The results are in! Teamsters at DOC have voted by an overwhelming margin to reject the State’s Last, Best, and Final proposal over our 2025-2027 collective bargaining agreement.

The final vote results are as follows:

• 97.2% (2795) voted to REJECT the State’s offer.
• 2.8% (82) voted to ACCEPT the State's offer

With well over half of the DOC membership casting a ballot, this contract vote has one of the highest voter participation rates ever. Thank you to everyone who exercised their right to vote!

Clearly, the membership found the State’s proposal to increase wages by 2% in 2025 and 0% in 2026 insultingly low. The vote to reject the proposal means that we will present our argument for higher wages before a neutral, third-party arbitrator in a hearing scheduled to start this Thursday, August 22, 2024. 

The interest arbitration hearing will be held over the course of seven days. At the hearing, we will  be calling on members of the bargaining unit to testify as we make our case before the arbitrator. 

The arbitrator will listen to evidence on both sides and issue a decision on general wage increases and other economic elements of our contract by the end of September. As soon as we hear from the arbitrator, we will let you know. 

No matter what the arbitrator decides, we will need to make sure that the award is fully funded by the State legislature during the next legislative session in Olympia. This will require strong participation at our annual Lobby Day event. Stay tuned for information about how you can participate in this important event!

Thanks again to the incredible work of our Union Negotiations Committee.