Washington Attorney General's staff walks out Thursday
Washington State Attorney General's Office staff walked out on Thursday in protest against proposed financial cuts and furloughs by Governor Bob Ferguson.
The walkout, held in partnership by two local unions, took place at offices in Seattle, Olympia, Tacoma and Spokane.
SEATTLE - Staff from the Washington State Attorney General's Office participated in a walkout on Thursday, bringing attention to the impacts of proposed financial cuts and furloughs.
What we know
The walkout was held in partnership with two unions, including the Washington State Attorney General's Office Professional Staff Local 795 and theWashington Assistant Attorneys General Union Local 5279.
Those in attendance held signs and chanted against Governor Bob Ferguson's recommended budget cuts of about $4 billion.
"So we're hoping that every legislator understands that the work of the Attorney General's office, which a lot of people I understand don't know, so we need to advocate for ourselves, but the work that we do is to keep criminals behind bars, put them there, and the civil rights and everything that's coming from the other Washington that right now we're having to defend for our Washingtonians' safety and security," said Kim Triplett-Kolerich with WFSE Local 795.
The cuts, in an attempt to reduce the state's multi-billion-dollar deficit, include:
Making most state employees take a furlough day every month over the next two years
Reductions to government travel, property expenses and non-vital operations
Reviewing and scaling back new spending and program expansions
The walkouts took place outside every attorney general's office in Washington state, including in Seattle, Olympia, Tacoma and Spokane.
Organizers encouraged people to contact their local state representative to ensure their voices and concerns about the cuts are being heard.
The Source
Information in this story is from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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