Michelle Woodrow, President and Director of Corrections and Law Enforcement of Teamsters Local 117. 

Late Tuesday night, Michelle Woodrow, our President and Director of Corrections and Law Enforcement, testified before the Senate Ways and Means Committee on how the Senate's recent operating budget proposal would impact members of Teamsters Local 117.

You can read Michelle's testimony in its entirety below. You can also watch her testimony on TVW here. 

Good evening Chair Braun and committee members. My name is Michelle Woodrow and I am the President at Teamsters Local 117.

On behalf of the Teamsters at Dept. of Corrections, we’d like to thank you for funding the portion of our master labor agreement that covers Dept. of Corrections. Our members keep our communities safe and it is imperative that we continue to invest in them. With that, please consider adding a proviso that would fund an external staffing model audit. Again, thank you for funding their contract but there is more work to be done.

Unfortunately, the budget ignores other vital services performed by WA State employees and fails to fund all of the collective bargaining agreements.

Our officers at the University of WA Police Department also play a vital role in public safety, yet you’ve failed to recognize that. Rejecting their contract and offering them five hundred dollars per year over the biennium is irresponsible.

Additionally, you’ve created a provision that ceases state funding of the LEOFF 2 retirement system, negatively impacting first responders and the communities they serve by shifting the burden of funding the pension system to local governments. These men and women put their lives on the line every day and we should ensure they have a funded retirement system.

Again, I want to thank you for funding the Dept. of Corrections portion of our master labor agreement, but at the same time point out that your other budget provisions cause damage to state workers, first responders, families, and vital services our state provides.

I respectfully request that you reconsider the position you’ve taken and fund ALL collective bargaining agreements. Thank you.