More good news from Olympia! The Washington State Legislature has fully funded our DOC collective bargaining agreement for the 2019-2021 biennium.

This means that the wage increases achieved in our DOC members' contract through our interest arbitration award are now guaranteed.

Under the award, all Teamster correctional employees will now receive no less than an 8% general wage increase over the next two years. 

The award calls for a general increase of 4% effective July 1, 2019 and a 4% increase effective July 1, 2020 for all classifications. In addition, a number of classifications will receive targeted range increases.

Teamsters 117 Secretary-Treasurer, John Scearcy, and Governor Inslee are expected to sign our contract in the middle of June. The contract will take effect on July 1, 2019.

Thank you to the members on our union's negotiations committee who put in many long hours to achieve a strong contract on behalf of all Teamsters at the DOC. Thank you also to so many of you who spoke directly with legislators about the critical nature of corrections work.

Congratulations on this accomplishment.

Governor Inslee signs a bill granting interest arbitration rights to Teamsters who work at the WA State Department of Corrections. 

It’s a victory a decade in the making.

For ten years, Teamsters across Washington State made phone calls, wrote emails, and met face-to-face with legislators. We rallied on the steps of the state house, spoke out in the press, and marched around the Capitol grounds in Olympia.

Now, after years of perseverance, we have achieved an historic win.

On April 30, Governor Inslee signed a bill that immeasurably expands the rights of 6,000 Teamsters at the Department of Corrections (DOC).

The new law grants our union access to interest arbitration, a right essential to public safety professionals and one that has been denied our members for decades. Making the victory even sweeter, Inslee signed a similar bill on the same day that benefits Teamster officers at the University of Washington Police Department (UWPD).

“Our corrections and law enforcement members put their lives on the line to protect the public,” said John Scearcy, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters 117, who made passage of the bills a top priority. “Interest arbitration ensures our members are treated with respect.”

"Interest arbitration ensures our members are treated with respect."

Interest arbitration is a complete game-changer when it comes to the power our union can leverage at the bargaining table. Without interest arbitration, we had little recourse when negotiating over issues like wages and working conditions. Not surprisingly, the State exploited its advantage by engaging in frustrating cycles of take-it-or-leave-it bargaining.

These new laws allow our union to push mandatory subjects of bargaining to a neutral arbitrator if we reach impasse in negotiations.

The ramifications are huge. Over the last three contract cycles, our DOC members have been able to access interest arbitration, first through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Governor, then through a negotiated provision in our contract. With interest arbitration, we have prevented concessions, strengthened language and increased wages for DOC Teamsters by a minimum of 28.3% over six years.

But from the start our goal has always been to codify interest arbitration into State law. “We wanted to ensure these rights could not be stripped away during negotiations, so we made statutory interest arbitration a long-term priority,” Scearcy said.

Getting to the goal wasn’t easy. Ross Hunter, the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee blocked early drafts of the bill. Later, the State Senate lacked the votes to pass the legislation. But thanks in part to our union’s powerhouse political program, the legislative landscape in Washington State shifted in 2018, creating an environment for change.  

 “We worked hard to elect legislators who were supportive and that approach paid off,” Scearcy said.  

Under Scearcy’s leadership, our union made another major push during this year’s legislative session. In 2019, we had our largest, most successful lobby day ever. Over 200 Teamsters and their families converged on the State Capitol to talk with legislators about the need to get the law passed.

Now, after years of determination and hard work, a goal once thought unattainable has become a reality.

“I’m proud to be a Teamster,” said James Deuel, a corrections officer at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton. “Interest arbitration levels the playing field with management. It gives us the opportunity to fight for what we want and what we need.”

This Tuesday is truly a momentous day for our corrections and law enforcement members.

At 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, Governor Inslee will sign into law bills granting statutory interest arbitration rights for our members at the Department of Corrections and University of Washington Police Department (SB 5021/SB 5022). At the same ceremony, the Governor will also sign a bill that restores the right for trained DOC personnel to carry a concealed weapon (HB 1589).

We will be gathering outside of the Governor's office on Tuesday starting at 1:30 p.m. All members are encouraged to attend this event and join in celebrating this extraordinary accomplishment.

Interest arbitration increases our power and leverage in contract negotiations. Without interest arbitration, we had little recourse when bargaining with the State over issues like wages and working conditions. 

With this new law, we will be able to take mandatory subjects of bargaining to a neutral third-party arbitrator if we reach impasse in negotiations. 

Over the next several weeks, we have a number of activities planned to celebrate this win. We will be sending thank you cards to the legislators who supported our bills and recognizing the bill sponsors and other key legislators at our June membership meeting and our summer DOC barbecues.

