FAQs On Child Care Center Legislation

 • Who will be covered by the bill?
All child care centers in Washington State with at least one child receiving state subsidies.  Chains with ten or more centers are not included.  (There are a few other technical exceptions as well.)

• What will center workers bargain over?
We will gain a voice at the table in decisions the state makes about child care:  subsidy rates, training and professional development funding, ways to gain group benefits like health care, and other issues that could help us deliver better care.

• How is this different from a traditional union model?
Traditional union bargaining is between employees and employers over wages and working conditions.  With this new approach, all center employees (including directors) have a chance to vote to create one statewide union for teachers and directors together, to negotiate with the state for increased resources.

• What if my center can’t afford to pay higher wages?
This bill is about getting more resources from the state into child care centers, so that centers can use those additional resources as they are needed to improve the quality of care.  It would not mandate wage increases, changes in benefits, or a pay scale.

• What if we want to be represented by a union in a traditional way—with a grievance procedure, bargaining over hours and wages, etc.?
Center employees will still have the right to elect a union to represent them in the traditional way.  Even if they are already represented by a statewide union under this bill, they could vote to join another union to bargain a traditional contract.

• Will all center employees have to pay dues?
No, but individual center employees may choose to pay voluntary membership dues to support our union.

• Is this forced unionization?
No; the process is entirely democratic.  If the bill passes, workers at all centers covered by the bill will vote on whether or not they want to form a union under the new law.  Then, if center employees do vote to form a union, we will all elect a bargaining committee, and decide democratically what our priorities will be for negotiation with the state.  Once we reach an agreement with the state, we’ll all have to vote to accept the agreement before it would become a binding contract.  Finally, every individual will have a choice on whether to become a member of the union that represents them.

• How will the representation fee for centers work?
If we win a contract with the state that improves resources for our child care centers, then centers covered by the contract would pay a small representation fee to keep our union strong.  The fee would only come out of new rate increases we win at the bargaining table, and would be automatically deducted from the state subsidy check. The amount of the fee would be established by child care center leaders within the union we choose, and would be voted on by all members as part of the first contract.  That way we can decide democratically whether the gains we’ve won are worth the small cost of supporting our union. 

• Why not just ask the legislature to raise subsidy rates?
We have asked over and over again for the legislature to raise rates—and to address training, professional development, access to health insurance, and other critical concerns shared by all center workers.  From our experience, and the experience of family child care providers, we know the legislature won’t address the crisis in early learning without steady, collective pressure, backed by a union contract.