Winning $15 on Election Day is huge. Defending $15 in court is critical. But seeing $15 in your paycheck is where it really matters.
Read MoreHow we’re turning workers’ rights into reality
by Khalid Elmi & Nikole Larsson
Winning strong laws is important, but we've seen for ourselves that we can’t rely on the law to enforce itself. We need to build organizations of workers that have each other's backs. That’s what Labor Day is all about.
Read MorePaul Ryan in Everett
Update: we hit the livestream so hard they shut down the chat. Sounds like they just don't want to hear from us... but comments are still up so go to it! At 9:00 am, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is going to be in Everett hosting a pre-scripted and pre-screened “town hall” at the Boeing plant there. Tell the world what you think & let's fill his YouTube livestream page with your unscreened comments, your 👎 😡 🙃, or whatever else you got.
Read MoreIs this any way for a burger chain to treat its employees?
Earlier this year, John, a former worker at local restaurant chain Blue Moon Burgers, spoke out about the discrimination he faced there. He went public with a screenshot showing texts between Blue Moon's owner and a manager calling some of Blue Moon’s employees — including John — a racial slur.
Not only did the owner fail to address the manager’s behavior, he actually contributed his own racist remark to the conversation by insinuating the photo of black employees was "what prison looks like."
Click here to read John's story, sign the petition, & tell Blue Moon's owner you can't support an establishment that discriminates against its workers!
John says:
"I started working at Blue Moon in September of 2014. It felt good to come straight from California and immediately start working in a diverse community doing what I have a passion for, which is cooking. I felt that this was a big step for me to start networking and getting to know more about the opportunities here in this great state of Washington.
After working a few months at Blue Moon, I started to get a feel of how their system worked and felt very comfortable with the people around me.
But in November, one of my former coworkers showed me the picture below — a text conversation between my manager and Blue Moon’s owner.
I was confused and hurt at the same time — I did not really know what to think in this situation and felt as if why is this even happening at all.
Later that month, I decided to bring the picture to the attention of the owner during a cleaning party. The manager and owner acted as if there was no issue with the picture and said sorry that I felt the way that I felt, but if I felt that way, then I could leave and not come back.
This brings us to the current situation. After I was fired from my job, I filed a discrimination complaint against Blue Moon, but almost three years later, I still haven’t seen justice.
I’m writing to you today because I need your help to seek justice. Can you sign this petition to tell Blue Moon’s owner you won’t support an establishment that would treat its employees in such a manner, and ask how he's going to make sure we see justice?"
Working Washington members step up for the migrant farmworkers of Sumas
Honesto Silva Ibarra was a 28-year-old father of three from Mexico who was working as a blueberry picker in Sumas, Washington — a small town in Whatcom County, just south of the Canadian border.
Honesto died on Sunday, August 6 at Harborview Medical Center. According to his coworkers, before he was hospitalized, his supervisor at Sarbanand Farms ignored his complaints about headaches, telling him to return to work in the fields rather than providing him with medical care.
Read More"Just like millions of other Americans who come home every night with aching feet"
"I saw no future for myself, and no way out. The only other jobs I could find paid similarly and were the same menial jobs like the one that I had. I couldn't think about my future because it seemed too bleak."
Read More"Now that we won, they're trying to tell me I'm actually doing worse now?"
Check out Crystal Thompson, a Domino's worker, fast-food striker, and Working Washington leader with a hot-take on that notorious minimum wage study that you probably haven't seen before — a worker's opinion.
Read MoreCongress could do something. (Something good, even!)
Secure scheduling just might go national: More than 100 members of Congress have signed on to sponsor the Schedules That Work Act, which would provide more stable and predictable schedules to workers across the country.
Read MoreReality can really change your perspective
The chain restaurant lobby in 2015... and in 2017.
Read MoreWorkers win paid family leave!
Wahington workers will be able to access up to 12 weeks of paid leave for a family member's serious medical condition, and up to 12 weeks of paid leave for your own serious medical condition. (Birth mothers will be able to use 16 weeks total, or 18 weeks in the event of complications.)
Read More