Workforce · Bargaining
Washington offers a wage freeze while 80,000 caregivers ask for a raise
SEIU 775 cut its opening ask from 12 percent over two years to 3 percent, then 5 percent. The state still proposed no wage increase, with an October 1 deadline to land a rate.
OceanLoop, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Direct Support News desk · · 4 min read
Washington is bargaining the rate that pays about 80,000 caregivers, and the two sides are far apart on wages. The Washington State Standard reported August 17 that the state has proposed a wage freeze while SEIU 775 is still seeking raises.
The union first asked for 6 percent next year and 6 percent the year after, a package reported to cost about $367 million. After the state rejected that, the union moved to 3 percent, then 5 percent. Secretary-treasurer Adam Glickman said the state’s offer would make it harder for seniors and people with disabilities to find and keep caregivers.
Even without a wage hike, the state estimates other costs in its offer at about $60 million over two fiscal years. The talks are public, through the Consumer Directed Employer Rate Setting Board. The board’s next meeting was August 24, and the deadline to get an agreement into the governor’s spending plan is October 1.
If the board does not settle the rate, the chair decides. That chair is Cheryl Strange, who previously led the Department of Social and Health Services. The legislature still has to adopt whatever pay plan makes the budget next spring.
This is a desk summary, not the original report. Read it at Washington State Standard.