March 2026
We Made It To Sine Die: Update on the Legislative Session
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
This was a difficult session, marked by the state's revenue challenges and the chaos of the federal administration. More than 1300 bills were filed this session; fewer than 300 passed. The Governor has 20 days to sign bills that passed the Legislature in the last week of the session, so there is a possibility we will see changes to the legislation here; we’ll do our best to keep you informed.
We anticipate that the misinformation and rumor mills are up and running, so we have specific section citations from the final conference budget that was passed by both chambers of the Legislature for budget items. It’s over 600 pages long, so keyword searches work best here.
I-732 Employee COLA
Last year, the state Legislature moved all higher education I-732 employees to the IPD, off of the CPI; it had moved preK-12 employees to the IPD in 2017. The IPD is always lower than the CPI - while we fought it last year, we didn't win that. The IPD is adjusted based on inflation as assessed by the state, independent of federal inflation numbers. While the Legislature projected last year that the COLA this year would be 2.7%, the number in the final budget as passed is 2.6%. A goal for a future session is to get all employees off the IPD and back onto the CPI, but we do not anticipate that being successful until state revenues start to rise.
The COLA language is in section 905.
PreK-12
PreK-12 took some significant cuts this session. Transition to Kindergarten took a 35% reduction, and the Local Effort Assistance state levy equalization fund took a $25 million dollar reduction, to 25%. In addition, Running Start went from 1.4 FTE to 1.3 FTE. None of these were the worst-case proposals - the House LEA cut was $26.7 million, while the Senate proposed $59 million, for example - but they are not good. State Superintendent Chris Reykdal noted that state spending on public education has declined from a peak of 52% in 2019 to 42% today, and those cuts impact real students, faculty, staff, and communities.
There is a provision in the Millionaire's Tax to fully fund free school meals, which is excellent news. While the Legislature has made some smart funding decisions around summer meal programs in particular, the rubric for school-year free meals has been a little bureaucratic.
The Running Start funding is in section 504 (16) (a). The Transition to Kindergarten language is in section 520 and references another bill. The Local Effort Assistance language is in Section 510.
Higher Education
Again, this is early days for a fully final report, and we are still assessing some of the budget items. What we know at this point mostly touches the CTCs.
The campus closure language was removed from the final budget and replaced with a survey, which we generally support. However, the final conference budget did not include the broad stakeholder language we had urged. We will be watching for ways to make sure that the study is representative of the communities and students they serve, as well as the faculty and staff they employ, and not just the administrations that run the colleges.
The Running Start decrease from 1.4 FTE to 1.3 has an impact here as well. Additionally, the CTCs took a 1.5% cut to their administrative funding. This should not affect faculty or programs; we’ll want to keep a close eye on that as colleges begin that work.
A clear win was the fact that the high-demand, nurse educator, and guided pathways funds were all re-provisoed, meaning that the money in those provisions can once again solely be used for those items.
The survey language is Section 602 (44). Running Start is section 504 (16) (a). The provisos are both in section 602 (45) and 602 (46). We are still looking for specifics on the 1.5% cut to administrative funding.
Retirees
The latest "one-time" COLA for PERS/TRS Plan 1 retirees has passed and is on the Governor's desk for signature. This was in a separate bill, SB 5862.
Preserving Parent Education
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
Last fall, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges made changes to the Allocation Model that outline how college funds must be used. Those changes remove funding for programs that do not provide certificates or other degrees as outcomes. This eliminates the parent education and cooperative preschools in Washington State's Community and Technical Colleges.
For more than 80 years, these programs and their cooperative preschools have been thriving early childhood education models and a defining example of community vocational education in this state. This is particularly devastating to the approximately 4500 families impacted by the closure, since it takes place as the state is reducing its overall number of early childhood education slots, leaving families with children with very few options for affordable, effective childcare.
We are circulating a petition calling on the SBCTC to work with the affected colleges and programs to avoid these closures. The programs are pursuing different options so there is not, at this time, a one-size-fits-all approach to advocate for. We urge you to sign it and to circulate it to your members.
