SB 5041 is now in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee, and the committee is planning quick action on the bill. Cities will have to act fast to share our concerns.

AWC’s primary concern with SB 5041 is that public employers will need to take costly legal action or wind up paying for benefits paid to illegally striking public workers. Under the bill a public employer would need to go through the time and expense of a court case and get a final judgement declaring the strike illegal to avoid paying unemployment to striking workers.

AWC opposed the bill in the Senate and will continue to do so in the House. Cities are encouraged to reach out to their House members and members of the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee to oppose the bill. When you reach out to legislators, remember to mention:

• While public sector strikes are against state law, most of the time, public employers try to negotiate a settlement rather than go to court to enforce the ban. SB 5041 will discourage that and require public employers to take their own employees to court.
• Final judgments are rare in strike cases. The requirement to obtain one adds a lot of time, costs, and an extra layer of legal process in order for cities to avoid the cost of unemployment benefits that never should have been paid in the first place.
• SB 5041 provides an unnecessary incentive for public sector unions to unlawfully strike since they can keep their UI benefits if they can avoid final judgement in court. 

Cities can sign in to oppose the bill on the Committee sign-in page.

Dates to remember

SB 5041 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Labor & Workplace Standards Committee on March 18 at 10:30 am, and is scheduled for a committee vote on March 21 at 10:30 am.

Senate passes UI benefits for striking workers

March 10, 2025

On March 7, the Senate passed out SB 5041 on a 28–21 vote. Two Democrats joined with all Republicans voting no.

Debate was fairly extensive, with proponents arguing that the bill would lead to greater balance between employees and employers, and would force more employers to the bargaining table to avoid strikes. Opponents argued that the bill would put the state’s “thumb on the scale” of contract negotiations in favor of strikers and would encourage more strikes by removing one of the strongest disincentives to strike.

The bill was amended on the floor to cap the number of weeks a striking worker could claim unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to 12 weeks, sunset the bill on December 31, 2035, and to require the Employment Security Department to annually report on the prevalence of strikes and the impact to the UI trust fund and employers. None of the amendments addressed AWC’s primary concern that public employers could be on the hook to cover benefits paid to illegally striking public workers unless the public employers goes through the time and expense of a court case and gets a final judgement declaring the strike illegal.

The Senate rejected amendments to cap strikers’ UI benefits at four weeks, require strikers to meet typical UI requirements, to study the effect of teachers’ strikes on students, and delaying the effective date if the bill to 2030.

The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

Contact your Senator now to oppose UI benefits for strikers

February 24, 2025

The problematic bill to give striking workers unemployment benefits is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee this week. The bill could get scheduled for a committee vote on short notice.

HB 5041 was voted out of its policy committee on February 14 with a minor amendment that pushes out the effective date of the bill to 2026. The amendment did not address any of AWC’s concerns about requiring a “final judgment” declaring a strike illegal (instead of simply a “court order”) in order to preclude an employer paying for unemployment benefits, nor concerns that the bill will encourage more labor disputes resulting in strikes.

The bill is now in the Senate Ways & Means Committee and will have a hearing this week. While it has not yet been scheduled for a committee vote ahead of the February 28 fiscal committee cutoff, that may change with short notice.

Cities can sign up to oppose the bill during the hearing on the Committee sign in page. AWC also urges cities to reach out to the members of the Ways & Means Committee directly to oppose the bill. Cities can also reach out their own Senators to oppose the bill using our Legislator Directory.

Dates to remember

SB 5041 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on February 25 at 1:30 pm.

Bill to give striking workers UI benefits returns for 2025

January 20, 2025

A bill that allows workers on strike or are subject to an employer lockout to access unemployment (UI) benefits has been reintroduced in 2025. AWC opposed similar legislation that failed to pass in 2024.

SB 5041 is sponsored by Sen. Marcus Riccelli (D–Spokane). It removes the prohibition against paying out unemployment benefits to workers subject to an employer lockout and removes the disqualification against UI benefits for striking workers following the second Sunday after the start of a strike, provided that the strike is not found to be prohibited by federal or state law in a final judgment. If the strike is prohibited, any benefits already paid out are subject to repayment by the worker. Any UI benefits paid to striking workers would be applied to the employer's experience rating used to calculate the employer’s UI premiums. The bill also provides that an overpayment assessment will apply to a striking worker’s UI benefits if the employer provides retroactive wages for any week the employee received benefits.

AWC opposed similar legislation in 2024, and opposes this version of SB 5041 today for several reasons. Under state law, public employees generally do not have the right to strike, and contract disputes are instead handled through mediation or binding arbitration. However, the language of SB 5041 requires a “final judgment” declaring a strike illegal to avoid the costs of UI benefits to striking workers. Final judgments are rare in strike cases, and the requirement to obtain one adds a lot of time, expense, and an extra layer of legal process in order for cities to avoid the cost of unemployment benefits that never should have been paid in the first place. The change could also serve as an unnecessary incentive for public sector unions to unlawfully strike in hopes of securing benefits and while avoiding final judgement in lieu of a settlement.

AWC will work with legislators to either remove public sector labor disputes from the bill or allow the Employment Security Department to consider court orders much earlier in the legal process than “final judgment” to avoid costly litigation and avoid costly illegal strike UI benefits.

Dates to remember

SB 5041 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee on January 21 at 10:30 am.