The Washington State Budget and Policy Center (WSBPC) is a left-of-center public policy organization in Washington state. It is closely connected to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and other labor unions in Washington and regularly advocates for union-backed policies that would dramatically expand the size and scope of social-welfare programs.

History and Leadership

The Washington State Budget and Policy Center was founded in 2005. ¹ It is led by executive director Misha Werschkul. Prior to taking over in 2015, Werschkul was the legislative and policy director for SEIU 775, a local branch of the national Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that represents home health care providers, nursing home employees, and adult day health care workers, mainly in Washington State and Montana. ^{2 3}

The WSBPC’s board is chaired by Ankita Patel, the director of collaboratives for left-of-center pass-through funder Panorama Global, which in turn has close ties to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. ⁴

The WSBPC is a member of the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) umbrella group of pro-organized labor research organizations and the State Priorities Partnership run by the left-of-center Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). ^{5 6}

Policies and Advocacy

Taxation

The WSBPC promotes raising taxes on high-income taxpayers and corporations and using the revenues from those taxes to fund increased government-provided social services. ⁷

It has taken credit for a number of legislative and regulatory policies that raised taxes on all workers in the state, expanded government spending, and broadened the number of people in Washington state who receive government assistance. ⁸

Even after new capital gains taxes and long-term care taxes went into effect in 2023, the WSBPC’s Twitter account described “all the ways we didn’t tax the rich this legislative session” as “missed opportunities.” ⁹ Those stated 2023 policy priorities included a 1 percent wealth tax on securities of more than $250 million in value, an increased estate tax for estates of more than $3 million in value, and a 4 percent real estate excise tax on property sales of more than $5 million. ¹⁰

Welfare

The WSBPC advocates for a statewide universal basic income program, with one proposal calling for monthly payments of $900 to $2,100 per recipient. ¹¹

It also supports a proposed “baby bond” program that would seed taxpayer-funded investment accounts with $4,000 for every child in the state who received Medicaid-funded services before their first birthday, which the recipients could use once they turned 18 to purchase a home, start a small business or pay for post-secondary education. ^{12 13}

Illegal Immigrants

The WSBPC advocates policies that make illegal immigrants eligible for government-provided social services programs. It has supported the attempt to expand Washington’s unemployment insurance ¹⁴ and the successful effort to expand the state’s Medicaid program to workers who do not have legal authorization to work in the United States. ¹⁵

The WSBPC successfully advocated for one-time cash grants of $1,000 per individual or $3,000 per household to Washington residents who were not eligible for federal COVID relief because they were in the country illegally, and that allowed recipients to prove their identity using documentation such as a public transit pass and letter from their landlord or “place of worship.” ^{16 17}

The organization also supported legislation that made children of undocumented immigrants eligible for subsidized childcare as part of a broader package of bills that expanded the scope and cost of the state’s Working Connections Child Care Program, which operates under a collective bargaining agreement with the SEIU 925 union.  ^{18 19}

Labor Union Connections

The WSBPC has close connections to organized labor unions in Washington state and regularly promotes policies that advance union interests, such as increasing funding to heavily unionized government services such as public education, Medicaid, childcare, and long-term care. It advocated for a new payroll tax in 2023 to fund long-term care programs of the kinds often organized by SEIU 775, which is a funder of the WSBPC and the former employer of executive director Misha Werschkul. The initiative has been criticized for taking an extra .58 percent per paycheck from workers throughout their careers but being capped at a $36,500 lifetime benefit, which is insufficient to meet most long-term care needs. ^{20 21 22}

Unions are regularly key sponsors of the WSBPC’s flagship annual event, “Budget Matters.” ²³ Sponsors of the event have included the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters, Economic Security Project, SEIU 775, UFCW 21, the Washington State Association for Justice, Progress Alliance of Washington, SEIU 925, Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Teamsters Local 117, the Campion Foundation, the Economic Opportunity Institute, and National Employment Law Project. ^{24 25}

The event was virtual through 2022, and while it is scheduled to return to an in-person event in October 2023 organizers will require attendees to wear masks because of “the continued COVID-19 pandemic.” ²⁶

