TODAY: Day of strikes for $15 kicks off 6 am in Bellevue, spreads to Aberdeen, Kent, Olympia, beyond

Strikes & demonstrations for $15 spread in Washington and across the country

Times & locations of events today as fast food workers strike for $15 and the right to organize, joined in support by airport workers, homecare workers, and other low-wage workers

Because we can't live on $9 & change. Because our economy needs a boost. Because we're fighting for our future. Because our community needs good jobs. Because we are people, too.

Those are just a few of the reasons why TODAY, Thursday, December 4th, thousands of fast food workers in 150+ cities will strike for $15 and the right to organize — including here in our state, where workers will strike and rally for $15 in Bellevue, Kent, Aberdeen, and Olympia. Airport workers, homecare workers, and other poverty wage workers will be joining in support, adding their voices as the fight for $15 builds still more momentum.

List of strikes & demonstrations for $15, 
culminating with 4pm strike support rally at the State Capitol to raise pay and raise up Washington’s economy.

TODAY, Thursday, December 4, 2014, events all day:
6:00am - Bellevue: 1900 148th Ave NE (Jack-in-the-Box)
11:00am - Aberdeen: 909 E Wishkah St (McDonald's) 
12:00pm - Kent: 10715 SE 240th, Kent (McDonald's/Chevron)
1:30pm - State House: Labor Committee hearing on minimum wage, Hearing Room D, John L O'Brien Building
4:00pm - Capitol Building: Rally begins (gather at 3:30). Speakers will include striking fast food workers, airport worker, and homecare worker, all united in the call for $15/hour and the right to organize.
5:00pm - Olympia (Capitol Mall): 2400 Capitol Mall Dr SW (Olive Garden)

Note: Follow all the latest details at #strikepoverty, and workingWA.org

"Why not us too?"

Anna Anderson, who struggles to support her son and disabled husband with her income from the Aberdeen Jack-in-the-Box, explains why she's supporting the strike in a compelling statement: "Why not us too?"

"I live in Aberdeen, WA and I am 21 years old and recently gave up on my college education to work so I could support my son and disabled husband. With a 4.0 GPA I thought nothing could stop me from achieving my goals and living my dreams, but as money got tight I found myself having to choose between books for my classes and paying rent. But dropping out of school hasn’t stopped me from having to make choices like that in the least bit." 

Read the rest of Anna's statement at workingWA.org.

No matter where you work or where you live in our state, you can't support yourself when you're working for nine dollars and change. And you can’t grow an economy on poverty wages, either.

That's why the movement to strike poverty is spreading well beyond SeaTac and Seattle — and it's why the crisis of poverty-wage jobs just might become one of the key issues in state politics next year. 

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Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

Working Washington unites working people to fight for a fair economy where everyone can support themselves, afford the basics, and contribute to the economy. We launched the fast food strikes that sparked the fight for $15 in Seattle; we helped lead the successful campaign to pass $15 in SeaTac; and we work in coalition with unions, faith groups, and grassroots organizations to hold corporations & politicians accountable to community needs. For more information, including our press kit, visit workingWA.org.

THURSDAY, December 4th: Fast food strikes for $15 spread in Washington and across the country

Could movement to raise wages and raise up Washington become key issue in state politics?

Fast food workers to strike for $15 and the right to organize, joined in support by airport workers, homecare workers, and other low-wage workers 

On Thursday, December 4th, thousands of fast food workers in 150+ cities will strike for $15 and the right to organize — including here in our state, where there will be strikes and demonstrations for $15 in Bellevue, Kent, Aberdeen, and Olympia. Airport workers, homecare workers, and other poverty wage workers will be joining in support, adding their voices as the fight for $15 builds even more momentum.

The fast food strike comes on the same day the State House committee on Labor & Workforce Development holds a hearing on minimum wage, and just weeks after four were arrested outside Alaska Airlines Corporate Headquarters for engaging in civil disobedience over the airline's attacks on $15 in SeaTac.

As attention grows and support builds, the movement to raise wages and raise up Washington just might become a key issue in state politics this year.

Who: Striking fast food workers, joined by airport workers, homecare workers, and other poverty-wage workers unable to support themselves on the state minimum wage of nine dollars and change, along with diverse community supporters.

What: Launch strikes & demonstrations for $15, culminating in a strike support rally at the State Capitol to raise pay and raise up Washington’s economy.

When & Where:
Thursday, December 4, 2014, events all day:
Specific addresses will be released and posted at workingwa.org/strikepoverty early Thursday morning

6:00am - Bellevue: specific fast food location will be released Thursday morning

11:00am - Aberdeen:specific fast food location will be released Thursday morning

12:00pm - Kent: specific fast food location will be released Thursday morning

1:30pm - State House: Labor Committee hearing on minimum wage, John L O'Brien Building, Hearing Room D

4:00pm - Capitol Building: Rally begins (gather at 3:30). Speakers will include striking fast food workers, airport worker, and homecare worker, all calling for $15/hour and the right to organize.