We are also creating a commemorative pin to recognize the hard work so many of you put in to pass this legislation. 

Congratulations and thank you to everyone on this historic achievement. After a decade-long effort in the Washington State Legislature to expand the rights of Local 117 members, our moment of victory is close at hand.

On Friday, the State House and Senate finalized the legislation for our Department of Corrections (DOC) and University of Washington Police Department (UWPD) interest arbitration bills (SB 5021/SB 5022). This clears the way for both bills to be sent to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

The Governor has indicated that he is supportive of the bills, and we expect he will sign them into law in the coming weeks. As soon as we have a date for the bill signing ceremony, we will let you know and encourage you to attend this historic event.

It’s hard to express the magnitude of this victory. We’ve been working as a union for nearly a decade to achieve statutory interest arbitration rights. Now the finish line is close at hand.

Interest arbitration is a complete game-changer when it comes to the power we leverage in contract negotiations. Without interest arbitration, we had little recourse when bargaining with the State over issues like wages and working conditions. 

It’s hard to express the magnitude of this victory.

With this new law, we will be able to push mandatory subjects of bargaining to a neutral third-party arbitrator if we reach impasse in negotiations. 

The ramifications are huge. Over the last three contract cycles we’ve been able to access interest arbitration rights at the DOC, first through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Governor, then through a negotiated provision in our contract. Because of interest arbitration, we’ve succeeded in increasing wages for DOC Teamsters by 28.3% over six years. 

But from the start our goal has always been to codify these rights into State law, which is exactly what these bills will do. Once they become law, we will have increased our strength to negotiate higher wages and better working conditions for all of you who risk your lives to serve and protect our communities.

Thanks again for your tremendous work toward this victory. By standing together and committing to each other, we’ve succeeded in achieving critical rights that will improve the lives of 6,000 members and their families.

We have lots of great news to share from Olympia!

On Saturday, our interest arbitration bill (SB 5021) for Teamsters at the DOC cleared yet another critical hurdle when it passed out of the House Appropriations committee on a vote of 26-6.

The bill has now successfully passed out of all of its fiscal and policy committees in the House of Representatives and is in the House Rules Committee awaiting a vote on the House floor.  Passage in the House is the final step before the bill gets sent to the Governor for his signature.

Interest arbitration is important because it levels the playing field when we are in negotiations with the State. With interest arbitration, we can take mandatory subjects of bargaining to a neutral third-party arbitrator if we reach impasse in negotiations.

In more good news from Olympia, our bill (HB 1589) that restores the right for trained DOC personnel to carry a concealed weapon is in the Senate Rules Committee and requires only a Senate floor vote and the Governor’s signature to secure passage.

Our other top priority is to ensure that our DOC contract gets funded. On that front, things are looking promising as well.  While budget negotiations are ongoing, both the House and the Senate have included funding for our collective bargaining agreement in their budgets.

This is all fantastic news. Our collective voice as Teamsters this legislative session has been incredibly strong and made a tremendous impact.  Thank you for working so hard to make sure legislators hear our voice and to build a strong political program that makes these kinds of victories possible.

DOC Teamsters rally on the Capitol steps in Olympia after their visits with legislators.

More good news from Olympia. Our bill (HB 1589) that restores the right for trained DOC personnel to carry a concealed weapon unanimously passed out of the State House of Representatives yesterday on a vote of 97-0. 

HB 1589 corrects problems with the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act that would have required DOC employees to pay for and undergo an additional background check in order to carry their concealed weapons in WA state. 

The bill ensures corrections personnel are eligible to carry a concealed weapon so long as they have received weapons training and a background check performed by the Department in the last five years.

The change in the law is needed because a problem with the existing statute invalidated our DOC Peace Officer Identification Cards.

We have not crossed the finish line yet - we still need a majority of Senators to approve the bill and a signature from the Governor, but this is a critical step toward achieving our goal.

Thank you to everyone who spoke with their legislators on this critical issue. Please consider sending your State Representatives an email thanking them for their support. 

We have fantastic news from Olympia tonight. Our bill (SB 5021) granting interest arbitration rights to Teamsters who work at the Washington State Department of Corrections passed unanimously out of the Senate. 

This is a major victory for DOC Teamsters who have been fighting for statutory interest arbitration since 2010. It is also a testament to all of the members and their families who met with their legislators last week at our Lobby Day event.

Clearly, your voice made a tremendous impact. We still need a majority of representatives in the House to vote in favor of the legislation and a signature from the Governor, but passage in the Senate puts us a huge step closer to achieving our goal.

If you met with your State Senator last week and asked them to support interest arbitration for DOC, please send an email thanking them for their support. 

