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The economic and public health crisis has hit workers hard. In response, we shifted our priorities to address the urgent needs revealed by this crisis.
Read more about 11 victories we accomplished together in 2020 and how you can help us build an even stronger worker movement in 2021.
“We are living on the front lines of both the health and economic impacts of this pandemic. While we share concerns with restaurant owners for their businesses and the industry, we know they often have different interests than ours. The WA Hospitality Association has said that indoor dining is safe for the public, but we have seen otherwise firsthand. We have seen coworker after coworker test positive for COVID.”
Read MoreAfter Washington State tightened COVID health restrictions before Thanksgiving, more than $100 million in new assistance has been provided to business owners. Meanwhile, federal data reported by the Department of Labor shows that only 52.6% of newly unemployed people are getting their benefits within three weeks. In other words: about half of people who lost work under these new restrictions still have not received their benefits today, three weeks after they took effect.
Read MoreEight billionaires in WA have gotten $138 billion richer since the pandemic took hold in March — all while 2.2 million people in WA can’t afford to buy groceries.
Now more than ever, we need politicians to put the needs of workers before the wishlists of the wealthy. We don’t need the same old trickle-down agenda. We need income support programs that help us put food on the table and pay our rent. We need strong workers’ rights laws that protect everyone’s health & safety. We need a just recovery built on jobs, not cuts. And we need your input.
Take 10 minutes to complete the survey today and help us shape a workers’ agenda.
Read MoreThe restaurant industry has launched an aggressive effort to lift the new restrictions, arguing that their businesses are perfectly safe and no new restrictions are necessary. That's misleading. The industry’s push to remove restrictions is wildly irresponsible.
Workers in the industry are definitely concerned about their own safety when it comes to indoor dining—and the available data shows they have good reason to be worried.
After healthcare, the restaurant & food service industry has the highest number of COVID outbreaks in the state, according to a report from the Washington State Department of Health.
Read MoreThe Washington Hospitality Association’s well-orchestrated lobbying push to overturn the state’s restrictions on indoor dining is divisive, misleading, and wildly irresponsible. Restaurant industry lobbying groups have a poor record on public health and economic security, and now industry leaders are asking the state to put restaurant workers’ lives on the line.
Read MoreWith COVID cases spiking and unemployment claims rising, we are calling for the state to take four concrete steps address the crisis in our unemployment system to provide economic security, protect public health, and address inequities for communities of color:
A moratorium on collections, garnishments, and “overpayment” notices.
Audit, review and correct claims that have fallen through the cracks.
Prioritize paying benefits quickly.
Accountability & transparency.
In Washington state, we know from experience that vote-by-mail is a reliable and secure system — and we also know that it can take some time to count every ballot. This year, with so many states around the country voting by mail for the first time, we can’t expect to see final results on Election Night. This election won’t be decided until every vote has been counted, no matter how long that takes.
But President Trump has spent the last several months questioning the validity of mail-in voting, and has repeatedly refused to say he’ll accept the results if he loses.
Find out how we can organize to protect the results.
Read MoreWe’re over seven months into the COVID crisis, and undocumented workers in our state still haven’t seen any form of government relief — but that’s about to change. Today, undocumented workers can begin applying for the Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund, which will provide long-overdue direct financial relief to undocumented immigrants who have been barred by federal rules from receiving stimulus checks and unemployment insurance.
Undocumented workers in Washington can now apply to receive a one-time direct payment of $1,000 (with a maximum of $3000 per household). Applications will close on December 6, 2020.
Read MoreMake sure that Seattle City leaders hear from you: everyone who works in the gig economy must be paid at least minimum wage after expenses, with tips on top, and pay transparency.
Working Washington | 719 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA, 98104, United States
