Washington State Employee 9/2015

8/20/2019 Washington State Employee 9/2015

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The ofcial newspaper of the

WASHINGTON FEDERATION OF STATE

EMPLOYEES/AFSCME Council 28•AFL-CIO

VOL. 43 NO. 7

SEPTEMBER 2015Got student debt? We’ve got some relief.

See page 4.

Eliga Sacks, a member of Local 793 at the Special Commitment Center on

McNeil Island, was honored July 11 at WFSE/AFSCME’s summer Policy

Committee meeting for completing the most member-to-member assessments

as part of the Federation’s comprehensive “AFSCME Strong” effort to

strengthen our movement and defend our hard-won rights.

The union’s Internal Organizing Committee honored Sacks with a gift basket.

The committee periodically recognizes top volunteers who are making a

difference in this two-way effort to keep members informed, involved and

invested in this movement.

More on our grassroots “AFSCME Strong” efforts and how you can takepart: http://wfse.org/get-involved/afscme-strong/

Eliga Sacks latest “AFSCME Strong” honoree

Tacoma-Pierce County State Employees Local 53 members recently volun-

teered to work the phones at Tacoma’s KBTC public television fund raiser:

Sean Florance, Bradford Samples, Jessica Tomkins and Paul Zurek.

Local 53 members:

Public Service Matters in the community

State

Employee

WASHINGTON

Help & HeroesAt press time Aug. 26, the wildres in the OkanoganComplex had spread to more than 400 square miles, thelargest ever inferno in state history. And that was just

one of the res in Eastern Washington.

The union is about standing together and not walking

alone. And now is that time to help and honor. P h o t o c o u r t e s y W a s h i n g t o n N a t i o n a l G u a r d

Assistance for WFSE/AFSCME members in the wildrezones.

WFSE/AFSCME members who have lost property orpossessions because of the Eastern Washington wildrescan apply to the union’s Foundation for Working Familiesfund for support.

The Foundation for Working Families is a hardship and disasterrelief program overseen by the Washington State Labor Council(WSLC). Learn more and download applications at

http://wfse.org/foundation-for-working-families/

Donations needed: Locals and members are encouraged to

donate to the Foundation for Working Families to help this effort.

Send checks made out to the Foundation for WorkingFamilies to:

Foundation for Working Families, c/o Sue Keller, 1212Jefferson St. S.E., Suite 300, Olympia, WA 98501

HELP If you’re in the wildre zones, we need to hear your stories.Plus, if there are heroes risking their lives for you that you wantto recognize – the reghters, other rst-responders, WFSE/ AFSCME members extending the safety net – let us know. Sendphotos to us at [email protected].

It’s important that we acknowledge, recognize and honorFederation members on the frontlines ghting the res andhelping those in the wildre zone cope and rebuild.

We’ve set up a special form online where you can tell your storyand recognize the heroes who are saving the huge swath of ourstate devastated by these record wildres.

http://wfse.org/wa-wildres/

HEROES

wfse.org 1-800-562-6002


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Page 2 WFSE/AFSCME Washington State Employee September 2015

StateEmployeeWashington State Employee (USPS 981-

200) is published monthly, except Februaryand July, for $5.08 per year by the Washing-ton Federation of State Employees/AFSCMECouncil 28 • AFL-CIO, 1212 Jefferson St. S.E.Suite 300, Olympia, WA 98501. Afliated withthe American Federation of State, Countyand Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and theWashington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Periodicals postage paid at Olympia, WAand at additional ofces. Circulation:42,000.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes toWashington State Employee, 1212 JeffersonSt SE Suite 300 Olympia WA 98501- 7501

Sue Henricksen, President

Greg Devereux, Executive Director

Editor Tim Welche-mail: [email protected] • Internet: www.wfse.orgMember, ILCA

WASHINGTON

ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OPTION. If you’d like to save paper and postage, you can receive this newspaper electronically. Go to www.wfse.org and hoverover NEWS & INFO, located in the top menu bar. Select from the drop-down list: WASHINGTON STATE EMPLOYEE - Newspaper. Use the formon this page to register for the electronic version. Or e-mail us at [email protected], or write: WFSE/AFSCME, 1212 Jefferson St. S.E., Suite 300,Olympia, WA 98501. If you’re a represented non-member fee payer and you don’t wish to receive this publication in any format, e-mail us at con- [email protected], or write: WFSE/AFSCME, 1212 Jefferson St. S.E., Suite 300, Olympia, WA 98501.

WFSE/AFSCME JOB OPENINGSWFSE/AFSCME job openings:

Labor Advocate(Olympia Headquarters)

http://wfse.org/recruitment-labor-advocate/

This position is the eld “technical expert” of the Washington Federation of StateEmployees (WFSE), AFSCME, Council 28. These staff are primarily responsiblefor grievance arbitrations and contract and mid-term negotiations. Advocate/

negotiators perform advanced representational work for the organization. Rep-resent the WFSE in presentation of grievances to Pre-Arbitration Review Meet-ings (PARM) or Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) mediation;represent WFSE in all aspects of grievance arbitration for disciplinary and non-disciplinary cases including selection of arbitrators, obtaining evidence, conduct-ing research, preparation of pleadings, oral presentation of the case, brief writing,and possible settlement agreements; investigates and assists in the preparationand presentation of grievance-related Unfair Labor Practice complaints beforethe PERC; attends and presents representational matters related to PersonnelResources Board (PRB) hearings; represents WFSE in agency-wide Union Man-agement Communication Committee meetings; acts as Chief Negotiator in bien-nial contract negotiations and represent WFSE in mid-term mandatory subjectsnegotiations with full decision-making authority.

Desired Minimum Qualications: Graduation from an accredited four-yearcollege or university with relevant course work in labor relations, law, social sci-ences or allied eld. Substantial paid work experience in related eld may be

substituted for education. Knowledge of principles and procedures of negotiation,arbitration, and administrative hearings; working knowledge of general manage-ment principles, state and federal laws related to labor and public employment,and Washington Administrative Codes. Outstanding oral and written advocacyskills; excellent judgment and discretion, ability to compare and evaluate possiblecourses of action, interests of members, and the WFSE’s strategic goals. Abil-ity to prioritize work; evaluate and solve problems; work independently and as ateam; be reliable in completing work and meeting deadlines is critical. Must havea valid driver’s license, use of personal vehicle, and valid vehicle insurance.Release of driving record required prior to interview for in-state candidates.Out of State candidates must provide a copy of their drive record at the timeof interview. Position is permanent, full-time, overtime exempt, and often requireswork beyond a 40-hour work week. Includes an excellent benets package. Sal-ary is $70,215 to $83,677 annually. Open until 5 p.m. Friday, September 18,2015.

