February 2026
From the President
Coming off our Lobby Day this week, the theme for 2026 seems to be building our community. We had a very strong showing of over 80 participants plus our staff, and for the first time, we were joined by 14 members from AAUP’s University of Washington chapter, who lobbied together with our members and had meaningful conversations with our legislators and their staff. Together, we rallied with Communities for our College to demand free college for all Washingtonians, and then, memorably, marched to the Capitol rotunda where we lowered banners from the fourth floor and chanted our demands of free college, taxing the rich, and funding education! It was a powerful, unprecedented moment, that was followed shortly afterwards by the historic Senate vote that passed the millionaires' tax legislation, allowing it to move forward, and taking another step in the systemic changes we need to ensure a stronger future for Washington.
I also want to share my gratitude for having the opportunity to continue to expand our community thanks to the outreach of CAIR Washington, a grassroots civil rights organization working to support Washington’s Muslim community. They invited me to participate in their long-running Muslim Day at the Capitol. There, I learned more about their work to fight Islamophobia in a variety of spaces and met their leaders and upcoming leaders. I also got to enjoy some truly fantastic baklava!
Another way we are building out our community has been through the creation of the Higher Education caucus. Working with WEA, PSE, College Promise, UW, and Western, we are finding spaces to have deeper conversations with supportive legislators to better understand the challenges ahead, and collaborate on strategies to preserve existing funding levels for higher education for now, with the longer goal of reinvesting in our college systems so that we can live up to the ambitious promise that 70% of Washingtonians realize their academic goals of earning a certificate or a degree. The exchanges taking place recently have been some of the frankest and most informative that I’ve engaged in, and I am optimistic that this informal coalition is just the beginning of rethinking how we achieve our shared goals and live up to our shared values.
It’s also giving us some ideas of ways to revitalize and broaden our long-standing coalition with WEA, PSE, SEIU, and other allies on the Education Support Professionals Workgroup. There’s no time like the present to start involving legislators and elected officials directly in addressing the needs of our members, and speaking with one voice is – as every union member knows – how we get things done!
Later this week, I am going to deliver a report to the Executive Board at the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, and to the President of the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges. In that report, I am elevating the tireless efforts of our members and the students they work with to preserve Parent Education programs that, along with educating parents, supporting children, and strengthening families, provide the childcare that allows students to pursue their educational journey. In light of the federal budget cuts that undercut working families, these programs have become a tipping point for vulnerable students. Our members have taken the lead on trying to find ways to keep these programs open, even when their own colleges’ leadership appears to have given up, and they are working tirelessly to find pathways that will allow the students and their families to achieve their dreams.
I also want to elevate the work of our members who are supporting students and members of our immigrant communities by organizing safety plans, sharing “Know Your Rights” information and legal resources, and attending trainings about ICE, civil rights, and how to keep people safe in light of what is happening across our country and in our state. This work is ongoing, and obviously very reactive to current events. If you would like to get your local involved, please contact Kaitlin Gillespie at kgillespie@aftwa.org. We’re hosting a training ourselves next week – more on that in this issue of the Pulse – on what to do if ICE comes to your campus, and we are also able to connect you with groups running Know Your Rights and Rapid Response trainings, among others. It’s never too late to get involved in this work.
With that in mind, mark your calendars for a couple of upcoming events. Later this month, we’ll be announcing a Human Rights event in April. Powerful Locals will return – in more ways than one, since we’ll be back at The Evergreen State College – the second weekend in August.
Looking ahead, I hope each of you continues to find ways to build our community — through advocacy, solidarity, and most of all, compassion. Together, we will keep fighting for accessible, equitable education at all levels – we know it’s the foundation of a better future for all of us.
In solidarity,
Jacqui Cain, President