News & Stories
Policy is personal. So, we want to share more than just data.
Stay up to date with our legislative updates, organizational news, media mentions, and more.
I had a good Labor Day weekend. I hope you did too. It was a good respite. Now we should be able to endure the final two months of the presidential campaign. Along with the fall weather, and the days getting shorter, our kids are back at school reading, writing, running, talking, thinking and learning. […]
SEATTLE — The Evergreen State has room for improvement when it comes to protecting working families, according to a new report. The National Partnership for Women and Families gave Washington a “B-minus” grade in a recent study assessing states’ workplace policies to protect expectant and new parents – including paid family leave and workplace accommodations […]
I recently joined the EOI team as one of the summer Policy Interns following my graduation from University of Washington with a Master’s in Public Health! In addition to my regular duties, I recently had the opportunity to attend the Summer Institute on Union Women hosted by the UCLA Labor Center from August 9 to […]
If you work in downtown Seattle, you can’t ignore the construction. Eight years ago construction ground to a halt, with big pits filling up with rain water. Now every street seems to be an obstacle course, as front loaders run amok and traffic cops try to sort out construction from commuting. But we shouldn’t get […]
Back in 1932, Washington citizens jettisoned the Republican state treasurer and voted in a Democrat for the job of minding the state’s public monies. Since then, the people have elected and re-elected Democrats to the treasurer’s office, over and over again, except for one election in 1952. So it made sense that coming out of […]
We are in the season of party conventions. You may have watched the Republicans in Cleveland last week and you may be watching the Democrats in Philadelphia this week. Maybe you didn’t, and opted to watch “Scandal,” or, if you are a bicyclist, perhaps the Tour de France. For us in Washington, the national conventions […]
State Sen. Pam Roach, R-Sumner, made it into the political news recently. The FBI has been looking into her campaign fundraising. What is strange is that Sen. Roach has said out loud what everyone walking the halls of the state Capitol knows: There is an intimate connection between campaign contributions, lobbying and legislators’ decisions on […]
These days, the Fourth of July seems mostly to be about barbeques, beer and fireworks – all for the celebration of freedom. That’s the popular narrative for the birth of our country. But the truth is, the United States had many parents. Democracy was one. Slavery was another, property a third, patriarchy a fourth, and […]
What’s ahead, what the candidates say, and a forecast for Medicare [By Chris Farrell via Next Avenue] Social Security’s recently released 2016 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees on the system’s financial condition is 272 pages long and a doorstop. The report is dense, full of detailed tables and conservative projections — a policy wonk’s […]
SEATTLE – Kids and families in Washington state have made some progress in the face of poverty rates that have yet to improve, according to the new national 2016 KIDS COUNT® Data Book from the Annie. E. Casey Foundation. Washington is ranked 15th among the 50 states in the Data Book, moving up four places in […]
Click here to buy tickets Sell tickets online with Ticket Tailor
It was a privilege to be invited to attend the White House Summit on the United State of Women, held July 14-15 in Washington, DC. Just being in a room with 5,000 people – mostly women – who are working to promote the economic and political empowerment of women and girls across the country was […]
Forty years ago we could point to the sham elections of the Soviet Union and laugh. These were one-party affairs, with one candidate for each position on the ballot. Voting support ranged between 99 and 100 percent. Now fast-forward to the upcoming legislative elections in Washington state in 2016. There are 124 legislative seats up […]
Over the next couple weeks, young people across the region will be graduating with new degrees and high hopes for the future. They are competing for jobs in an economy where the contrast between the the haves and have nots is stark. The occupations projected to have the most job openings in King County and […]
Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute Policy Center, delivered the following testimony before the Democratic National Convention Platform Drafting Hearing on June 9, 2016, in Washington, D.C. I am Lawrence Mishel, and I am representing the Economic Policy Institute Policy Center. Thank you for inviting me to testify today. My testimony will focus on […]
Presentation by Marilyn Watkins, Policy Director, Economic Opportunity Institute to the League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County. “What’s Behind the Wage Gap?” – League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County – May 18, 2016 from Center for New Media on Vimeo.
Imagine living in a relatively small nation, where per capita income is $11,000 less than in Washington state, and the only natural resources are timber, water and ice. People pay a 31 percent tax on personal income in excess of $82,000, a value-added tax of 14 percent on food and restaurants, and 24 percent on […]
Would you consider giving 2.5 hours to ensure that a million Washington workers get paid sick days in 2016? On Saturday, June 4th, 250 volunteers will take to the streets and gather signatures for Initiative 1433’s Day of Action. Together we can gather 13,500 signatures in just one day and get I-1433 one giant step […]
Today President Obama makes up for four decades of neglect of middle wage workers by both Republican and Democratic administrations. That’s thanks to a new federal rule on how and how much employers pay workers. This new rule will result in workers gaining literally thousands of dollars more in earned income in our state. So […]
More than 30 cities and states have paid sick days, including Tacoma. It’s time to celebrate – and keep the momentum going! Join us to enjoy cake, share success stories and learn about the statewide effort for paid sick days and minimum wage increase. Thursday, May 19, 1 PM – 2:30 PM Tacoma Public Library, Moore Branch […]
Establishing universal paid family and medical leave in the United States is critical to restoring economic security for working families and overcoming the entrenched inequities of race, gender, and class that undermine our economy and squash opportunity for far too many. Scientific evidence overwhelmingly confirms the importance of paid parental leave to the health and […]