WA state workers slam furloughs, other pay cut plans, claiming they are a ‘tax on state employees'

Yahoo

22-03-2025

Just after noon Thursday, a handful of staff trickled out of the Attorney General's Office in Olympia, holding signs in the light rain.
'No cuts. No furloughs,' their placards read. 'We serve Washington.'
Jonathan Pitel, an assistant attorney general, said his office spends lots of time and energy safeguarding civil and consumers' rights. But as the state faces a deep budget deficit, Pitel and other attorneys and professional staff at the office staged a walkout to sound the alarm about the impact of possible budget cuts and furloughs.
'Protecting children, removing them from vulnerable settings, protecting vulnerable adults, is not a matter of fiscal obligation,' Pitel said March 20. 'It's a matter of the moral obligation of protecting Washingtonians.'
Similar walkouts cropped up at Attorney General's Offices statewide, including in Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Everett and Tumwater. More than 800 attorneys and 840 professional staff would feel the effects of proposed furloughs and budget reductions, according to a news release announcing the events.
The walkouts were responding to Gov. Bob Ferguson's proposal to impose one-day-a-month furloughs over two years for state employees. That hasn't sat well with state workers, some of whom feel betrayed by a man they helped elect.
Kim Triplett-Kolerich, president of the Local 795 union representing professional staff at the Attorney General's Office, told McClatchy that one furlough day per month for two years would equate to nearly an entire month without pay.
Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement that there's 'a long way to go until the budget is finalized.'
'I am hopeful the legislature can balance the budget without furloughing state workers and cutting funding to vital programs that Washingtonians depend on,' he said.
Washington leaders are scrambling to figure out how to fix the state's budget shortfall.
During a press conference late last month, Ferguson rolled out the controversial furlough idea, prompting blowback from state workers. But in a statement provided to McClatchy, the governor remained adamant that he appreciates the important work such employees provide.
'I value their feedback on our budget situation,' the governor continued, 'and welcome any thoughts they have on how we can close the $16 billion budget shortfall I've inherited as a new governor.'
Mike Yestramski, president of the Washington Federation of State Employees, said if the furloughs are enacted, they'd cancel out the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated last year with then-Gov. Jay Inslee's administration. Ferguson has said he would honor the CBAs, but once-a-month furlough days over the next two years would save the state some $300 million.
Certain workers would be excluded from the furloughs, including prison staff and state troopers.
'When they say they're going to fund the CBAs, but they're also going to do furloughs, then that's lip service because the net is unchanged,' Yestramski told McClatchy.
Yestramski said the state already has trouble recruiting and retaining state employees. Most of the state's workforce wages and salaries are 'significantly behind market as is.'
Public employees do their jobs because they care about their communities, Yestramski said. It's why he decided to be a social worker.
On the gubernatorial campaign trail, Ferguson promised labor leaders he would support working people in his decisions, Yestramski said. That Ferguson has seemed unwilling to impose higher taxes on the state's wealthiest residents is disappointing to Yestramski, who pointed out that Washington has the 49th most regressive tax system in the U.S., placing more of a tax burden on low-income residents than their wealthier counterparts.
'I mean, a furlough is a tax on state employees,' Yestramski said. 'That's just very — it's very disheartening.'
Senate Republicans unveiled their own budget proposal earlier this month, one that wouldn't raise taxes.
The minority party's plan also would forego pay raises for state employees, said state Sen. Chris Gildon, the Senate Republican budget leader, but it would include $5,000 bonuses for state workers, which Gildon said would pencil out better for those making $80,000 or less.
Gildon told McClatchy that there isn't a way to balance the budget while giving state employees the $4 billion in pay raises negotiated under Inslee.
'The budget is a matter of priorities, and this is a choice of priority, right?' he said. 'Do you prioritize giving pay raises to state employees who right now make, in 38 of our 39 counties, they make more than your neighbors in the private sector? … Or do you value maintaining affordability for every citizen in Washington state?'
Deputy Senate Majority Leader Manka Dhingra said during a recent media availability that she is disappointed to see Republican lawmakers take aim at state employees — similar to how the new federal administration has treated federal workers.
'These are people who serve our communities, who provide services and support to each and every one of us,' the Redmond Democrat said. 'And to really have them suffer because they can't have their affordability issues met, just because they work in service to our government, I think is blatantly unfair.'
Both Senate and House Democrats are gearing up to unveil their budget plans early next week. Yestramski, for one, will be watching.
Furloughs would be felt by Washingtonians statewide, he said, including via longer lines to renew drivers licenses or stalled-out road repairs.
'The reality is, if these austerity measures get put into place,' Yestramski said, 'it's not just going to harm state employees, but it is, in fact, going to harm everyone in the state.'