Gina Comeau, labor relations and compensation policy director for the Office of Financial Management, told the Joint Committee on Employee Relations that tentative agreements reached with the Washington Public Employees Association (WPEA) include retroactive and prospective wage increases and are now pending a financial‑feasibility review by the OFM director.

Comeau said the tentative agreements reached after mid‑biennium bargaining would provide a retroactive 3% general wage increase effective July 1, 2025, targeted job classification base‑range increases and a retroactive starting wage of $18 per hour intended to address compression and inversion. The agreements also include a prospective 2% general wage increase beginning July 1, 2026, along with continued targeted adjustments and continuation of the $18 starting wage, she said.

"We submitted tentative agreements for both tables pursuant to RCW 41.80," Comeau said, and added that OFM is now determining whether the contracts are financially feasible and, if so, will include them in the governor’s budget for legislative consideration.

Comeau gave preliminary fiscal figures for the 2025–27 biennium: she estimated general‑fund costs of roughly $12 million for the general government table and about $7 million for the Higher Education coalition, and reported total funds (including non‑general funds) of about $22.25 million for the general government contract and $13.5 million for the higher‑education contract. She described those figures as approximate and tied to the OFM feasibility review and revenue forecasts.

Comeau also said the WPEA initially did not ratify tentative agreements reached in September 2024, prompting resumed bargaining; later negotiations concluded in August 2025 and produced ratified tentative agreements submitted before the Oct. 1 deadline for OFM review. If the OFM director issues a financial feasibility letter, the agreements would be proposed in the governor’s budget and the Legislature would vote on funding as an up‑or‑down matter, Comeau said.

The committee did not take a vote on the tentative agreements; the next procedural step is the OFM director’s feasibility determination and any subsequent inclusion in the governor’s budget.