On Labor Day, we celebrate the people who keep Washington State running: teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers and public servants across our state. But this year, lawmakers had an odd way of showing their appreciation. Buried in Olympia’s new income tax were provisions removing longstanding state tax protections for public employee retirement benefits.

These are not people making $1 million. If this tax was truly only intended for wealthy individuals, why did lawmakers go out of their way to make public pensions subject to it? The truth is this is a retirement tax, and its coming for everyone, even the savings our public servants spent their careers earning. The best way to protect workers, retirees and families is to vote YES on I-645 this November.