Budget deal and court ruling today

Statement by Kim Mead, WEA President, on budget and US Supreme Court ruling

Well, it’s quite a day. Just as the legislature released its budget, we learned that a divided (4-4) US Supreme Court let stand lower court rulings in the Friedrich’s case, preserving a critical element of our union rights.

Here’s a few things the legislature did – and didn’t do – with the supplemental budget.

Opportunity gap:

• $ 4 million across three programs to begin addressing the opportunity gap.

Educator shortage issue:

• $3.5 million in additional funds for mentoring for new educators (BEST program).
• $1.75 million for professional development for paraeducators.
• $1.4 million to higher education to increase the number of students in education programs to become teachers.

Higher education:

• $8 million for tuition backfill to correct for errors made last year.
• $18 million toward the State Need Grant.

While I appreciate those small steps, I am also frustrated. When you add it up, K-12 discretionary spending is less than what the legislature spent to keep unconstitutional charter schools open.

Though they gave a much needed and deserved 5 percent raise to State Troopers, they kicked that can down the road another year for educators. Governor Inslee and the Democratic House included modest pay boosts in their budgets, but the Senate refused to go along, ignoring that Washington teacher pay is dead last on the west coast. Ignoring our students and the need to provide the professional competitive pay needed to attract and keep qualified educators. The actions the legislature took on the educator shortage may be helpful, but until lawmakers are willing to address the issue of competitive pay, the rest is just window dressing.

Given the Legislature’s continued inaction on salaries, I am especially glad for today’s court decision. More than ever, you can and should exercise our rights to bargain for pay and working conditions. The money is there  - district reserves total over $1.2 billion statewide.

US Supreme Court Case

This morning, the US Supreme Court disposed of the Friedrichs v. CTA case in our favor, with a one line order saying, “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” 

That means that the ruling has been affirmed on a non-precedential basis, effectively ending the case in favor of NEA and CTA. In short, we won. For now.

We must stay vigilant in our efforts to maintain a strong union. There are still many other anti-union cases working their way through the federal court system and which could be heard as early as this fall by the US Supreme Court.

More immediately, here at home, anti-union groups such as the Freedom Foundation continue their attacks against WEA and our local unions. We know from our own recent experience that when we work together, WEA is a powerful and successful advocate for our members and students, both politically and at the bargaining table. WEA remains committed to maintaining and building a strong effective union that reflects and engages our members. Read more about the court ruling.