As the first quarter of 2026 comes to a close, we have quite a few developments to share.

The pace of work over these last three months has continued at 2025’s pace, where the number of case filings was the second highest in PERC’s history. Representation and grievance mediation cases continue to come in at a high rate. We have also seen an uptick in the number of contract mediation cases, driven by the fact that the state is bargaining its 2027–2029 contracts this year. Given the compressed nature of the state’s bargaining cycle, where all bargaining and any interest arbitration must be completed by October 1, we pre-open mediation cases for state interest arbitration eligible tables to ensure a mediator is available to work with the parties should interest arbitration become necessary.

Speaking of case volumes, we recently completed our Annual Report for 2025. The report looks more in-depth at the data from 2025 and the trends compared to prior years. Of note, the number of election petitions filed in 2025 was the highest in agency history, the number of unfair labor practice complaints was the most since 2005, and the average number of contract mediation requests over the last seven years is 24% lower than over the preceding seven years. The annual report can be found here.

This year marks PERC’s 50th year in operation. The annual report highlights certain aspects of PERC’s 50-year history, and the agency will continue to celebrate this milestone throughout the year.

PERC also continues to sponsor the Northwest Chapter LERA Collective Bargaining and Arbitration Conference, which will be held on April 9–10 at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma. For almost 50 years, this conference has been a valuable, popular, educational, and networking event for labor relations professionals throughout the northwest and beyond. We feel that presenting this conference is a critical outreach and professional development activity, particularly given the diminished ability of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the National Labor Relations Board to participate. Among this year’s keynote speakers are Randi Weingarten, President of the AFT and author of Why Fascists Fear Teachers; and Eric Ward, Executive Vice President of Race Forward and Senior Fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center. The conference will also feature educational sessions from PERC staff and other labor relations professionals. To register, click here. 

Finally, this year is shaping up to be a year of transitions for PERC. Chairperson Mark Lyon recently resigned from the commission for health reasons. We wish him well and thank him for his service. We expect a new chair to be appointed soon.

And on April 1, I will be retiring after 14 years as executive director and 34 years of state service. The commission has appointed Sean Leonard, who has been an adjudicator/mediator at PERC since 2016, to be the next executive director.

I have long believed in public service and that government works for the people. Throughout my career, I have been drawn to roles where I could help government go about doing things the right way. PERC has offered the ideal blend of not only ensuring legal rights are administered but also keeping government and its employees working together smoothly to deliver public services. I have been blessed to work with and learn from smart people throughout my career. Every one of them helped me to learn and grow as a lawyer, leader, and person.

It has been a privilege to serve as PERC’s executive director. While I am proud of our many accomplishments over the past 14 years, I will be equally proud of Sean and the agency’s success as it moves forward. The ultimate measure of my success is to ensure that I leave PERC and the next executive director in a position to continue to fulfill the agency’s mission.