Dozens of Clark College employees staged a walkout at noon Tuesday in protest of low wages offered in recent contract proposals from the state. Employees met at Mill Plain Community Park to learn about the ongoing bargaining and vent frustrations with the state.

The walkout was one of several across the state led by the Washington Public Employees Association, which represents about 5,500 classified employees in government. Beyond higher education employees at Clark, such as registration office staff and information technology specialists, the union represents librarians, firefighters, foresters and more.

Union leaders said the state is preparing to send over its final offer to union members, which includes a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment in both the first and second years of the contract. These increases -- known better by their acronym nickname COLAs -- are commonplace for public employee contracts and typically address inflation.

The Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area, which calculates the local 12-month inflation rate, was at 3.8 percent as of June.