Send cover letter clearly indicating the position you wish to apply for, andyour resume to:

Kathy Andruss, HR Director1212 Jefferson St. SE, Suite 300Olympia, WA 98501OR e-mail to: [email protected] FAX to: 360-705-9493

Union Organizers(Internal Organizing)

http://wfse.org/recruitment-union-organizers/

The Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) is recruiting to ll upto four positions with experienced Organizers committed to helping workers win

social and economic justice by organizing and strengthening our union in theworkplace. These are non-permanent, temporary appointments lasting for oversix months in duration and may be assigned statewide.

These positions will be focused on internal organizing, recruiting and buildingteams of activists; conducting one-on-one’s and union visibility events; preparingcampaign literature, holding workplace union meetings, running issue and directaction campaigns; strengthening union membership and leadership; helping unionmembers build a stronger and more effective union in the workplace.

WFSE Organizers are responsible for all aspects of an organizing campaignincluding talking one-on-one with workers at work sites and in their homes,recruiting and developing member activists, research campaign prep, house calls,

people• Have a passion for social and economic justice• Ability to work long hours, including possible evenings and weekends and

travel throughout the state• Can work independently and have strong record keeping and organizational

skills

The successful candidate must be able to empathize and build relationshipswith members in many sectors including social service jobs, childcare, lawenforcement, higher education, technical IT, regulatory, and general state service

positions. They must be comfortable talking to low wage and professionalworkers in a variety of settings. Required to be a member of OPEIU/Local 8.

Must have a valid driver’s license, use of personal vehicle, and valid vehicleinsurance. Release of driving record required prior to interview. Out ofstate candidates must provide drive record at the time of interview. Benetsinclude medical/dental, life, and Long Term Disability insurance, annual and sickleave, $150 cell phone allowance and mileage reimbursement. Salary will bedetermined commensurate with experience. Open until 5 p.m. on September18, 2015.

Send cover letter and resume to:

Kathy Andruss, HR DirectorWashington Federation of State Employees1212 Jefferson St. S.E., Suite 300Olympia, WA 98501

OR e-mail to: [email protected] Fax to: 360-705-9493

Maintenance Custodian (Part-time)http://wfse.org/recruitment-maintenance-custodian/

The Washington Federation of State Employees is recruiting for a permanent half-time Maintenance Custodian. The duties include:

Performs a variety of custodial and maintenance work in the Federation’s OlympiaHeadquarters Building.

• Sweeps, mops, scrubs and/or waxes oors, cleans walls and other surfaces;dusts furniture and equipment; empties and cleans wastebaskets and recyclecontainers, empties and cleans outside ash trays; washes interior windows;vacuums carpets

• Cleans and sanitizes restrooms, shower; supplies paper towels, soap, tissueand other items

• Collects and disposes of garbage and trash• Set up and tear down tables and chairs in conference rooms• Maintains inventories of supplies and is responsible for ordering needed

supplies

• Responsible for locking interior ofce and exterior doors and securing thebuilding at the end of shift.

• Performs light maintenance such as: replacing overhead lights, paint touchup, replacing switches, unplugging toilets and sinks, xing faucets, and puttingtogether bookcases, shelving, desks, etc. when needed

Desirable Qualications:

• One year as a Maintenance custodian or equivalent in a professional ofcebuilding environment

• Physical ability to do the work; bend, stoop, crawl on hands and knees, climb aladder• Must be able to lift and carry up to 75 lbs. and be able to toss heavy garbagebags over head into a dumpster• Knowledge of and experience in electrical and plumbing is a must• Ability to read and decipher instructions• Ability to work independently and maintain condentiality is crucial to this job• Computer knowledge is desirable

Please Note: Your cover letter and resume must be specic to thequalications listed above.

Must have a valid driver’s license, use of personal vehicle, and validvehicle insurance. Release of driving record required prior to interview. Abackground check will be completed prior to job offer. Position is part timeand is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. There may betimes, due to operational necessity, that the work schedule may include day time

hours. Includes an excellent benet package with a salary of $17.62 per hour.

The recruitment is open until 5 p.m., September 18, 2015.

Send a cover letter and a copy of your resume to:Kathy Andruss, HR Director1212 Jefferson St. SE, Suite 300Olympia, WA 98501OR e-mail to: [email protected] FAX to: (360) 705-9493

organizing committee development, mentoringand inspiring union members, running workermeetings, and developing workplace actions.

Desirable Qualications: Must have at leastsix (6) months of organizing experience onunion campaigns (internal or external) and/orcommunity organizing campaigns; professionalexperience doing one-on-one grassrootsorganizing work is a plus

• Demonstrated commitment to activismand mobilization work

• Must be relational, comfortable talking to

mailto:[email protected]://wfse.org/recruitment-union-organizers/http://wfse.org/recruitment-union-organizers/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://wfse.org/recruitment-maintenance-custodian/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://wfse.org/recruitment-maintenance-custodian/mailto:[email protected]://wfse.org/recruitment-union-organizers/mailto:[email protected]


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UNION NEWSIN MEMORIAM

Did you know that the just enactedGeneral Government contract (2015-2017) further expanded state agency

members’ shared leave rights withnew language requiring that youragency post shared leave requests, and

repost them monthly if needs are notmet?

Here’s the exact language yourelected General Government Bargain-ing Team successfully pushed for and

won for state agency members:

General Government Article 14.5-- “Once approved, and with authori-zation from the requesting employee,agencies will post and/or distributeshared leave requests. If an employ-ee’s shared leave needs are unmet,and upon request from the requestingemployee, shared leave requests willbe distributed at least monthly.”

::The shared leave difference

State agency members’ shared leave rightsget important boost in new contract

Shared leave – another example ofhow your hard-won bargaining rightsmatter.

And of course, in addition to theposting by your agency, you can ask

for posting on WFSE/AFSCME’s com-prehensive communications network.

If you’ve been approved for shared leave by your agency or institution, you can have your shared leave request listed here. Do-nations of unused annual leave, sick leaveor all or part of your personal holiday maybe made. To add your request here, call TimWelch or Tavie Smith at 1-800-562-6002,or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].

