November 2025
From the President
The past month continued the roller coaster pattern of ups-and-downs we’ve been experiencing all year. The Mariners did not advance to the World Series, sadly, but we did achieve record level turn out for No Kings Day. The people who crunch the numbers are still crunching, but it is on track to have been the second largest single day of protest in our nation’s history – 1970’s inaugural Earth Day did draw 20,000,000 attendees! The No Kings numbers are still amazing: I attended the No Kings event in Olympia, and many estimates are saying that it was the largest protest ever at the state capitol!
Election Day brought home how big the shift really is. In Washington, we elected a progressive mayor in Seattle and had a clean sweep of the nine legislative races, as well as important progressive wins in a number of city and county local elections. Nationally, the voters sent a clear message that they are unsatisfied with the current administration’s approach, and candidates running on those platforms were shown the door.
I recognize that on the day-to-day level, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. For many, all of the wins I just mentioned were overshadowed by the disappointment of having the Federal government reopen with no discernable improvements or guarantees for people who will be hit hardest by the cynical and draconian budgets being forced upon us. The counterbalance of the vote to release the Epstein files isn’t a sufficient rise to balance out the struggle and sacrifice so many made during the shutdown. In itself, the files are more of the rollercoaster. While it’s clear from the votes that the GOP is starting to see Trump as a liability, very little about this has been about ensuring Epstein’s victims receive long-overdue justice.
Next week many of us will be coming together with friends and family to reflect on how we have been blessed. I hope you can find space to celebrate our wins. Take time to remember that when we fight, we win! And we are looking ahead to continue the fight by building community with labor and coalition partners, like-minded representatives, and leaders in Olympia. If we have to, we will chart a new course through the naysayers in order to maintain education funding, access to critical services, invest in working Washingtonians, and build on our commitment to protect immigrants.
So I encourage you to take some time and gather in a way that is meaningful for you. And when we come back, it will be with the commitment to build on our successes by continuing to reach out, dig in, and show up. I am looking forward to seeing you out there!
In solidarity,
Jacqui Cain, President
Local Highlights & News
Attend the AFT Regional Leader Meeting In Portland!
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
We are in a critical moment for our union, our members, and our democracy. The upcoming AFT Leader Meeting in Portland, Oregon is an important opportunity for us to come together, strategize, and strengthen our collective work in the months ahead. The focus of the leader meeting will be on how we strengthen our activism to turn Congress blue in the midterms, fight for union rights and worker rights, and build our leadership. There will be opportunities to build relationships with AFT leadership and leaders from other locals on the west coast.
Bring emerging leaders and any leaders and activists from your local who could benefit from our leader meeting.
AFT will cover one night of your hotel stay and most meals. The meeting will be held January 9th and 10th of 2026, in Portland, Oregon. The registration deadline is December 17th.
To learn more and to register, check out the registration page.
Update On Our Legislative Work
By Richard Burton, State Affiliate Political Organizer
At our Oct. 21st meeting, our Legislative Affairs Committee, chaired by Jaeney Hoene, voted to provisionally approve the following items for our 2026 legislative agenda:
- Pursuing Progressive Revenue options
- School-Related Personnel (SRP) Data Disaggregation
- Holding a Pro Staff work session with the higher ed committees
- Ensuring the WEIA Proviso is restored and fully funded
- Reforming Unemployment Insurance for Contingent Faculty
- Holding a Contingent Faculty Work Session with the higher ed committees
- Monitor and Evaluate any AI Legislation
- Board of Trustees Reform
- Student Complaint/BIPOC Faculty Work Session
Regarding these items, we’ve met so far with. . .
Rep. Gerry Pollet
Rep. Steve Bergquist
Rep. Cindy Ryu
Sen. Bob Hasegawa
Sen. Marko Liias
Sen. Noel Frame
Rep. Liz Berry
Rep. Mary Fosse
Sen. T’wina Nobles
Rep. Dave Paul
Rep. Zach Hall
Rep. April Berg
We will be meeting with Speaker Laurie Jinkins on Dec. 1.
We are planning to ramp up lobbying efforts this session. Our lobby day will be Presidents’ Day, February 16 – more information in this issue of the Pulse. However, we also hope to build a collaborative lobby effort with other unions on MLK Day, January 19th. This would be focused solely on the issues of relevance for our preK-12 SRP members. We would join with one of our more prominent union partners, the Public School Employees, SEIU local 1948, which also represents many SRP members, and are working on a few other unions’ participation, such as SEIU 925 and Teamsters local 117.
Our President’s Day Lobby Day will be focused on issues of relevance for our higher education members. We will be joined by sibling union members from WEA’s Association for Higher Education, Communities for our Colleges, the United Faculty of Washington State, as well as the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). We are hoping also to engage several others such as the UAW locals 4929 and 4121 (at WWU and UW, respectively).
There is a lot at stake this short session regarding funding. Please stay tuned for more developments in our lobbying plans.
