Today’s vote by the Seattle City Council to appoint Tanya Woo to the vacant council seat marked the new council’s first action and the working-class community’s last chance to shape the makeup of our council until November. Now, the people who live in Seattle, work in Seattle, and love Seattle need to keep our focus on improving our day-to-day lives in our city by holding the council accountable to our values.
As workers, we have always organized for living wage jobs, housing we can afford, and neighborhoods that feel safe and well cared for. And we’ve taken important steps forward: expanding workers’ rights to fair pay and sick time, ensuring that businesses that treat their workers well aren’t undercut by low-road competitors, investing in affordable housing, and making overdue reforms to our tax structure that finally make wealthy corporations contribute their fair share to the services we all need.
There’s still more to do. We will not lose sight of the progress we’ve made or the work that lies ahead to keep building a Seattle with an inclusive economy that uplifts those who have the least. And achieving this vision requires leaders ready to hear directly from workers about what we need. We are hopeful this city council will demonstrate an unshakable dedication to listening to the constituents furthest from wealth and power.
We are ready to work with all council members who share our commitment to making Seattle a safer, healthier city where working families thrive. We’ll continue building the power of working-class people because we know change never happens solely through elected officials. Policymakers don’t operate on their own. Community must continue to be the driving force to protect what we have won and uplift the needs waiting to be addressed. There is too much at stake to do anything less.
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