Your shared leave requests are extremely important because it’s a right you have under legislation theunion rst won in 1989 and which has been ex-

panded several times since. This humanitarian right isalso part of your union-negotiated contracts.

The life of Linda Win-centsen, retired former andvital member of LakelandVillage Local 573 in Medi-cal Lake, was celebrated by friends and family at aremembrance Aug. 15 in Air-

way Heights.Wincentsen died June 17after a series of strokes. Shewas 65.

She worked at LakelandVillage for 27 years, retiring asan adult training specialist 2in October 2008. Wincentsen

served several terms as Lo-cal 573 president, Institutions

Policy Committee delegateand member of WFSE/AF-SCME’s Statewide ExecutiveBoard. She also served onnumerous local, regional andstate labor/management com-mittees.

“Linda deeply caredabout the people living atLakeland Village and those

who served them,” said for-mer WFSE/AFSCME andLocal 573 President DuwaneHuaker.

Remember WFSE/AFSCME mem-bers who’ve died in the past two years

Going out to delegates tothe Federation Convention inOctober is a form to ll out somembers who have died sincethe last convention in 2013can be properly honored atthis year’s convention.

But you don’t have to bea delegate to submit a remem- brance.

The form is available toyou online at: http://wfse.org/in-memoriam-submis-sions/

The deadline to submit isOct. 1.

Linda Wincentsen

P h o t o c o u r t e s y D u w a n e H u f a k e r

Members at WashingtonSoldiers Home in Ortingrescue veterans from re

Quick action by WFSE/AFSCME members savedthe lives of about 100disabled veterans – manymembers of the Greatest

Generation -- when re broke out Aug. 13 at theWashington Soldiers Home in

Orting. The Local 53 membershelped evacuate theresidents while reghterstackled the blaze.

WFSE/AFSCME Washington State EmployeeSeptember 2015 Page 3

SHARED LEAVE REQUESTS

STILL IN NEED OF SHAREDLEAVE:

• Patricia Shives, a supportenforcement ofcer 2 withDSHS in Fife and a memberof ™cal 53, is battling breastcancer and is undergoing vemonths of chemotherapy. Sheunderwent a second surgeryJuly 21 and is in need of sharedleave while she recovers andundergoes the ve months ofchemotherapy. Contact: CarolMurray at (253) 476-7663, oryour human resource ofce.

• Kirsten Moylan, a nancialservices specialist 3 at the

DSHS Kent Community ServiceOfce, has been approved for

shared leave. Contact: yourhuman resource ofce.

• Denise Threlkeld, a scalanalyst 2 with the Departmentof Ecology in Lacey and amember of Local 872, suffersfrom Lyme Disease and wentback into treatment Aug. 1.She needs 97 hours of sharedleave. Contact: your humanresource ofce.

• Rebecca Ashby, a socialservices specialist 3 with DSHSin Seattle and a member of

Local 843, is again requesting

donations of shared leave tocover time she is away fromwork during her treatment foran ongoing serious health

issue. Contact: Sandy Gump at(206) 341-7246, or your humanresource ofce.

More shared leave requests:

Jane Zimmer, a supportenforcement ofcer with DSHSin Vancouver and a member of

Local 313, is requesting sharedleave to cover her extendedtime off during her recuperation

from a serious accident.

Contact: Pam Miller at (360)397-9704, or your own humanresource ofce.

Stanbery Foster III, a medical

assistance specialist 3 withthe Health Care Authority inOlympia and a member of Local443, is seriously ill and hasbeen off work since June 25 –with 18 days as an inpatient atthe University of WashingtonMedical Center in Seattle. Hemay need signicant surgery.He has nearly daily medicalappointments and tests, inboth Olympia and Seattle.Contact: Paula Williamson inHCA Human Resources at(360) 725-3805, or your humanresource ofce

Judy Johnson, a researchinvestigator 3 with theEmployment SecurityDepartment in Olympia anda member of Local 443,underwent brain surgeryAug. 26 and may be off workfor up to three months. She

will exhaust all leave duringSeptember. Contact: yourhuman resource ofce.

Marcia McBride, an ofceassistant 2 with the Departmentof Labor and Industries in

Tumwater and a member ofLocal 443, was scheduled for

surgery Sept. 4 and is in needof shared leave. Contact: yourhuman resource ofce.

Irene Valdez, a WorkSourceSpecialist 4 with theEmployment SecurityDepartment in Moses Lake anda member of Local 1299, hasbeen approved for shared leave

to care for her spouse who willrequire 24-hour care for aboutthree months because of anillness. Contact: your humanresource ofce.

Tia Hanke, a support

enforcement ofcer 2 withDSHS in Vancouver anda member of Local 313, isrequesting donations of sharedleave to cover time she is

missing from work duringher treatment for a chronic

health condition in preparation

for additional major pendingsurgery and expected longterm recovery. Contact: RoseHasford at (360) 664-6869, oryour human resource ofce.

Tammy Bronov, a taxspecialist 3 with theEmployment SecurityDepartment in Olympia and amember of Local 443, has beenapproved for shared leave.

Tammy is requesting sharedleave to cover the time she will

be out-of-state caring for herfather during his post-surgicalrecovery. She has used all

his available sick, vacationand personal leave. Contact:Kathleen Young at (360) 902-9538, or your human resourceofce.

Marcus Kittock, a custodian1 with the Department ofEnterprise Services in Olympiaand a member of Local 443,has been approved for shared

leave. Marcus is requestingshared leave to cover him

during his surgical recovery. He

has used all his available sick,vacation and personal leave.Contact: Megyn Melton at(360) 407-8426, or your humanresource ofce.

Karen Lucero, a secretarysenior with DSHS in KingCounty and a member of

Local 843, has been approvedfor shared leave. Karen is

requesting shared leave tocover the time she has missedduring her extended illnessand subsequent medicalappointments. She has used

all available sick, vacation

and personal leave. Contact:Marilyn Nichol (425) 590-3048,or your human resource ofce.

Pam Strickland, a WorkFirst

program specialist with DSHSin Tacoma and a member of

Local 53, is in need of sharedleave. Contact: your humanresource ofce.

Steven Halpain, a safetyand health specialist 3 withthe Department of Labor andIndustries in Longview and amember of Local 1400, hasbeen approved for sharedleave. Steven is grateful to

everyone who has alreadydonated leave. He is stillrecovering from his last series

of surgeries and complications.