5:00pm - Olympia: specific fast food location will be released Thursday morning

Note: Follow all the latest details at #strikepoverty, and at workingwa.org/strikepoverty.

No matter where you work or where you live in our state, you can't support yourself when you're working for nine dollars and change. And you can’t grow an economy on poverty wages, either. That's why the movement to strike poverty is spreading well beyond SeaTac and Seattle — and it's why the crisis of poverty-wage jobs just might become one of the key issues in state politics next year. 

Just this weekend, the Everett Herald published a blistering op-ed from a food bank volunteer calling for higher wages. In Bellevue, workers marched turned I-90 into WA-$15 in September, calling for the giant fast food chains to pay $15/hour and respect workers right to organize. In Olympia, City Council held a hearing on raising the minimum wage, and community leaders are signing on in support. In Tacoma, a grassroots petition for higher pay has already gathered thousands of signatures. In Kent, Issaquah, Bothell, and beyond, supporters have sparked community conversations with letters to the editor calling for higher wages.

More information:

• New research shows that US household incomes declined from 2010 - 2012 — except for the richest few. 

• You need a full-time job paying $14.81/hour in order to afford a 1-bedroom apartment in Washington State, according to research by the National Low Income Housing Coalition — and more than $18/hour for a 2-bedroom.

• Eight of the ten fastest-growing jobs in our economy pay poverty wages of less than $15/hour.

• While 14% of Washington residents have incomes below the Federal poverty level, there are more than 5,800 people in our state with annual incomes about $1 million.

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Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

Working Washington unites working people to fight for a fair economy where everyone can support themselves, afford the basics, and contribute to the economy. We launched the fast food strikes that sparked the fight for $15 in Seattle; we helped lead the successful campaign to pass $15 in SeaTac; and we work in coalition with unions, faith groups, and grassroots organizations to hold corporations & politicians accountable to community needs. For more information, check out our press kit.

Civil disobedience & other things to expect at Alaska Airlines protest today

Possible arrests, evening rush hour on International Boulevard, Kshama Sawant, and more

What to expect at today’s rally at Alaska HQ over the airline’s lawsuits blocking $15/hour

• 4:15pm, International Boulevard: Workers and supporters will gather at 19415 International Blvd, SeaTac (the IBEW building). At about 4:15 pm, we will proceed across International Blvd to Alaska Airlines Headquarters (19300 International Boulevard, next to Angle Lake Park) to protest the company’s ongoing efforts to block the $15/hour minimum wage, robbing millions from airport workers and our community.
   

• Civil disobedience: Several airport workers and community supporters are ready to risk arrest in peaceful disobedience over the ongoing efforts by Alaska Airlines to rob SeaTac workers and the larger community of the $15 minimum wage. Protestors will gather at 4:15 pm and the protest will likely reach its culmination at about 5:00 pm, outside Alaska Airlines Headquarters.
   

• Record profits: Alaska Airlines has banked record profits each quarter since before the votes were counted in last year’s election. The airline tallied a half-billion dollar profit last year alone, and described their most recent results as their “best quarter ever”.
   

• Anything & everything: At the same time as their profits set record after record, Alaska has tried anything & everything to block workers from the $15/hour they won in last year’s election. Alaska sued to keep $15 off the ballot in the first place, campaigned unsuccessfully to vote it down, and then sued in state court to block it from taking effect for thousands of airport workers, arguing that SeaTac doesn’t have the power to set a minimum wage. Just last week, their big national airline lobby group filed a Federal lawsuit too, claiming this time the Port of Seattle doesn’t have the power to set a minimum wages, either.
   

• Risking arrest: City Councilmember Kshama Sawant is one of those ready to risk arrest in peaceful civil disobedience outside Alaska Headquarters today.
   

• Key background: SeaTac voters galvanized a national movement for higher pay last November when they passed Proposition 1, which guaranteed a $15 minimum wage, paid sick days, and other labor standards for travel & tourism industry workers in and around our airport. Today, eleven months after the $15 minimum wage was supposed to take effect, many workers are left making little more than the statewide minimum wage of $9.32 an hour — losing about $5/hour for each hour worked since January 1st. The total of lost wages due to Alaska’s shenanigans totals $14 million — and counting.
   

• Worker interviews: Workers will be available for interviews before the 4:15 pm start time. Contact Sage Wilson, Working Washington to arrange: sage@workingwa.org

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Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

Working Washington unites working people to fight for a fair economy where everyone can support themselves, afford the basics, and contribute to the economy. We launched the fast food strikes that sparked the fight for $15 in Seattle; we helped lead the successful campaign to pass $15 in SeaTac; and we work in coalition with unions, faith groups, and grassroots organizations to hold corporations & politicians accountable to community needs.