Congratulations to Teamsters at the Department of Corrections on your new contract.
Thanks to our outstanding union negotiation committee and the power of interest arbitration, we have made incredible gains for WA state corrections employees. When negotiations started, the State was demanding a 3% wage reduction and threatening layoffs of staff they deemed "non-essential".
Through our team's tough negotiations and the interest arbitration process, we turned a 3% decrease into a 4% wage increase and a $1500 bonus for all members effective July 1, 2022. We also achieved targeted range increases for 57 classifications, with a 19% increase for some of our lowest paid members.
This is the power of having a strong union.
We can trace our increased leverage in negotiations back over a decade ago. That's when our union made a strategic decision to fight for interest arbitration rights as a means to raise wages and improve working conditions at the DOC. In 2019, thanks to Teamsters 117 members who engaged in legislative efforts, we achieved that long-term goal through the passage of a new state law.
Interest arbitration has been a complete game-changer when it comes to our power at the bargaining table. With interest arbitration, we have prevented concessions, strengthened contract language, and increased wages for every DOC Teamster by a minimum of 32.3% over eight years. For many classifications, the increases have been much higher.
INTEREST ARBITRATION MEETINGS
Please join members of our union negotiation committee to learn more about our new contract at the DOC, the interest arbitration award, and the negotiations process. We will be holding Interest Arbitration Award meetings on Wednesday, October 6 at 0700, 0800, 1100, and 1800.
To register, please click on one of the links below:
- Wednesday, October 6 at 0700
- Wednesday, October 6 at 0800
- Wednesday, October 6 at 1100
- Wednesday, October 6 at 1800
As we look ahead, we still have work to do together. We will need to meet with legislators during the 2022 legislative session about funding our interest arbitration award, and we will be heading into contract negotiations in May of 2022. As we work toward new goals, we urge you to stand together with your co-workers, defend your union, get engaged, and always have each other's backs. Together, we will continue to accomplish great things.
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