He has just come home fromhis fth hospital stay this year.He has used all his availablesick, vacation and personalleave. Contact: Laura Cadwell(360) 902-5488, or your humanresource ofce.

Samantha Huggins, asupport enforcement ofcer 2with DSHS in Tacoma and amember of Local 53, has beenapproved for shared leave

because of an urgent and

unexpected emergency medicalsituation. Contact: Carol Murrayat (253) 476-7663 or your

human resource ofce.

Angela Gonzalez, a socialservices specialist 3 with DSHSin Yakima and a member ofLocal 1326, has been approvedfor shared leave followingan accident that has caused

her ongoing medical issues.

Contact: Cory Gonzales at(509) 454-6911, or your humanresource ofce.

Barbara Mix, an administrativeassistant 3 with the WorkforceTraining and EducationCoordinating Board in Thurston

County and a member of Local

443, is requesting sharedleave to cover her extendedhospital stay and long termrecovery from diabetic-relatedamputation. She has used allher available leave resources.

Contact: Patrick Woods at (360)709-4622, or your own HumanResources.

Lorena Taylor-Miles, acustomer services specialist

3 with DSHS Home andCommunity Services in

Alderwood and a member ofLocal 948, is in need of sharedleave. Contact: your humanresource ofce.

Dan Strate, an accountmanager at the Department

of Labor and Industries inTumwater and a member ofLocal 443, continues to dealwith ongoing back problems.He has exhausted all leave.Contact: Laura Cadwell at(360) 902-5488, or your humanresource ofce.

Isabelle Estrada, a socialservices specialist 2 with DSHSin Renton and a member ofLocal 843, is ill and will be offwork for an extended period oftime. She has been approved

for shared leave. Contact:MaryLou Baker at (253) 372-

5827, or your human resourceofce.

Brian Gladden, a maintenancemechanic 3 with theWashington State Departmentof Transportation in King

County and a member of Local

378, is requesting shared leaveto cover his extended timeoff while recuperating from ahigh-impact car accident. Hehas used all his available leaveresources. Contact: RobertSmith in WSDOT HumanResources at (425) 314-8996,or your human resource ofce.

mailto:[email protected]://wfse.org/in-memoriam-submissions/http://wfse.org/in-memoriam-submissions/http://wfse.org/in-memoriam-submissions/http://wfse.org/in-memoriam-submissions/http://wfse.org/in-memoriam-submissions/http://wfse.org/in-memoriam-submissions/mailto:[email protected]


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WFSE/AFSCME Washington State EmployeePage 4 September 2015

FACT SHEET: WFSE/AFSCME Student Debt-Free Resources

Student debt is a ticking time bomb formiddle class students & their families

FACT: In Washington state alone,813,000 students and former stu-dents owe $20.8 billion in collegeloans.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education

::Student debt in the news (ABC World News Tonight, 8/23/15)

“Recent college gradsstruggling under cripplingdebt are defaulting on theirloans in record numbersand in some cases, it’saffecting their parents’nances as well.”

ABC News, 8/23/15SOURCE: http://abc.go.com/shows/world-news-tonight-weekend/listing/2015-08/23-wn-082315-hundreds-answer-the-call-for-volunteer-reghters

‘We are not a loan’

America is suer-

ing from a stu-dent debt crisis.

The cost of college in-creased tenfold since the1970s.

Having college debt couldmean having to put o savingfor your own child’s college because you’re still paying foryour own college debt.

Or maybe you are havingtrouble paying your monthly bills because of a high month-ly student loan payment.

It’s time to ask what iswrong with higher education

funding and tuition nancingin this nation.

That’s why the Washington Federation of State Employeeshas joined with our nationalunion, AFSCME, and otherunions to oer a number ofresources online and in theworkplace.

• The WFSE/AFSCME Inter-nal Organizing Committee issponsoring a Debt Free Educa-tion Workshop for all locals, 9a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, Sept.

26, in the union’s Seattle FieldOce and Spokane Field Of -ce.

• Request a Debt-Free EducationLunch ‘n Learn at your work-site. For more information ,contact Mark Hamilton at800-562-6002 or [email protected]. More on the Student DebtFree Lunch ‘n Learn program:http://wfse.org/debt-free-edu/

• Online resources

We have some resourcesthat can help you decreasethe burden of student debt by

Help for you andyour children toretire studentdebt

At rst Student Debt-Free Education event in Seattle Aug. 15. WFSE/AFSCME members joined with colleagues from the

American Federation of Teachers, Jobs with Justice and South Seattle CC Labor Center in rst phase of this new effort.

giving you the informationyou need to nd debt-reliefand exible repayment op-tions.

Forgive My Student Debt

If you work in the pub-lic service, this little-knowngovernment program called“Public Service Loan Forgive-ness” could allow you to clear

your student debt years soon-er and at signicant discountto other borrowers. http://forgivemystudentdebt.org

Student Loan Borrower Assis-

tance

A comprehensive re-source for borrowers, theirfamilies, and advocates repre-senting student loan borrow-ers. http://www.studentloanbor-rowerassistance.org/

Student Loan Questions: Get

Answers

A FAQ about the dierent

types of student loans, termsand conditions, repaymentoptions, default and delin-quency, cancellations, and bankruptcy. http://www.student-loanborrowerassistance.org/start-

here/get-answers/

• Union scholarships

The 2016 scholarship sea-son has started with the open-

ing of the AFSCME FamilyScholarship. Visit the Federa-tion’s Scholarship page: http://wfse.org/scholarship-info/

• Tuition waivers

Tuition exemptions areanother resource for WFSE/AFSCME members – thanksto the 25-year-old tuitionwaiver law initiated and won by WFSE/AFSCME.

It’s a terric benet forcurrent state employees, and away to avoid racking up stu-dent debt. The University ofWashington has a great onlineguide: http://www.washington.edu/students/reg/tuition_exempt.

html#eligible

• Veterans

State community colleges,colleges and universities maywaive “all or a portion oftuition and fees” for eligibleveterans or National Guardmembers.

The state Department ofVeterans Aairs has more in-formation online: http://www.dva.wa.gov/benets/education-

and-training

We need to hear fromyou on student debt.

How has student debt

affected your life? Are you able

to afford your payments? If so,

how do they affect your life-

style? How long will it take for

you to be debt free? Are you

struggling with Parent Loans?

