Call on City leaders to Jumpstart Seattle

While the federal government stalls on crisis relief, Seattle has a chance to move in a different direction: we can meet the scale of this crisis and actually provide relief to people who need it.

That’s why we’re supporting the Jumpstart Seattle recovery plan. This proposal would require Seattle’s biggest corporations to pay a modest tax on the salaries of their highest-earning employees, money that will go directly to support struggling workers and families. Join us in support and tell Seattle City Council and the Mayor to Jumpstart Seattle!

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Regarding Instacart's lawsuit attempting to block Seattle delivery workers from receiving hazard pay for their work during a global pandemic

“The coronavirus pandemic has made Instacart's CEO a billionaire and goosed the company's value up to $15 billion. Meanwhile, the people taking on the risk of essential work during a global pandemic are getting paid less than minimum wage after expenses. That's why hazard pay is popular, necessary, appropriate, perfectly legal, and bound to expand from Seattle across the country."

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taking ESD to court over unemployment benefits

A lawsuit has been filed to get ESD to stop with all the delays and start to pay unemployment benefits promptly — and your experiences can help make the case for action. We're going to compile your answers in a legal brief we'll share with the courts to show why they need to step in and compel ESD to move more quickly.

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in solidarity with the movement for Black lives

Our organization stands in solidarity with the movement for Black lives and the powerful protests in Seattle, across Washington, and all across this country. We join the call for dignity and justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, James Scurlock, David McAtee, Charleena Lyles, and the thousands of other Black lives taken by police officers and white supremacist violence.

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Support striking Yakima workers

“I went on strike because they have made me feel discriminated against. They don’t respect me, so I had to make a decision. My coworkers, they also have their motivations, and I also see those injustices. They don’t get respect either, and that’s why we left. Because they don’t take into consideration my being a person.”

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Call on state leaders to create a relief fund for undocumented workers

“With this pandemic, individuals get $1200, couples get $2400, everybody gets unemployment, but what about immigrants?...We’re not ghosts, we are human beings.“

—Norma, King County

“If we don’t get any unemployment benefits from the state, we’re going to be in deep trouble.”

—Juan, Seattle

We need $100M in emergency pandemic relief for undocumented workers. Washington State is home to more than 250,000 undocumented immigrant workers, but federal rules exclude them from unemployment and stimulus programs. They’re facing this crisis without a safety net.

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“The unemployment system is in crisis. We urge you to prioritize getting money into workers’ hands as quickly as possible.

We are calling on Governor Inslee and Employment Security Department Commissioner LeVine to address the crisis in our unemployment system by taking three bold steps to create a more accessible system which quickly qualifies workers for benefits and immediately begins providing support:

  1. Confirm baseline eligibility within 7 days.

  2. Immediately pay the minimum benefit as soon as baseline eligibility is determined.

  3. Make the system work equitably for everyone.

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what's going on with unemployment?

Have you filed for unemployment? Run into issues with applying or long wait times & confusing systems? Whether you made it through the system or not, please report what happened for you to make sure workers get what we need during the crisis.

Nearly 600,000 workers in Washington — and millions across the country — have filed for unemployment in the last week.

Our state & the federal government have beefed up unemployment to get workers through the crisis. But many of us still aren't getting the benefits we need — and in a moment like this, it's vital that the systems we're using work for us.

That's why we're crowdsourcing reports from workers who have applied for unemployment. Whether you were denied, accepted, or haven't been able to get through the system at all, your experience matters, and sharing it is a huge way to help make sure workers get what we need.

Report your unemployment experience

Washington's Employment Security Department plans to update their application system on Sunday. They will be starting up the new "expanded unemployment" program for workers who aren't usually eligible (like independent contractors) and sending an additional $600/week to all workers receiving unemployment.

But we already know that many workers are struggling to get through the system as it is — so it's important for us to learn as much as we can about what workers have experienced so far, and keep an eye on this new system as it rolls out.

If you have ten minutes to spare, you can help. Report on your experience filing for unemployment if you've applied.

And whether you're still working or out of a job, share that link online (Twitter / Facebook) or with coworkers & friends who have applied. Together, we can make sure we're holding our state accountable to get workers through this crisis.