It wasn’t even close. On election night, 82% of voters in Tukwila approved a $3/hour raise to the city’s minimum wage.
Read MoreEnding "hazard pay" is a crisis for gig workers who earn $2 a job
The official COVID emergency period may have ended, but for gig workers, this change is a crisis of its own. We’re facing extreme financial instability, and even with hazard pay we’ve found ourselves unable to pay our bills. For many of us, losing hazard pay means having to put in 70-80 hours of work a week, facing homelessness, or going without essential medical care. Workers fought hard to win a permanent pay standard that will go into effect at the end of 2023. But the reality is that until it’s implemented, ending hazard pay means a huge pay cut with no accountability for gig companies.
Read MoreWho Workers Want in 2022 — Our General Election Endorsements
This fall, we’re excited to endorse the following 9 candidates for elected office across WA.
Read MoreHow accurate are employer predictions about the impacts of the minimum wage?
Spoiler alert: the sky remains aloft.
Read MoreDanielle Alvarado testimony before the U.S. House Select Committee on Economic Disparity & Fairness in Growth
“Today, our Seattle minimum wage is $10 higher than the federal, and the movement that started here has spread nationwide. Over the past decade, we’ve increased wages by more than $150 billion dollars for 26 million workers across the country.
Our victories in Washington aren’t just about what we’ve won, but who has benefitted. We have taken on some of the most deeply entrenched and racist labor standards exclusions in federal law. In Seattle, nannies and house cleaners passed the first municipal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to establish basic protections like minimum pay and breaks. And this year, for the first time, Washington farmworkers are earning overtime. These victories are chipping away at an economic system that for too long has trapped workers of color at the bottom.”
Read MoreHealth & safety rules for WA workers exposed to extreme heat
Temperatures are reaching triple digits in Yakima, Spokane, and Walla Walla, and the 90s in Seattle & the rest of the state. So it’s a good time to brush up on the outdoor heat exposure rules that kick in for workers exposed to 89º+ temperatures for more than 15 minutes in a 60-minute period.
Read MoreOur statement on the US Supreme Court's decision to roll back abortion rights
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down abortion rights is a misogynistic attack on people who can become pregnant. We condemn this assault on bodily autonomy and workers’ rights, which will fall the hardest on poor people, people of color, immigrant workers, and LGBTQ+ people.
Read MoreThree recent wins for WA workers
Good news can be tough to find right now—so here are some recent wins for WA workers.
Read MoreSeattle gig workers win first-in-the-nation pay, flexibility, and transparency protections!
And today, we’re finally celebrating a huge victory: the Seattle City Council just voted to pass our PayUp policy into law, ending subminimum wages for gig workers on apps like DoorDash, Instacart, and Gopuff!
Read MoreSeattle gig workers poised to win first-in-nation pay, flexibility, and transparency protections today
The worker-driven PayUp policy championed by Councilmember Lisa Herbold and set for a full Council vote today will create the most extensive labor standards for gig workers in the nation, ensuring gig workers on apps like DoorDash, Instacart, Gopuff, Handy, and Amazon Flex are paid at least minimum wage after expenses with tips on top, flexibility protections, and meaningful transparency.
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