Let us know. Go to our

Student Debt Resource page:

http://wfse.org/get-involved/

student-debt-resources/

http://wfse.org/get-involved/student-debt-resources/

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://wfse.org/debt-free-edu/http://forgivemystudentdebt.org/http://forgivemystudentdebt.org/http://forgivemystudentdebt.org/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/start-here/get-answers/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/start-here/get-answers/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/start-here/get-answers/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/start-here/get-answers/http://wfse.org/scholarship-info/http://wfse.org/scholarship-info/http://wfse.org/scholarship-info/http://wfse.org/scholarship-info/http://www.washington.edu/students/reg/tuition_exempt.html#eligiblehttp://www.washington.edu/students/reg/tuition_exempt.html#eligiblehttp://www.washington.edu/students/reg/tuition_exempt.html#eligiblehttp://www.washington.edu/students/reg/tuition_exempt.html#eligiblehttp://www.dva.wa.gov/benefits/education-and-traininghttp://www.dva.wa.gov/benefits/education-and-traininghttp://www.dva.wa.gov/benefits/education-and-traininghttp://www.dva.wa.gov/benefits/education-and-traininghttp://wfse.org/get-involved/student-debt-resources/http://wfse.org/get-involved/student-debt-resources/http://wfse.org/get-involved/student-debt-resources/http://wfse.org/get-involved/student-debt-resources/http://www.dva.wa.gov/benefits/education-and-traininghttp://www.dva.wa.gov/benefits/education-and-traininghttp://www.dva.wa.gov/benefits/education-and-traininghttp://www.washington.edu/students/reg/tuition_exempt.html#eligiblehttp://www.washington.edu/students/reg/tuition_exempt.html#eligiblehttp://www.washington.edu/students/reg/tuition_exempt.html#eligiblehttp://wfse.org/scholarship-info/http://wfse.org/scholarship-info/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/start-here/get-answers/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/start-here/get-answers/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/start-here/get-answers/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/http://forgivemystudentdebt.org/http://forgivemystudentdebt.org/http://wfse.org/debt-free-edu/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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SCHOLARSHIPS -- A UNION PRIORITY


FACES OF OUR FUTURE: 2015 ALTHEA LUTE SCHOLAR

Cheyenne gradu-ated in June fromRainier High School andis pursuing a degree inveterinary science atWashington State Uni-versity in Pullman.

Cheyenne said

when she got the letterfrom the union inform-ing her of the award, “Iscreamed!”

Her mom “did theyay!” she said.

“She was reallyhappy her union wasable to help further herdaughter’s education,”Cheyenne said.

“All of my nancialresponsibility reliessolely on me,” she said.“This scholarship will

The $5,000 union scholarship

difference for Cheyenne CastanonC

heyenne Castanon, daughter of Christa Castanon, an information tech-nology specialist at the Employment Security Department in Olympia,is this year’s recipient of the $5,000 Althea Lute Memorial Scholarship.

help me not to have totake out so many stu-dent loans.”

You see Cheyenne’s

thoughts are never farfrom her youngest sis-ter, 2-year-old Cataleya.

Cataleya “has agenetic disorder calledNeurobromatosis (NF)that disturbs cell growthin your nervous system,causing tumors to formon nerve tissue that can be deadly...,” Cheyennewrote in her essay tothe WFSE/AFSCMEscholarship committee.“When I began applyingto colleges, my parentsinformed me that theywould not be able to

help pay for college because of the amountof debt we were in with

medical bills.”Cheyenne and her

family took part in a 5Kwalk last year for theChildren’s Tumor Foun-dation to benet re-search into the disease.

And a community fun-draiser was held Aug.20 at a salon in Roy. AndCataleya’s devoted bigsister, 2015 Althea LuteMemorial Scholarshipwinner Cheyenne Cas-tanon, is grateful for theunion help for her andher family. “I’m a rst-generation college stu-dent and I want to say,‘Thank you,’” Cheyennesaid.

Local 443 member Christa

Castanon (left) with daugh-

ter Cheyenne, recipient

of WFSE/AFSCME’s 2015

Althea Lute Memorial Schol-

arship.

P h o t o c o u r t e s y C a s

t a n o n f a m i l y

MORE ONLINE 8Check upcoming scholarships for 2016:http://wfse.org/scholarship-info/

ALERT: Applications for the AFSCME Family Scholarship due Dec. 31. More online: http:// www.afscme.org/members/scholarships/ afscme-family-scholarship

Winter/Spring/Summer 2015 recipients:

Neville B. Crippen Grant-in-Aid Awards

Ten WFSE/AFSCME membershave been awarded Neville B. CrippenGrant-in-Aid Awards for Winter, Springand Summer quarters 2015.

The Crippen Grants are quarterlyawards to help members advance theireducation or improve their skills.

The latest awards ranged from

$100 to $300.For an application, go to: http://

wfse.org/neville-b-crippen-grant-in-aid-award/ .

Applications are due at least 30days before a course begins.

The grants are named after NevilleB. Crippen, the union’s rst president

who had led the ght to create WFSE/ AFSCME.

The grant is overseen by a sub-committee of the WFSE/AFSCMEWomen’s/Equal Partners Committee.

Here are the Crippen Grant recipi-ents for 2015 (some may have won formore than one quarter):

Valarie Beecher, Local 782, EasternState Hospital, Medical Lake; BeckyFloreck, Local 862, Centralia College;Jessica Hausman, Local 872, Ecol-

ogy, Lacey; Stacy Lang, Local 782,Eastern State Hospital, Medical Lake;Brian Peace, Local 443, Labor andIndustries, Tumwater;Melissa Randles, Local 53, DSHS,Tacoma; Nicole Rice, Local 948,DSHS, Smokey Point; Jami Rider, Local 443, DSHS, Olympia; AliciaSigala, Local 793, Child Study andTreatment Center, Lakewood; andRebecca Swingle, Local 443, SouthPuget Sound Community College,Olympia.

::UNION NEWS

Health

carematters

An arbitrator is expect-ed to rule this fall on thegrievance led by WFSE/

AFSCME and its HealthCare Coalition union part-ners challenging the spousaland tobacco insurance sur-charges enacted in 2014.

The arbitration hear-ing took place July 20. Bothsides are now working on

Health surcharges: Arbitrator’s decision expected this fall briefs topresent tothe arbitra-

tor. The briefs aredue bymid-Sep-tember. It’sexpectedthe arbitra-tor will

rule four to ve weeks after briefs come in.

