Danielle 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.”

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Seattle 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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