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Hearing on SB 5790 draws opposition from faculty and labor groups over proposed COLA change for community and technical colleges
Summary
Senate Bill 5790, which would switch the COLA index for community and technical college employees from the Seattle-area CPI to the implicit price deflator, drew broad opposition from faculty and labor groups at a March 24 Ways & Means Committee hearing.
The Senate Ways & Means Committee heard testimony March 24 on Senate Bill 5790, a bill to change the index used to calculate the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for community and technical college (CTC) employees from the Seattle-area Consumer Price Index (CPI) to the implicit price deflator (IPD).
Amanda Cecil, committee staff, explained that initiative 732 had tied COLAs for certain education employees to the Seattle-area CPI; SB 5790 would switch the index for CTC academic and classified employees to the IPD. Staff said there was no fiscal note available at the time of the briefing, but the chair's budget assumes $10 million in state savings in the 2025-27 biennium and $19.7 million over the four-year outlook.
Faculty and union leaders from multiple colleges testified in opposition. Sue Nightingale, president of the Association of Higher Education (Washington Education Association) and a faculty member at Bellevue College, said switching to IPD would reduce COLAs and worsen recruitment and retention for CTCs that already lag neighboring states. "This change will lower the COLA significantly this year, next year, and every year after," she said.
Other faculty leaders including Suzanne Sutherland (Clark College), Larry Delaney (WEA), Ty Saxon (Bellevue College), Rachel Dorn (AFT Washington), Jennifer Haney (Green River College), Jackie Franklin (Spokane), and Betsy Norton (testimonial) urged rejection, arguing that the CPI better reflects household inflation experienced by workers while the IPD understates consumer price increases and would compound wage losses over time.
Multiple witnesses asked the committee to pursue progressive revenue alternatives rather than reduce COLAs. The committee did not take action during the hearing.