The WFSE/AFSCME

grievance led in April2014 challenges the valid-ity of the surcharges – atobacco-use surcharge of$25 per account and $50for the spouse/domesticpartner coverage premiumsurcharge.

Those who fail to attestto questions related to thesurcharges – even if they

wouldn’t otherwise be af-fected – default to payingthe monthly surcharges.The surcharges took eect July 1, 2014.

(A state Senate pro-posal this year to increasethose surcharges failed after

WFSE/AFSCME memberspushed back at a series ofUnity events to fund ourcontracts.)

WFSE/AFSCME andthe other unions are askingthe arbitrator to rule thatno bargaining unit member (those covered by theHealth Care Agreement)should be subjected to theattestation or payment ofeither surcharge.

RELATED: Premiums, other

changes for 2016. See 6-7.

The nominations are inand ballots went in the mailAug. 20 for positions on the

WFSE/AFSCME bargainingteams that will start negotiat-ing in 2016 for the next con-

tracts that would take eecton July 1, 2017.

Elections are taking placewhere there were more nomi-nees than positions available.

Ballot went out for the

following teams where thereare more candidates thanpositions (and therefore needan election): General Govern-ment (all Policy Groups); In-terpreters (Language Access

Providers) – all groups; and inthe Community College Co-alition, positions for the Com-munity Colleges of Spokane,Seattle Community Collegeand Shoreline CC.

Bargaining team ballots out

More wildre notes• Lakeland Village members rush to help in possibleevacuation. Because of res in the Medical Lake areaAug. 20, Lakeland Village was ordered evacuatedas a precaution. Lakeland Village is home to someof this state’s most profoundly developmentallydisabled citizens under the expert care of Local 573members.

Residents were evacuated to the facility’s gym,

but returned to their cottages once the evacuationwas cancelled. Calls went out across the state toother RHCs in case Lakeland residents had to bemoved. And the call went out to o-duty Lakelandemployees to help out.

“Unreal how many o-duty employees are outthere helping,” Local 573 President Lee Malinda said.

“Another example of dedicated state

employees,” said Julianne Moore, a Local 1326member at Yakima Valley School in Selah, one of theRHCs that was preparing to take Lakeland residentsif the evacuation had lasted.

• Under threat of wildres, Yakima Local 1326 canceledits summer picnic set for Aug. 29. The local insteaddonated the money for the event to the Foundationfor Working Families. See related story on page 1.

http://www.afscme.org/members/scholarships/afscme-family-scholarshiphttp://www.afscme.org/members/scholarships/afscme-family-scholarshiphttp://www.afscme.org/members/scholarships/afscme-family-scholarshiphttp://www.afscme.org/members/scholarships/afscme-family-scholarshiphttp://www.afscme.org/members/scholarships/afscme-family-scholarshiphttp://wfse.org/neville-b-crippen-grant-in-aid-award/http://wfse.org/neville-b-crippen-grant-in-aid-award/http://wfse.org/neville-b-crippen-grant-in-aid-award/http://wfse.org/neville-b-crippen-grant-in-aid-award/http://wfse.org/neville-b-crippen-grant-in-aid-award/http://wfse.org/neville-b-crippen-grant-in-aid-award/http://wfse.org/neville-b-crippen-grant-in-aid-award/http://www.afscme.org/members/scholarships/afscme-family-scholarshiphttp://www.afscme.org/members/scholarships/afscme-family-scholarshiphttp://www.afscme.org/members/scholarships/afscme-family-scholarship


6/8


YOUR HEALTH CARE MATTERS

Your new Health Care

Agreement just tookeect in July. Butyour two-year eorts to getit negotiated, ratied andthen funded by the Legis-lature will pay o in a bigway come Jan. 1, 2016.

That’s because the Public Em-ployees Benets Board (PEBB) Aug. 6voted to keep 2016 health insurancepremium rates level for the most part.

And they could do that becauseyour new Health Care Agreement keptthe share of premium costs you pay at

15 percent.WFSE/AFSCME members’ cost-leveling accomplishment gained pub-lic acclaim.

“This premium stability appears to buck national trends,” The Olympianeditorialized Aug. 10.

WFSE/AFSCME member actionsin summer 2014 stopped managementproposals to make you pay a higherpercentage premium rate. And actionsin the long 2015 legislative sessionstopped a Senate leadership plan toimpose additional health insurancesurcharges, including forcing 20,000state employee spouses o health care.

The PEBB also lowered supple-

mental life insurance premiums andmade other benet changes for 2016.

Premium costs remain fairly level

The approved health care pre-mium rates for calendar year 2016are based on the employee-employershare (15 percent by the employee and85 percent by the state) negotiated inour contracts.

While employees continue to pay15 percent of the cost of premiums,the total cost may go up, down or stayeven depending on the overall cost ofpremiums.

Monthly premium rates for threeplans would go up, three would godown, the Uniform Medical Plan Clas-sic wouldn’t change and two newplans would be oered.

Premium rates for supplementallife insurance will decrease but premi-um rates for long-term disability willincrease in 2016.

Health insurance rates are set for

the calendar year (January to Decem- ber), unlike our contracts that run onthe scal year (July to June).

The 2016 rates for Group HealthValue and Classic plans and KaiserClassic would increase; CDHP plans(Group Health, Kaiser and UMP)would decrease; Uniform Medical Plan(UMP) Classic remains unchanged;and two new plans – Group Health

SoundChoice and UMP AccountableCare Program – are added.See premium rate chart above

• Four of the ve resolutions thePEBB voted on Aug. 6 for the 2016 pre-mium rates and new plans passed onidentical unanimous 6-0 votes of the board. But the resolution that would boost the dollar premium cost for

Your contract brings health premiumstability in 2016 -- bucking national trends

Healthcarematters

Health insurance premium rates, effective 1/1/2016

SOURCE: Health Care Authority

Kaiser Classic by 15.2 percent overallsaw a vote of 4-2; WFSE/AFSCMEExecutive Director Greg Devereuxand Retired Public Employees Councilof Washington/AFSCME PresidentGwen Rench cast the two “No” voteson the Kaiser resolution.

• All PEBB plans would nowcover:

-- End-of-life counseling-- Short Term Brief InterventionReferral and Treatment (SBIRT) for al-cohol and substance abuse

-- Tobacco cessation quit medica-tions and aids

-- Eight new no-cost preventativeservices.

• Tobacco and Spouse surcharges

continue unchanged (WFSE/AFSCMEcontinues its challenge of these sur-charges; see related story, page 5).