November 4th Was A Great Election
By Richard Burton, State Affiliate Political Organizer
The November 4 election was a very positive one! Thanks to much good work by the members of the AFT Washington COPE team and the allied activist members and local leaders in Thurston County and the cities of Tacoma and Seattle, we endorsed many quality candidates and one local ballot measure for the Nov. 4 general election. Of our 25 endorsed candidates, 21 won!
Most notably, we endorsed nine candidates for the legislature, and all nine prevailed:
- Victoria Hunt, LD 5 Senate
- Deb Krishnadasen, LD 26 Senate
- Edwin Obras, LD 33 House
- Tina Orwall, LD 33 Senate
- Brianna Thomas, LD 34 House
- Emily Alvarado, LD 34 Senate
- Janice Zahn, LD 41 House
- Osman Salahuddin, LD 48 House
- Vandana Slatter, LD 48 Senate
While some of these candidates, e.g., Tina Orwall, Brianna Thomas, and Emily Alvarado, were running unopposed, the other six legislative candidates had opponents. The four most challenging general election races were those of Victoria Hunt (LD 5), Deb Krishnadasen (LD 26), Edwin Obras (LD 33), and Vandana Slatter (LD 48). Conservative PACs spent a lot of money opposing these four candidates, but, despite their sophisticated polling and targeted mailing strategies, their efforts failed. The victories of our endorsed candidates creates significant political “tail winds” for progressive political ideas as we move into the 2026 legislative session.
We also endorsed city and county candidates in three regions, Thurston County, City of Tacoma, and King County/City of Seattle. But first, we also endorsed Proposition One in Olympia, aka “the Workers Bill of Rights” Initiative in Olympia. Unfortunately, the voters in Olympia voted this down.
In Thurston County, we endorsed
- Rachelle Martin for Tumwater City Council
- Caleb Geiger, Robert Vanderpool, and Clark Gilman for Olympia City Council
- Maren Turner for Lacey City Council
Vanderpool, Gilman, and Turner all won and Martin and Geiger lost.
In Tacoma, we endorsed
- Anders Ibsen for Mayor
- Silong Chhun, Zev Cook and Latasha Palmer for City Council
Ibsen and Palmer both won and Chhun and Cook lost.
In King County/Seattle, we endorsed
- Girmay Zahilay for County Executive
- Sarah Perry for County Council seat three
Both won.
In Seattle, we endorsed
- Katie Wilson for Mayor
- Erika Evans for City Attorney
- Eddie Lin, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, and Dionne Foster for their respective City Council seats.
All five of these candidates won – with Wilson’s defeat of incumbent Bruce Harrell making national news.
This election cycle represented a significant step for AFT Washington, in that we engaged in a large number of local races. Weighing in in this way better enables our state federation, our affiliated locals, and our members to have our voices and values represented. But as exciting as these election results are, we now have important next steps to take!
We need to continue forging ties with allied unions and community groups who share our values, expanding and growing our progressive movement. There is much important work to do in Olympia and county and city governments, to say nothing of the 2026 election right around the corner! Our growing movement needs to support these elected officials as they work to advance their political agendas, and to hold them accountable to our concerns and their own stated values. The political “moment” calls for heightened political involvement, and we must continue our work to meet this moment!
A great way to get involved is to join COPE! Our COPE contributors and committee members play an important role in our efforts to elect education and labor-friendly candidates. Every election cycle the committee works to vet candidates and make endorsements. Our financial contributions to candidates are funded solely by member donations – not a penny of dues money goes to COPE – so even if you don’t have time to serve on the committee, becoming a donor can help make a big difference! If you would like to become a COPE contributor, or get involved with the committee, please contact Richard Burton at rburton@aftwa.org to learn more! Your participation makes that work possible.
Lobby Day Registration
By AFT Washington Staff
Washington State faces ongoing revenue challenges that, last year, led to painful cuts. This year, we need to get down to Olympia and advocate with the Legislature to oppose balancing the state’s budget on the backs of working Washingtonians. Our priorities for this session include strengthening and increasing progressive revenue, preventing further cuts to education, and keeping the conversations around school-related personnel, professional exempt staff, and contingent faculty wages alive for 2027. We know that it is crucial to not merely survive but to make the investments that allow us to thrive.
Central issues on our 2026 agenda are:
- Protecting education at all levels from damaging cuts.
- Reestablishing the provisos for education funding that were removed in the last session.
- Preparing legislators for pay increases in the 2027 budget session.
- Working with Communities for Our Colleges to push for cost-free college for our students.
- Working with the Balance Our Tax Code coalition to advocate for increased progressive revenue.
The 2026 session is a short session, but we still have the opportunity to make improvements even in a non-budget year.
Please plan to join with colleagues, meet with legislators, and push for progressive change. Light breakfast and lunch will be provided, and transportation will be coordinated. Contact Richard Burton, State Affiliate Political Organizer, at rburton@aftwa.org or (206) 225-0621 with any questions.
