Good news can be tough to find right now—so here are some recent wins for WA workers to brighten up your day:
Tens of thousands of Seattle gig workers on apps like Instacart and DoorDash just won the PayUp ordinance to ensure they’re paid at least minimum wage after expenses with tips on top, flexibility, and transparency protections. It’s the first law of its kind—designed by and for gig workers—anywhere in the country, with national and local media covering the landmark victory, including Bloomberg, The Washington Post, and The Seattle Times.
A group of WA’s wealthiest humans gave up on their ballot initiative to repeal the capital gains tax. Wealthy donors dumped more than $1 million into the Initiative 1929 campaign, but polls consistently showed most WA voters opposed the initiative their attempt, and thousands of us spoke out against this failed effort by the super-rich to give themselves a big tax cut.
And earlier this week, our sibling organization Fair Work Center celebrated the grand opening of Centro Chinampa, a new worker center in Yakima! It's a place for people across Central WA to come together as immigrants, workers, and community to defend their rights, get involved in politics, and build collective power. It’s the first and only worker center anywhere East of the Cascades.
While it can be easy to feel discouraged by national politics, here in WA we’re building a movement to improve our labor standards, tax the rich, and ensure everyone has what they need to thrive. And we’re making progress.