News & Stories

This month is Black History Month. In reality, every month is Black History month, because without black people, there would be no United States. Black history is tied up with slavery and capitalism, territorial expansion, annihilation of native Americans, the Civil War, Jim Crow, and ongoing inequality. It is tied up with these elements not as […]

It seems someone’s walking by pushing a baby carriage pretty much every time I look out the window of my Beacon Hill home. From my front porch, I can see three houses with infants. The neighborhood parents have bonded, not just over sleep schedules and teething, but also commiserating over how both moms and dads […]

CFED’s 2016 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard is out – and many of its measures indicate that while Washington (like much of the country) appears to be rebounding from the Great Recession, a great many families are still struggling –and families of color face higher barriers to financial security. Here’s how The Evergreen State stacks up: Financial Assets and Income | Grade A | Rank 10 High marks. Washington […]

As Americans, we strongly value both work and family — but as citizens we’ve structured our economy and laws to too often force people to work at the expense of their families. We have given millions of parents the cold choice of leaving their job and not getting any pay when they have a baby […]

We all need access to long-term leave at some point — whether to nurture a new child, fight cancer, or care for an aging parent. But too many Washington workers don’t have that option. They have to sacrifice health and family well-being to cover their bills. Washington’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FaMLI) bill would […]

All of us here at the Economic Opportunity Institute are taking a moment to say good morning – and to say thank you. Why are we jumping for joy in this winter wonderland? Because, even as checks continue to trickle in for our 2015 end of year campaign, we have already received $28,360 — a […]

You may remember the Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson hit from the mid-70’s that started, “Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.” There’s probably less chance to become a cowboy these days — but if you change the line to “Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be child care teachers” it would […]

On Monday, the Spokane City Council passed an ordinance assuring most people working in the city the right to earn paid sick and safe leave starting next year.  The Council voted 6 to 1 for the ordinance. At the start of Monday evening’s 5 ½ hour long council meeting, the policy on the table provided […]

Proponents of raising Washington’s minimum wage and expanding sick leave for low income and working families across Washington today filed a citizen initiative for the 2016 ballot. The coalition, represented by workers, union members, faith leaders and others, submitted legislation to the Secretary of State’s Office that would raise Washington’s minimum wage incrementally to $13.50 […]

Washington’s legislature launches a 60-day session January 11. As in the past several years, their biggest challenge will be money – how to adequately fund schools without slashing the other services necessary to protect the health and safety of our state’s people. The Legislature and State Supreme Court have agreed that our K-12 education system […]

We’re so close to meeting our $10,000 year-end goal, but we still need your help. Time is running out to make a tax-deductible gift to EOI before midnight tonight. Every falling snowflake adds up to something bigger — just like each contribution to EOI adds up to big changes in public policies that help create […]

Is the future something that will happen to us? No, because as citizens in a democracy, we can make choices and put forward ideas that actually shape that future. So in anticipation of 2016, here are some ideas about how we as a people can shape our own future: In 1998 the people passed the […]

What’s missing from this photo? Well, despite Seattle’s rainy reputation, we’re hoping for snow! And you can help make that happen. Every falling snowflake adds up to something bigger — just like each contribution to EOI adds up to big changes in public policies that help create good jobs and build an economy that works […]

Thank you for standing with EOI to support working families. With your help, we made significant progress in 2015 toward creating good jobs and building an economy that works for everyone. As the year draws to a close, we wish you a warm and happy holiday season. With gratitude, John and the EOI staff P.S. […]

Sunset today will be at 4:16 PM. Sunset tomorrow is at 4:17 PM. Every afternoon onward the sun sets a little later, and gradually light returns to our state. Ancient Rome celebrated the winter solstice with the pagan festival called Saturnalia, meaning “the birthday of the unconquered sun”. Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jews […]

Seattle’s own Erica C. Barnett takes a closer look at recent paid family leave plans passed by Seattle and King County, and finds the city provides as little as four weeks guaranteed time off, while the county guarantees 12 weeks but requires long-term employees to exhaust as much as 10 weeks of their sick leave, […]

UPDATE: WE’RE SOLD OUT! If you’ve previously RSVP’d and are no longer planning to attend, please cancel via EventBrite or by contacting us at info@eoionline.org. ==== Like any agreement, the Trans Pacific Partnership (if ratified by Congress) will create winners and losers. Weighing in at more than 2,700 pages, the 12-country pact isn’t as much […]

We’re looking for our next great development professional! This position will work closely with the Executive Director and other key staff to raise funds in support of EOI’s mission and policy areas, with a current annual fundraising goal of approximately $950,000. Areas of responsibility include: create and manage strategic financial development plans; manage individual and […]

I recently purchased a T-shirt from the Boeing store for my daughter, who is fan of the 737. It says, “If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going!” That may be true for her — but Boeing jobs are certainly on their way out of Washington. How can this be? The Legislature met for a three-day […]

The polls may tell us we’re divided on who to vote for, but in our hearts I think we all want similar things: to ensure kids can get a strong start in life, to have a college degree or a professional trade to be within everyone’s reach, to have clean and safe places to play; […]