington that overwhelmingly rejected a new two-year contract in September is accusing the governor’s office and several community colleges of bad-faith bargaining.

The Washington Public Employees Association filed a lawsuit on Friday alleging the state Office of Financial Management engaged in unfair labor practices by refusing to resume bargaining on a full, two-year deal. Gov. Jay Inslee, in his official capacity, and 11 community colleges are also named as defendants. The contract in place expires in June.

The suit reveals the contention between the union and the state since association members voted down the contract offer, largely because they considered the state’s proposed 5% pay hike inadequate to keep pace with rising costs of food, housing and health care.

By law, the union had to approve a new contract by Oct. 1 for Inslee to include money to pay for it in the two-year budget he will propose in December. Inslee was not involved in the negotiations.

In the lawsuit, the union asserts that the Office of Financial Management, which conducts contract talks on behalf of the state and the colleges, is still required to negotiate a full two-year contract.

But the Office of Financial Management disagrees. It contends that as a result of the vote the provisions in the existing contract – and no raises – are in effect for one year beginning July 1. Any negotiations would be on an agreement for the second year beginning July 1, 2026.

Association attorney Kathleen Phair Barnard said state negotiators have repeatedly mischaracterized the implications of the Oct. 1 deadline “to coerce employees to accept subpar contracts.”

“This lawsuit is not just about missed deadlines,” she said in a statement. “It’s about the state’s duty to bargain in good faith and to respect the democratic decision of our membership.”

Michaela Doelman, state chief human resources officer, said the department could not comment directly on the legal action. She noted in an email that the state “reached agreements with all of the other unions with whom we bargain, either through bargaining or arbitration – 27 agreements in all.”

In search of deal

The Washington Public Employees Association represents workers at 13 community colleges and nine state agencies. Among them are the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Revenue, the Liquor and Cannabis Board and Department of Agriculture.

Employees, by rejecting the tentative agreement Sept. 30, put themselves in a position union leaders described as “uncharted territory.”

Union negotiators sought to immediately restart talks, figuring if a new agreement was negotiated and ratified, they would lobby the Legislature and the next governor to fund it in the 2025 legislative session. Initially, the state didn’t want to start up again until February, according to the lawsuit.

Gina Comeau, the state’s chief labor negotiator, said the state would meet for a limited number of sessions with the Washington Public Employees Association in December and January – though not the quantity sought by the union. She rebutted assertions from the union that the state sought to limit the scope of negotiations, according to email excerpts cited in the suit.

Bargaining sessions are planned Dec. 4 and 17, Doelman said.

“We have communicated on numerous occasions our willingness to consider all proposals the (union) has to present to us and stand ready to bargain,” Doelman said.