BOT Meeting Report
WPEA/UFCW LOCAL 365
Thursday, 09.17.26
Report
Summer Updates
This summer, Edmonds College stewards and WPEA staff hosted a staff BBQ on July 21st with 82~ attendees here on campus, including Representative Cindy Ryu, who joined us as a guest to hear directly from classified staff about our work, our experiences, and the essential role staff play in supporting the college.
We also held a productive meeting with faculty union leadership to better understand how our unions operate, where our issues overlap, and how we can build stronger labor relationships across employee groups. Even though staff and faculty do not bargain under the same system, we serve the same students and share an interest in a stable, well-supported college.
Legislative Action and Higher Education Contract Status
WPEA has reached a tentative agreement with OFM for the next biennium. That tentative agreement includes 0% and 0% general wage increases, along with some non-economic provisions. I want to say this clearly to the Board: this is deeply disappointing. Many state workers across many unions are facing similar offers, and this reflects a broad pattern where austerity is repeatedly balanced on the backs of public workers through frozen wages, staffing pressures, and increased workloads. It will now be up to members to review the tentative agreement and decide how to vote. Regardless of the outcome, the issue remains: classified staff compensation, retention, and workload sustainability are not separate from student success. They are central to it.
The Reality of the Labor Market
In March of last year, the average gross salary of a full-time classified staff worker was $56,912. If we include the 5% salary adjustment we obtained during the last round of bargaining, that number becomes $59,757. This figure breaks down to $28.73 per hour. This is important context as we consider the 0% wage increase for the next biennium. In May 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an average wage of $44.13 per hour across all occupations in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area, which includes Snohomish County. Regional wages vary considerably by occupation, but many of the professional occupational groups from which the college recruits employees command substantially higher wages.
I’m aware I’m using aggregate figures - let me use a more direct comparison. Our frontline office workers, typically members in the Administrative 2 and 3 classification, using 2025 figures, are over 21% behind the BLS benchmark for office & admin workers. If staff recruitment and retention are serious strategic priorities, we should be deeply concerned whether our compensation remains competitive enough to recruit and retain the skilled workforce required to support our students. Two years without a general wage increase widens the already significant gap between classified compensation and the regional labor market.
Our college has an existential stake in our ability to operate and innovate. If workers are to be creative and nimble, I then ask College leadership to be just as creative and nimble in considering all available options in the recruitment and retention of staff such as reclassification, salary step advances, and flexible work options where appropriate.
Goals for the Upcoming Year
For the upcoming year, our local union goals are focused on three areas:
- Visibility. Classified staff labor is often most visible when something goes wrong, but the reality is that staff work keeps the college running every day. We want to continue making that labor visible as part of the college’s mission of Teaching, Learning, and Community.
- Member education. We want staff to know their rights, know their stewards, understand the CBA, and feel empowered to ask questions before small issues become larger problems.
- Supervisor education and development. I have been formally approached to assist in the development of a ‘supervisor academy.’ There is a shared interest between the union and administration in strengthening supervisor training. A strong supervisor academy should include the following outcomes: reduce grievances, improve communication, support consistent contract application, and prevent issues from escalating unnecessarily to HR.
We look forward to working with college leadership on that shared goal.
That concludes my report. Thank you.