AFT Washington Opposes Tuition Increases
By AFT Washington Staff
As Washington state struggles to address our ongoing revenue challenges, exacerbated by the federal chaos of the 2nd Trump administration, we anticipate that increasing tuition to close the gap of state cuts to higher education will be on the table. We oppose such proposals, which harm student access to higher education and weaken our communities and our economy. They directly oppose the state’s stated goals for 70% of state residents to have a post-high school credential by age 26. Tuition increases aren’t a good solution for the state’s problems.
Tuition increases are a regressive user fee, in their simplest form. User fees are typically set on services that primarily or only benefit the user. In the case of tuition, however, education benefits the broader state community as much as, or more, than it does the individual. In 2016, the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges found that for every billion dollars invested in Washington’s CTCs, the state got back $20 billion, from increased tax revenue to increased corporate investment in Washington state, and everything in between. Students who are able to access higher education make a difference for the state. Rather than treating them as a source of revenue, the state should be investing for its future by investing in students.
The increasing cost of college is consistently cited as a reason students do not go on to post-high school education. Surveys from the College Promise Coalition, the Gates Foundation, and other state partners all highlight the cost of college as a major reason for declining enrollment. In an effort to address cost, the state has made major investments in helping students complete the FAFSA, and has also made the Washington College Grant the largest state aid package in the nation. It’s still not enough to overcome the cost barrier: federal loans are expensive over their lifetimes, and student debt relief is, in its current form, not timely and not guaranteed to all. Students must commit to costs to attend college: they need to decide college advances their future goals despite the costs, and they need to accept that they may be burdened with significant amounts of debt for decades to come. Raising tuition just makes that decision harder.
Instead, the state must recognize the benefits of an educated workforce. Washington state is a great place to live and work in part because of our highly-educated workforce. We know that post-high school education is a path to stable, middle-class jobs and thriving wages, and that builds strong communities. We know that companies invest in Washington because of that stability and the education of the workforce; it’s two sides of the same coin. Increasing tuition costs to decrease state investment in students to avoid dealing with our revenue shortfall doesn’t make any sense.
Union Tips & Reminders
Adjunct Unemployment Workshops
Wednesday, December 10th, 3:00 - 4:30 PM or December 16th, 12:00 - 1:30 PM
AFT Washington and WEA have helped hundreds of adjuncts successfully apply for unemployment benefits over more than a decade.
This workshop is intended for seasoned and new applicants alike. The aim is to increase your chances of getting your unemployment claim as adjuncts resolved quickly, decreasing the potential of accidentally triggering delays that could delay payments by months.
Attending a live workshop is important, so we can answer questions live! We do not record sessions, but we can provide additional accommodations as needed.
Register here for December 10th
Register here for December 16th
Human Rights Committee Seeks Members
The AFT Washington Human Rights Committee is sincerely committed to our mission statement of advocating for human rights in our workplaces and our community. We are continuing to work with our locals and allies to combat racism, foster community, and educate our members and communities on the importance of Human Rights. The AFT Washington Human Rights Committee needs your expertise, experience, and investment in upholding Human Rights to do this! We want to have a representative committee that includes all the constituencies within AFT Washington, but to do that we need your participation. You are invited to join the Human Rights Committee as an advocate for the Human Rights issues that are important to our members. To join the Human Rights Committee, contact Ray Carrillo, 206-369-4001, rcarrillo@aftwa.org.
AFT Connect: Better Data For A Stronger Union
Connect is AFT’s web-based, secure local data management system. It provides a great way to record individual member data, and so much more!
- Capture detailed employment and employer information about members, prospective members, and retired members of your local.
- Make sure your members can access their union-provided benefits (discounted insurance, home mortgages, travel, goods, and personal services).
- Keep track of changes in member earnings to ensure proper payment of your local’s per capita obligations.
- Manage your local executive board as well as COPE and other local committees.
- Plan outreach to your members and prospects. Have the information you need to conduct mailings, email, phone, and text message outreach via local efforts or using AFT’s communications tools. Record member event attendance and outreach responses.
- Create forms and surveys.
- Track your local’s engagement with and support from Community Allies.
Readily use these features and more through AFT Connect’s dashboard, upload bulk spreadsheet updates of your membership, or let Connect help your local turn data into a powerful outreach and management tool through easy, customizable reports.
Maintaining your local’s membership and leadership information in Connect meets AFT and AFT Washington requirements for your local to remain in good standing.
To get started with AFT Connect, or to request training and other member data support, contact Briseida Sanchez at bsanchez@aftwa.org.
Communications Help Is Available
Is your local not sure how to best use your website? Did you know you can have a free website? Would you like help with figuring out strategies for better communications outreach? Got something for the whole union to hear about? We can help with all of these, and more!
On top of helping your local, we can provide outreach to the union as a whole, through the Pulse and the Union Spotlight. We are actively interested in anything your members are doing, such as workshops or innovative problem solving.
If you have questions about them, want guidance, or are interested in learning more, please contact Cortney Marabetta at cmarabetta@aftwa.org.