Our next actions include a press conference on April 4th and a rally at the SBCTC meeting on April 9th, where we plan to present them with the petition. More to come!
Whitman College Is Fired Up!
By Erin Grimes, External Organizer
On February 19th, 2026, the sound of Solidarity Forever rang out across the Whitman College campus. Over 350 staff, faculty, students, and community supporters gathered for the first Rally for Whitman Workers. Together, they marched on the office of Whitman College President, Sarah Bolton, and delivered notice that the workers of Whitman had voted to form a union, Whitman College Workers United (WCWU).
In the days surrounding the rally, over 70% of the roughly 300 staff and contingent faculty at Whitman signed authorization cards to form their union and affiliate with AFT Washington. The rally marked the success and determination of a deeply committed organizing committee to forming a strong union under unprecedented and challenging circumstances.
Located in the southeastern town of Walla Walla, Whitman College serves about 1,600 students across a range of 4-year liberal arts programs. As a private institution, Whitman has been shielded from many of the same financial pressures affecting so much of higher education. Nevertheless, even while the college has invested millions in real estate—including purchasing a local brewpub last year—staff and faculty at Whitman have been experiencing significant cuts to benefits and healthcare, and reductions in force. This juxtaposition has been the catalyst for so many faculty and staff coming together to organize their union.
Whitman is a private institution, so workers of the new union called on the college to voluntarily recognize them rather than working through the federal NLRB under a Trump administration. Since the rally, the college administration has stated that they are not interested in voluntary recognition and have taken efforts to challenge many of the workers’ union eligibility. But the workers aren’t giving up.
In the small town of Walla Walla, solidarity is felt deeply among a tight-knit community. As workers rally, ripple effects are being felt across the state. Solidarity to Whitman workers in their ongoing efforts for union recognition and a fair contract!
Contract Language Around ICE Actions
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
As we have worked with members and partner groups on the issue of immigration and the concern that ICE may choose to do a large-scale rollout in Washington similar to what they have done in Portland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and now Burlington, VT, we have heard questions regarding what locals can bargain with administrations around ICE actions on campus. Unfortunately, at this time, we have not developed sample language – if you’re interested in getting involved in developing that, please contact us at aftwashington@aftwa.org.
There are some resources worth sharing, however.
You may have heard that the Washington State Legislature heard a number of bills related to federal action in the state over the session. One that would have had protections for education workers and students, SB 5906, failed to advance before opposite house cutoff, and that bill is dead. The bill defined “public” and “private” spaces in several categories of workplaces, with the intent of legally defining spaces ICE cannot entire without a judicial warrant for a specific individual or an invitation to enter. Seattle and King County have passed similar laws that are relevant to locations owned by the city or county; other municipalities may have passed similar legislation. If your workplace is not covered by legislation like this, it may be worth exploring it in bargaining.
Another resource that may provide ideas for contract language is the AFL-CIO’s updated Frontline Solidarity manual, which includes template language. In many cases, this language assumes it is the workers who will be targeted by ICE, so it may not be relevant to our locals, particularly if the concern is around students they target, but there may be ideas there. You will need to request a copy of the manual if you are interested.
We expect to have more information on an ongoing basis on this topic; please let us know if there’s anything specific you have questions about by contacting Cortney Marabetta at cmarabetta@aftwa.org.
Is Your Local Taking Action? Let Us Know!
We’re always interested in highlighting the work and actions of member locals. Whether that’s in the Pulse, the Spotlight, or on social media, share with us what you’re doing, especially if it can be elevated to the membership as a whole. Contact Cortney Marabetta at cmarabetta@aftwa.org with photos or if you’d like to share what your local is up to – from contract actions to rally turnout to anything else you can think of – let us know so we can share the news.
Save The Date For Powerful Locals!
Powerful Locals is back! Save the date for August 13th – 15th. This year, we’re back at Evergreen in Olympia. We will have tracks on contract management and member engagement, and we are finalizing the details of the additional workshops we’ll offer – let your UOR know if there’s something you think would be great to highlight in the trainings.
More information coming soon!