1. “Washington State Budget and Policy Center, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer,” ProPublica, May 10, 2022, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/721612982/202241309349302029/full.
2. Barnett, Erica. “As Labor Unions Weaken Nationwide, This Controversial Seattle Chapter’s Clout Keeps Swelling. Seattle Magazine. December 2017. http://www.seattlemag.com/news-and-features/labor-unions-weaken-nationwide-controversial-seattle-chapters-clout-keeps-swelling
3. Misha Werschkul, “Misha Werschkul – Federal Way, Washington, United States,” LinkedIn, accessed July 25, 2023, https://www.linkedin.com/in/misha-werschkul-57bb71.
4. “ Board,” Budget and Policy Center, July 25, 2023, https://budgetandpolicy.org/board/.
5. “Partners,” Budget and Policy Center, July 25, 2023, https://budgetandpolicy.org/partners/.
6. “Washington State Budget and Policy Center,” EARN, February 20, 2018, https://earn.us/members/washington-state-budget-and-policy-center/.
7. Judy Pigott, “New Taxes on Those of Us with Financial Abundance Will Create a Healthier Society  ,” Budget and Policy Center, June 29, 2023, https://budgetandpolicy.org/schmudget/new-taxes-on-those-of-us-with-financial-abundance-will-create-a-healthier-society/.
8. “Our Impact,” Budget and Policy Center, May 19, 2023, https://budgetandpolicy.org/our-impact/.
9. “Wondering about All the Ways We Didn’t Tax the Rich This Legislative Session? Check out Our Analysis of Missed Opportunities to Raise Equitable Revenue, and Put Them in Your Back Pocket for #waleg 2024 👀 Https://T.Co/N3xkldav5w,” @budget_policy, June 1, 2023, https://twitter.com/budget_policy/status/1664331452933079041.
10. “Lawmakers Have a Menu of Options to Fund Community Priorities,” 2023 Policy Menu, accessed July 25, 2023, https://budgetandpolicy.org/resources-tools/2023/02/2023_Revenue-Menu.pdf.
11.  Mayowa Aina, “Tacoma Gave Families $500 a Month for a Year. Could Something Similar Happen across the State?,” KNKX Public Radio, January 22, 2023, https://www.knkx.org/south-sound/2023-01-22/tacoma-gave-families-500-a-month-for-a-year-could-something-similar-happen-across-the-state.
12. “WASHINGTON FUTURE FUND,” Washington State Treasurer, 2023, https://www.tre.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/WFF-One-Pager-2022-2023-updated-1-3-23.pdf.
13. Tracy Yeung, “Washington Future Fund, or Baby Bonds, Is an Important Tool to Reduce Racial Wealth Inequities,” Budget and Policy Center, June 29, 2023, https://budgetandpolicy.org/schmudget/washington-future-fund-or-baby-bonds-is-an-important-tool-to-reduce-racial-wealth-inequities/.
14. Tracy Yeung, “State Funding for Economic Security Is like a Broken Record,” Budget and Policy Center, May 26, 2023, https://budgetandpolicy.org/schmudget/state-funding-for-economic-security-is-like-a-broken-record/
15. Andy Nicholas, “Final Budget Agreement Makes Important Advances for Washington State,” Budget and Policy Center, March 10, 2022, https://budgetandpolicy.org/schmudget/final-budget-agreement-makes-important-advances-for-washington-state/.
16. Melinda Young-Flynn, “It’s Time to Include Undocumented Immigrants in State Response to Covid-19,” Budget and Policy Center, July 24, 2020, https://budgetandpolicy.org/schmudget/its-time-to-include-undocumented-immigrants-in-state-response-to-covid-19/.
17. “Immigrant Relief Fund WA,” Washington State Department of Social & Health Services, accessed July 27, 2023, https://immigrantreliefwa.org/.
18. Bill Status-at-a-Glance: SB 5225,” Washington State Legislature, January 10, 2023, https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5225&Initiative=false&Year=2023.
19. “Proposed 2023-25 Biennial & 2023 Supplemental Budget OPERATING BUDGET Summary,” Washington State Fiscal Information, April 22, 2023, https://fiscal.wa.gov/statebudgets/2023proposals/Documents/co/cohSummary.pdf
20. Ed Komenda, “Washington’s Long-Term Care Payroll Tax Starts July 1, as Other States Explore Similar Programs,” The Seattle Times, June 27, 2023, https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/washingtons-long-term-care-payroll-tax-starts-july-1-as-other-states-explore-similar-programs/.
21. Bill Kaczaraba, “Republicans Push to Make Washington’s New Long-Term Care Tax Optional for Everyone,” KIRO 7 News Seattle, July 11, 2023, https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/republicans-push-make-washingtons-new-long-term-care-tax-optional-everyone/U3QC432EV5E65KXQ73XZASBQPY/.
22. Ed Komenda, “Washington’s Long-Term Care Payroll Tax Starts July 1, as Other States Explore Similar Programs,” Associated Press, June 27, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/washington-long-term-care-tax-disability-cb54b04b025223dbdba7199db1d254e4.
23. “Budget Matters 2023,” Budget and Policy Center, 2023, https://budgetmatters.org/.
24. “Budget Matters 2020,” Budget and Policy Center, https://budgetmatters.org/look-back-budget-matters-2020/.
25. “Budget Matters 2019,” Budget and Policy Center, https://budgetmatters.org/budget-matters-2019/
26.  “Budget Matters 2023,” Budget and Policy Center, 2023, https://budgetmatters.org/.