Washington state workers voice opposition to proposed budget cuts

A state budget deficit is normally nothing to sing about. But, workers with the Washington Federation of State Employees have turned their frustration over potential budget cuts into a song, “Washington For All.” 

The refrain, “Washington’s for all, not just for the rich,” evokes the union’s stance that instead of making cuts to state services and workers, lawmakers should increase taxes on Washington’s wealthiest residents. 

The songwriters, Charles Loeffler and Joshua Eaton, joined hundreds of other labor union members to rally against proposed budget cuts at the Capitol in Olympia on Wednesday.

“ We’re out here today because we’re facing a threat of furloughs and cuts to our programs that we do to serve the state of Washington,” Loeffler said.

Members of the Washington Federation of State Employees, the Washington Public Employees Association and other unions rallied with signs that read, “No furloughs! Tax the rich!”

Workers hold us signs with their asks of lawmakers — tax the rich — at a rally in the state capital. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

Workers are voicing concerns with proposed budget cuts to deal with an anticipated over $15 billion deficit in the next budget cycle for the state. Proposals include furloughing state workers and increasing their health care premiums. 

Those are cuts that some workers say they won’t stand for.

“ We appreciate the awesome task that the legislature and the governor face with this budget deficit,” said Dan Hsieh, who serves as assistant attorney general for the state. “But history has shown us that cuts and furloughs actually do long-term harm to the economies, to state employees, especially for recruitment and retention, so it was bewildering at best.” 

Hsieh said Gov. Bob Ferguson likes to tout his track record of winning cases against policies in the first Donald Trump administration —

“ So that’s why we were very disheartened and very disappointed when one of his first budget priorities was to defund a lot of the divisions that do that work,” said Hshieh, who is also president of the Washington Federation of State Employees Local 5297. 

Ferguson asked most state agencies to reduce budgets by at least 6% in January.  

At the time of publication, Ferguson’s office had not responded to requests for comment. 

Labor union members wave at supportive drivers at their rally on Wednesday. Workers are trying to ensure state services aren’t impacted by budget cuts. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

Ashley Stein is vice president of the Washington Federation of State Employees which represents over 40,000 workers. Labor unions are calling on lawmakers to balance the budget by increasing tax revenue. 

“ I think they’re not listening,” Stein said of lawmakers. “We’ve been told that they put us first, right? They have this mindset of the worker and the vulnerable citizen. But we see time and time again that they just don’t live those values.”

Jozi Uebelhoer, a social worker with the state Department of Children, Youth and Families and member of the Washington Federation of State Employees Local 889, was at the rally. Uebelhoer said she wants to see the state implement a wealth tax. 

“We need to build a real fight back to stop these cuts and tax the rich in our state so that we can fully fund Washington and not have to live in this austerity every budget cycle,” Uebelhoer said. 

Jozi Uebelhoer, a social worker with the state Department of Children, Youth and Families and member of the Washington Federation of State Employees Local 889, holds up rally signs. Uebelhoer said she wants lawmakers to establish a wealth tax. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

Amanda Hacker is president of the Washington Public Employees Association, which has over 5,000 bargaining members across the state.

It’s not just the impacts of possible furloughs that Hacker is worried about. 

“ We’re regularly agreeing to contracts that do not meet or exceed inflation, which means our members are losing buying power,” Hacker said. “As far as I can tell, the state’s answer when there’s a budget crisis is to continue to underfund classified staff and to cut at that level, and I just don’t think we have any more to cut.”

Ferguson has said he won’t support a budget that includes a wealth tax and this week, Washington state Sen. Jamie Pedersen said lawmakers will likely not propose a budget with one. 

“It’s incredibly outrageous and outright stupid. I can’t imagine any scenario in which you are faced with trying to balance a budget and not looking for more revenue streams,” said Ryan Schmautz, a Washington Federation of State Employees member who works at the Department of Labor and Industries.

Schmautz said his department is looking at potentially hundreds of job cuts.

“ I appreciate my job. What’s unfortunate is that I don’t know how appreciated we actually feel in this moment,” Schmautz said.

Labor unions, including the Washington Federation of State Employees and the Washington Public Employees Association, endorsed Ferguson in his run for governor. 

“ They say that they’re friends of labor. They’re not listening to us now. That’s why we’re out here,” Schmautz said. “It’s gotten to the point where we feel compelled to force our voice to be heard in a way that hopefully they’ll understand.”

Ferguson sent budget writers back to the drawing board to work on proposals last week. The legislative session ends on April 27, so workers have until then to vote on a budget – or go into a special session afterward.