• You’ll be getting more informa-tion from the Health Care Authoritythis fall. Open enrollment when youcan change plans if you want will be inNovember.

• • •

The PEBB benefts aect state agencyand higher education state employees; theydon’t apply to our Public Service Sectormembers, like medical interpreters.

• Expand coverage for end-of-life counseling.

• Provide coverage for short-term alcohol and sub-stance abuse treatment in various settings, by vari-ous provider types.

• Expand coverage for preventive services basedon U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommen-dations to include:

-- Tobacco cessation quit medications and aids—Coverage for all medications and nicotine replace-ment therapy with a prescription.

-- Coverage for eight new preventive services withno member cost-sharing:

1. Sexually transmitted infections—Provide inten-

sive behavioral counseling for sexually active adoles-cents and adults at increased risk.

2. Chlamydia and gonorrhea—Screen sexu-ally active women 24 or younger, and older womenbased on risk.

3. Hepatitis B—Screen non-pregnant adoles-cents and adults at high risk.

4. Cardiovascular disease—Offer or refer adultsat risk to intensive behavioral counseling.

5. Dental caries (cavities)—Prescribe uoride atage 6 months when water supply is uoride-decient;also provide uoride varnish at primary tooth erup-tion.

6. Abdominal aortic aneurysm—Screen menages 65-75 via ultrasonography if they have eversmoked.

7. Gestational diabetes mellitus—Screen preg-

::Benet changes for all non-Medicare Group Health, Kaiser Permanente, and UMP plans:

nant women with no symptoms after 24 weeks ofpregnancy.

8. Preeclampsia—Use low-dose aspirin after 12weeks of pregnancy for women at high risk for pre-eclampsia.

• Waiving enrollment in PEBB medical when anemployee is enrolled in TRICARE as a retiree.

-- Effective January 1, 2016, an employee maywaive enrollment in PEBB medical if he or she iseligible and enrolled in TRICARE as a retiree or adependent of a retiree.

-- An employee may continue to waive enroll-ment in PEBB medical when the employee is eligibleand enrolled in TRICARE as an employee or the de-pendent of an employee.


7/8

YOUR HEALTH CARE MATTERS


Group Health will:• Cover cardiac rehabilitation under the physical,

occupational, and speech therapy benet with a com-bined limit of 60 inpatient days and 60 outpatient vis-its per year. (All Group Health non-Medicare plans)

• Offer a broader Access PPO network. (GroupHealth Consumer-Directed Health Plan [CDHP] only)

• Increase the per-visit copay for the physical,occupational, and speech therapy benet from $15 to

$30. (Group Health Original Medicare only)• Implement new medical plan options for 2016

and other benet changes listed here.

Kaiser Permanente will:• Increase its annual deductible from $250 in

2015 to $300 in 2016. (Kaiser Permanente Classic)• Increase copays for ofce visits (Kaiser Perma-

nente Classic):• Primary care: From $20 in 2015 to $25 in 2016• Specialty care: From $30 in 2015 to $35 in

2016• Urgent care: From $40 in 2015 to $45 in 2016• Change in emergency room cost sharing: From

$75 copay in 2015 to 15% coinsurance in 2016 (an-

The PEBB adopted thefollowing changes to the Sm-artHealth wellness incentivedeadlines:

Effective January 1, 2016,eligible subscribers mustcomplete the SmartHealthwellness incentive programrequirements by the followingdeadlines to receive a PEBB

::New medical plan options for 2016:

Next year, the PEBB Program willoffer three new medical plan optionsfor employees:

Uniform Medical Plan

Uniform Medical Plan (UMP) will

offer two new medical plans that willprovide better coordinated care, more

service options, and lower costs whenmembers self-refer to the plans’ net-work providers. These new plans willoffer members a wide choice of provid-ers and health systems participatingwith the Puget Sound High ValueNetwork and UW Medicine Account-

able Care Network. The new UMPplans will be available in select coun-ties in the Puget Sound region.

Group Health

Group Health will also have a newmedical plan option—SoundChoice—with the same high-quality, coordi-nated services and same benets andexclusions as Group Health’s Clas-

sic and Value plans, but at an evenlower monthly premium. Group HealthSoundChoice will be available in King,

Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurstoncounties.

The PEBB says these new plansare a key part of paying for value, acore strategy of Healthier Washington.The goal is to achieve better health

and better care at lower costs, theboard says

::Changes to medical plan benets in 2016:

Premiums for optional LTD insurance will increase for 2016. The premiums(based on a percentage of the employee’s income) will be available on the PEBBProgram’s website starting in mid-October.

Kaiser Permanente 2016 changes to drug tiers & costs

nual deductible still applies). (Kaiser PermanenteClassic)

• New cost sharing for medications administeredduring an inpatient or outpatient (including ofce) vis-it: 15% coinsurance (annual deductible still applies).Applies to medication only; separate copay for typeof visit still applies. (Kaiser Permanente Classic andConsumer-Directed Health Plan [CDHP])

• Increase the annual medical out-of-pocket max-imum from $4,200 per subscriber/$8,400 per family

in 2015 to $5,100 per subscriber/$10,200 per familyin 2016. (Kaiser Permanente CDHP)

• Change its prescription drug tiers and costs(Kaiser Permanente Classic and CDHP) -- see chart.

• Implement new medical plan options for 2016and other benet changes listed here.

Uniform Medical Plan (UMP) will:• Implement new medical plan options for 2016

and other benet changes listed here.

The Group Health, Kaiser Perma-nente, and UMP Consumer-DirectedHealth Plans (CDHPs) will changehow they administer the medical out-of-pocket limit for families (two ormore enrolled family members) whenone family member reaches a certain

medical out-of-pocket limit. (There areno changes to the actual medical out-of-pocket limits for Group Health andUMP CDHPs; see change to KaiserPermanente’s CDHP under “Changesto medical plan benets in 2016.”)

See chart.

In 2015: The CDHPs require thata family must meet the family medical

:: Changes to medical out-of-pocket limit for families enrolled in CDHPs:

out-of-pocket limit before the plan pays100% for any enrolled family mem-ber’s covered benets.

For 2016: If an enrolled familymember meets a certain out-of-pocketlimit, the CDHPs will pay 100% for

covered benets for that family mem-ber—even if the family out-of-pocketlimit has not been reached.