Interest arbitration levels the playing field for union members working in public safety professions who don't have the ability to strike. It allows us to take mandatory subjects of bargaining to a neutral third-party arbitrator if we reach impasse with the State in contract negotiations. 

Employees of other public safety agencies such as the Washington State Patrol and county corrections have access to interest arbitration. Now is the time to win interest arbitration for our members working in corrections and at the University of Washington Police Department.

A show of force on the Capitol steps in Olympia: DOC Teamsters fight for higher pay and interest arbitration.

Teamster corrections employees rallied in Olympia on Wednesday to push for safer workplaces and safer communities. 

The group of more than 175 members and their families met with legislators throughout the day as part of our annual Lobby Day. The event culminated on the steps of the State Capitol with members holding signs that read, "Invest in Corrections Employees" and "Public Safety, Public Service".

"It's a great day to be a Teamster," said Samuel Coleman, a correctional officer at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton who spoke at the rally. "We're here today to fight for safety, interest arbitration, and higher pay."

"We're here today to fight for safety, interest arbitration, and higher pay."

Members called on lawmakers to fund the Department of Corrections (DOC) and University of Washington Police Department (UWPD) contracts and to pass legislation granting interest arbitration rights to both groups.

Interest arbitration will level the playing field in negotiations, improve staff safety, and ensure that these employees are fairly compensated. It gives them access to the same rights as other public safety personnel, such as the Washington State Patrol and county police, corrections, and firefighters. 

Funding the DOC and UWPD contracts will create greater equity and boost morale. It will also help with recruitment and retention, which leads to more experienced staff and a safer working environment. 

"Teamster corrections employees and officers at the UWPD serve and protect all of us," said John Scearcy, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 117. "The State needs to invest in the men and women who put their lives on the line to keep us safe. That starts with funding the DOC and UWPD contracts and passing interest arbitration for both groups." 

Thank you to all of the members who participated in this year's Lobby Day. Special thanks to Officer Samuel Coleman, Carrie Hesch, a recreational specialist at WCCW, and Lynn Kunkle, a registered nurse at MCC, for speaking so powerfully at the rally. 

Please be sure to call the Legislative Hotline in Olympia at 1-800-562-6000 and tell your legislators to fund our DOC and UWPD contracts, pass interest arbitration, and restore the right of trained DOC personnel to carry a concealed weapon. Your voice makes all the difference!

SEE PHOTOS FROM OUR LOBBY DAY HERE

Next week, Teamsters from across the state will be converging on Olympia for our 2019 Legislative Reception and Lobby Day. Over 200 members have registered to join us for the event on February 26-27.

It's shaping up to be another incredible demonstration of Teamster unity, power, and purpose as we meet with legislators to discuss our legislative priorities.

If you are registered and unable to attend, please reach out to Political Director Dustin Lambro right away. You can call him at 206-794-2606 if you need to cancel.

Our Teamsters Lobby Day event starts with a dinner on Tuesday, February 26 at 7:30pm at the RL Hotel in Olympia. Accommodations will be provided for all registered members on the night of February 26.

On the morning of February 27, we will have a lobby training and breakfast before heading over to the Capitol for our appointments with legislators. 

Participating members will be receiving a confirmation letter with logistical information and our legislative priorities in the mail prior to the event. All of the information contained in the materials sent to your home, including info about our 2019 legislative agenda, transportation, the hotel, the training, attire, food, and appointments with legislators is available below:

• Lobby Day Confirmation Letter
• 2019 Legislative Priorities
• Lobby Day Agenda

This year we will be discussing the following issues with legislators:

• Funding our 2019-2021 collective bargaining agreement
• Passing statutory interest arbitration
• Fixing the concealed carry law for weapons-trained DOC members

If you have questions, please contact your union representative or feel free to reach out to Dustin at 206-794-2606. Remember if you need to cancel, please contact Dustin right away so that we can make the necessary arrangements.

Thanks so much! Looking forward to seeing you on February 26-27 in Olympia.

The spring issue of our Guardian newsletter for Teamsters at the DOC is hot off the press!

In this issue, you'll find an overview of our goals for the 2019 legislative session in Olympia as well as the status of the bills we are tracking. 

Other highlights include a tribute to Richard Coleman, an officer at the Washington State Penitentiary, who is retiring this month as well as the announcement of Legislative Director Brenda Wiest as the new Vice President of our Union's Executive Board. 

You can view the new Guardian online here. Print copies will be distributed over the next few weeks by a committee of shop stewards and member leaders.

If you would like to volunteer to help distribute the Guardian or have an article to contribute, please reach out to your Union Representative.