On Sept. 19, the PROTEC17 State bargaining team reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) on the 2025-2027 contract after many months of challenging negotiations with State of Washington management. The agreement, which was ratified by members on Sept. 30, secures a three percent General Wage Increase (GWI) for 2025 and a two percent GWI for 2026, along with several other wins.
While there are many gains in this contract, they were hard-fought through the persistance of the team, as well as two significant actions that members took to show their solidarity. After receiving a disrespectful first proposal in July of a one percent GWI total over the two years of the contract, PROTEC17 members from the Department of Licensing (DOL), the Washington State Department of Tranportation (WSDOT), and the Washington State Patrol (WSP) mobilized along with fellow State workers from WFSE and WPEA to communicate to the State that such a meager raise was intolerable.
On Aug. 20, State employees held rallies on highway overpasses across Washington during rush hour to gather public support for a strong contract. Then, on Sept. 10, hundreds of State employees –from Bellingham to Kelso, from Union Gap to Lynnwood, and beyond – walked off the job on their lunchbreak, bringing State services to a standstill for 30 minutes. Both of these actions helped to move the dial when the team returned to the bargaining table in mid-September.
In addition to the five percent GWI for all State members over the two year contract, the bargaining team was able to win additional market adjustments for WSP members and for certain classifications at WSDOT (TE1s, TE2s, TE3s, TT1s, and TT3s) due to severe recruitment and retention issues. For all other classifications, the Office of Financial Management (OFM) refused to acknowledge objective data demonstrating significant market concerns.
Despite the pushback from the State on economic issues, the PROTEC17 team secured many significant non-economic wins, including one of the best and most flexible telework agreements amongst any employers, both public and private, for our WSDOT members. Other wins for all State members include: an increase in the maximum compensatory time accrual from 160 to 240 with the ability to carry it over the fiscal year; a maximum vacation accrual increase from 240 to 280 hours; and two additional days to bereavement leave. For a complete list of changes to the contract, visit our website: protec17.org/members.
A big thank you to the team – Paul Austin (WSP), Brian Brannies (WSDOT), Brendan Byron (WSDOT), Jason Clutter (DOL), Annette Dinkel (WSDOT), Bill Hicks (DOL), Daniel Jones (WSDOT), Bennett Olsson (WSP), and Faith Shuler (WSDOT), and PROTEC17 Union Representatives Sarah Lorenzini (Lead Negotiator), Suzie Saunders, Brent Wagar, and Alexis Young – for their months of hard work. We will continue our efforts during the next legislative session and beyond to address the wage data issue that continues to legally hamstring our efforts each bargaining cycle.