::Changes to employee life insurance premiums:

::Changes to employee long-term disability (LTD) premiums

Premiums for supplemental life insurance will decrease for 2016. The premi-ums will be available on the PEBB Program’s website starting in mid-October.

::SmartHealth changes:

wellness incentive in the fol-lowing year:

• For subscribers continu-

ing enrollment in PEBB medi-cal and subscribers enrolling

in PEBB medical with aneffective date in January, Feb-

ruary, March, April, May, orJune, the deadline is Sept. 30.

• For subscribers enrolling

in PEBB medical with an ef-fective date in July or August,the deadline is 120 days from

the subscriber’s PEBB medi-cal effective date.

• For subscribers enroll-ing in PEBB medical with aneffective date in September,October, November, or De-cember, the deadline is De-cember 31.

MOREONLINE8 http://hca.wa.gov/pebb/Documents/announce_pebboard_changes_2016.pdf


8/8


OUR VALUES MATTER

Aproposed shift change doesn’t sit well witha group of hospital assistants in a unit at thisregion’s premier trauma center, Harborview

Medical Center in Seattle.

A policy allowing Depart-ment of Health parentsto bring their newborns

to work – a policy WFSE/AFSC-ME members helped craft – has become a hit.

“We as a union need to advocatestrongly for family-friendly policies,”said Mike Weis-man, a WFSE/AF-SCME shop stew-ard and Local 443member at DOH inTumwater.

The policy al-lows parents to bring infants fromage 6 weeks to 6 months to work. Thathelps baby-parent bonding and makesit easier for working moms to breast-feed their babies.

It’s in line with Federation mem-

Hospital assistants stand up forfamily-friendly shifts at Harborview

ment’s rationale – say thechange won’t improve patientcare, will disrupt family lifeand cut their pay by at least10 percent.

It’s the latest illustration how

the University of Washington,which runs Harborview un-der a management contractwith the owners (the peopleof King County), disregardscore community values whenit targets employees like this.

It’s one reason the KingCounty Council for the rsttime ever is heavily scrutiniz-ing their contract with theUW to run Harborview. Thatscrutiny came because of thecommitment of the union andLocal 1488 to hold the UW ac-countable at Harborview.

On Aug. 19, a dozen or so

hospital assistant members

of Local 1488 presented theirmanager with a letter andpetition contesting the forcedshift change on the NeuroAcute Unit to 12-hour shifts.

The letter and petition-- jointly signed by Local 1488members and registered nursemembers of SEIU Healthcare1199NW -- was presented totheir manager, Magda Hanna.

The change in hours

Managers say the moveto 12-hour shifts in the Neuro

tinuity care.”These hospital assistants

carefully monitor their pa-tients for seizure activity.

But the hospital assistants – joined by the very nurses whoactually don’t share manage-

would mean many wouldgo to the equivalent of a 0.9full-time equivalent employee– meaning a loss of at least 10percent in pay, said WFSE/AFSCME Council Representa-tive Sarah Bright.

Bright said many of theaected hospital assistantshave worked in the NeuroAcute Unit for years anddon’t want to move to anotheroor to maintain their currentshifts.

Many of the hospital as-sistants have shifts of two12-hour shifts and two 8-hourshifts in a workweek.

The move to longer shifts

increases the chance of sleepi-ness, she said, and overall justisn’t right.

“This change would addto fatigue and disrupt work-ers’ family lives,” Bright said.

“We don’t think that’s anyway to improve patient care.”A formal demand-to-

bargain request has been ledwith a hearing scheduled forthe eleventh of this month.

But the workers hopetheir action Aug. 19 will per-suade management to resolvethe issue quickly withouthaving to go a hearing, Brightsaid.

Acute Unit will align withnurses’ hours and bring “con-

Hospital assistants present petition challenging the proposed shift change on their unit at UW-run Harborview Aug. 19.

Infant at Work Policy a hit at Department of Health

bers’ family-friendly values – and newprotections against discriminatingagainst employees on the basis of sta-tus as a breastfeeding mother. WFSE/AFSCME members won that at the bargaining table in the just-enacted

2015-2017 contract.

Weisman was a part of the General

Government Bargaining Team thatwon that new contract protection.

He was also involved in the im-

provement of the draft infant-at-workpolicy proposed by the agency.

One of those improvements thatcame from the demand-to-bargain pro-cess: the policy covers part-time work-ers, too, he said.

Ingrid Hansen, another union shop

steward at DOH in Tumwater, askedmembers if they wanted to commenton the draft policy. The response wasoverwhelming, she said.

“I was so surprised and pleasedto see how many people valued this,”Hansen said.

Hansen told a bargaining unitmeeting in Tumwater Aug. 18 members there committed to listen to col-leagues “to make it a better policy.” It

includes important protections againstinvasion of privacy and workplace dis-ruptions.

“Making life better for young fami-lies in the workplace is part of our corevalues,” Hansen said.

Other agencies have shown inter-est and may follow suit.

At Aug. 18 Health Bargaining Unit meeting in Tumwater (from left): DOH Local 443 Shop Steward

Ingrid Hansen; WFSE/AFSCME Organizers Rosemary Sterling and Sarah Buel; WFSE/AFSCME

Organizing Supervisor Elizabeth Turnbow; WFSE/AFSCME Council Representative Cristal Java;

and DOH Local 443 Shop Steward Mike Weisman.

WFSE/AFSCMEmembers joined with theCoalition of Black Trade

Unionists and othercommunity allies Aug. 22 todedicate a memorial to thenine innocents gunned downin a Charleston, S.C. churchin June.

Joined by Seattle MayorEd Murray and other electedocials, they broke groundfor the centerpiece tree thatwill be surrounded by nineplants – each one representingone of the victims slain inthe mass shooting during aBible study class June 17 atEmanuel African Methodist

Remembering the Charleston 9

Episcopal Church inCharleston, S.C.

A cornerstone was placedat the site as a reminder that

racial hatred is unacceptable.The tree in the middlerepresents the communitycoming together to say “HateWon’t Win.”

Fircrest School/SOLA/Echo Glen Local 341 andUniversity of Washington/Harborview Medical CenterLocal 1488 made nancialcontributions to the event.

Breaking ground for monument.

Local 843’s Kevin Allen said members from at least six WFSE/AFSCME locals

and retirees attended the event. “It was a good event and we had WFSE

presence,” Allen said.

Washington State Employee 9/2015

Documents

Transcript of Washington State Employee 9/2015