August 2026
Welcome Back, James To!
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
James To served as AFT Washington’s first Operations Manager from 2018-2022. In July he rejoined our team, returning to the role. His labor background started in grocery retail as a member of UFCW 3000 for 15 years. He moved into the nonprofit sector as a program manager and later Finance and Operations Director for a labor-founded leadership development organization. From there, James returned to UFCW 3000 as Benefits Director, helping members access and troubleshoot their health and pension benefits. He has degrees in philosophy and accounting from the University of Washington. Outside of work he is an avid cook, stationery nerd, and enjoys strategy tabletop games.
We’re excited to welcome James back!
AFT’s 2028 Convention Is Coming To Portland
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
At this year’s AFT Convention in Washington DC, AFT announced that their 2028 convention will be held in Portland, Oregon! Details are still being finalized, but this will be a great opportunity for locals to send delegates at a comparatively reduced cost of time and money.
The dates of the convention will be July 18-21, 2028, and the primary venue will be the Oregon Convention Center. More to come!
Powerful Locals 2026 And Beyond: We Need Your Help!
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
Due to the location of the 2028 AFT Convention, noted above, we are discussing Powerful Locals 2028 already, and we want to get your feedback and ideas on things that your local would benefit from and that could increase your local's participation.
When Powerful Locals went to a biennial model, in the alternating years from the AFT Washington convention, our reasoning was to honor the commitment that attending Convention in May and Powerful Locals in August could put on a local. It is also a way to explore ways of continuing to grow and update the training to keep it fresh for new and seasoned participants alike. Because of that, we don't relish the thought of cancelling 2028, but it's a big ask for locals to commit to an AFT Convention and Powerful Locals in the same few weeks.
That's where you come in. The feedback we’ve gotten from this year’s training is that we got a lot of things right (though not necessarily the water in P Dorm!). This year’s core track trainers were in particular praised, and we’re excited to explore the partnership with the newly-relaunched AFT Union Leadership Institute to keep bringing AFT’s expertise to AFT Washington’s locals. We'd like to make 2028 even more successful and more useful, so we want to hear from you!
Please send any suggestions, ideas, or requests to Cortney Marabetta at cmarabetta@aftwa.org.
Two Exciting Announcements About the AFT Washington/Barnard Iglitzin and Lavitt Scholarship!
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
We received some excellent applications for the scholarship this year! We are pleased to announce that David Arnesen, Allison Dorn, Chandler Powell, and Sunny Simmons are this year’s recipients – congratulations to each of them! Your goals are exciting, and we’re glad to be a small part of your journey.
The second announcement is that, in keeping with AFT Washington Resolution 2025-03, In Commemoration of Frank Chopp, we will be offering, starting in 2027, a Frank Chopp Memorial Scholarship with slightly different application qualifications. More information to come!
The 2026 WSLC Convention Resolutions
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
At the July convention of the Washington State Labor Council, a number of resolutions were passed that will guide the focus of the Washington state labor movement for the next year. You can review You can review all the finalized resolutions here.
Several resolutions were passed that directly impact AFT Washington members and support our legislative and labor goals. Resolution 2026.03 calls for support of a permanent COLA for PERS/TRS 1 plan members until a permanent COLA is passed. Resolution 2026.30 calls for several things that build a framework for workers to use AI as a supplemental technology, not be replaced by it, and was composed in part of a resolution brought by AFT Everett Local 1873.
Another resolution was brought by AFT Seattle Local 1789, which called for the Washington State Investment Board to divest pension funds from companies that profit off of human rights violations. The resolution was put on the table, and WSLC’s leadership committed to working with AFT Seattle and other interested sponsors to revise the resolution to one that can be passed later in this year.
Resolutions are a powerful tool for guiding our work and highlighting our values, and we’re pleased to have been able to contribute to the work!