**Lee esto en español** ~ **Af-Soomaali ku akhri arrintan**
SEIU 925 is 19,000 members statewide, united across education and public service. We are bus drivers, child care providers, health care professionals, public defenders, paraeducators, custodians, administrative support personnel, and more. We call on our elected leaders to fund our union contracts, protect our union rights, and ensure that all families have a place to call home.
Protect Workers Organizing Unions
Modernize PERC practices: In 2024, we sign many things electronically – to pay for dinner, lease a new apartment, or accept a new job. Digital signatures are legally binding in most settings, but in Washington, public sector workers cannot join a union electronically. The Legislature should allow PERC to use digital signatures for purposes of establishing union recognition.
The Employee Free Choice Act: Workers in Washington have a legal right to form a union free from employer interference. But employers use mandatory meetings to coercively imply that a union may lead to layoffs, loss of benefits, violating the law. SB 5778 would level the playing field for workers by making these meetings voluntary and prescribing civil penalties for violations.
Expand Access to Child Care
All children should get to play and learn with peers, while parents can go to work and provide for their families. This is only possible when child care is affordable and accessible to everyone. Through robust public funding, a family would pay no more than 7% of their income for child care, and educators will earn living wages with benefits. The Legislature should increase funding to raise wages and expand access, while graduating new providers and streamlining complex systems.
Fund Competitive Wages for Education Support Professionals
Thriving schools for Washington’s students are only possible when all school staff positions, from bus drivers, and custodians to nutrition services and paraeducators are adequately funded. Chronic shortages and constant turnover in these critical roles are symptoms of low pay resulting from lack of state funding. No education professional should earn wages that qualify their families for free or reduced-price lunches or other social safety net programs. The Legislature must fund additional classified staff positions and increase compensation for the lowest paid staff in schools.
Ensure Homes for All
Washington has made important steps forward in the last years to address our housing shortages. But tenants particularly are left behind in this work. The Legislature should:
- Require longer notice of rent increases
- Prevent abuses of damage deposits
- Create a landlord registry so tenants have better data to make housing decisions
- Enforce existing tenant protections