I wanted to share with you some good news for Teamsters at the DOC regarding your 2015-2017 collective bargaining agreement. 

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) has declared our interest arbitration award financially feasible.  The Director of OFM, David Schumacher, made the announcement in a memo sent to Governor Inslee on December 5.

With its announcement, OFM has paved the way for the Governor to include our award in his operating budget, which is due to be released in the week of December 15.

You can view the financial components of our DOC interest arbitration award as compared with the contracts negotiated by other state employee here.

OFM’s determination represents an important first step in ensuring that the Legislature funds our award. 

There is still much work to be done, however. Leaders in both the House and Senate have already indicated that financial feasibility provides no guarantee:  All contracts will be subjected to intense scrutiny by the Legislature – some may be funded, others may not.

We must join together as one Union to educate the Legislature about the important work that we do in protecting the public and keeping our communities safe.

On January 27, Teamster correctional workers from across the State will converge on Olympia for our DOC Teamsters Lobby Day. I encourage you to attend the event so that we can get our contract funded and win the respect we deserve.

You can register for the event online here.