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.
Late yesterday, Senator Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, cancelled today’s meeting of the Washington Senate Commerce and Labor Committee which he chairs. Since today, April 1, is “cut-off”, that means that the equal pay, paid sick days, and minimum wage bills heard in committee on Monday are essentially dead for this year. But all of this year’s […]
Happy 5th birthday to the Affordable Care Act! “The Affordable Care Act (ACA) set us on a path toward better access but we still have a ways to go. We must identify persistent gaps in access to insurance coverage and health care and pursue policies that put us on the path to achieving truly universal […]
When it comes to the minimum wage, far too many working women in this country deserve a raise. Women account for less than half of the U.S. working population, yet nearly 6 in 10 workers earning the minimum wage are women. Many are working full time and are the sole breadwinners for their families – […]
“Prolonged breastfeeding not only increases intelligence until at least the age of 30 years but also has an impact both at an individual and societal level by improving educational attainment and earning ability.” A recently published study of 6,000 infants in Brazil reveals evidence that breastfeeding is strongly associated with increased intelligence, educational attainment, and income, even many years later. […]
New research illustrates why women in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community are at higher risk of for poverty and economic insecurity: discrimination and stigma, compounded by the struggles faced by all women in their jobs, provision of health care, and family support. Women who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) have the same concerns […]
Our state’s public structures and services are the oil of our economic engine. From roads to bridges, preschool to college, veterans’ benefits to senior services and protections for our air and drinking water, we’re all better off when we invest in strong communities. But there’s a big red warning light on our dashboard: Low Oil. […]
Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett are kicking off a national tour to promote paid leave policies around the country. The Lead on Leave road show starts in Seattle this coming Wednesday April 1st, part of a national campaign to increase paid leave for all working families. Why Seattle? Jarrett said […]
Women’s work is central to our economy. Most households couldn’t make ends meet without women’s income. Yet, women make less than men across every occupation. Because employers find ways to pay women less, families struggle to pay their bills, and can’t save for education or retirement. To reach the same income the typical white man […]
Washington’s tax system is by far the least fair in the nation: low-income workers pay much higher tax rates than the wealthy few. It doesn’t have to be this way. In two weeks, Washington’s legislators can chart a new course when they release their budget proposals and revenue options for 2015 – 2017. EOI is proud to be a member of […]
What are the best, and worst, states to live in if you’re a woman? How long do women have to wait before we close the gender wage gap? And how do these numbers vary across age, race, immigration status and occupation in the United States? You can learn the answers to these questions, and a whole lot more, […]
What’s that sound? It’s the sound of cheers and applause coming from women and their allies across Washington State. Why are we cheering? Because the Equal Pay Opportunity Act (HB 1646) just passed the Washington State House, with bipartisan support (55-43). The bill, if it passes through the Senate this session, will provide workers with key […]
The Racial Equity Team is a people of color-led network of community leaders, activists and lobbyists that work to empower communities of color to access their political voice through legislative advocacy. Their purpose is to promote equity of opportunity and outcomes for all children, families and communities. The team works to provide a forum for […]
I’ll spare you the details — since you’ve likely been through a similarly undignified experience — but a bout of intestinal flu isn’t pretty. Hopefully you were able to do what I did: take a few days off work to get well. I could do that without losing part of my paycheck, because the organization […]
Oregon students, educators, and community members testified in overwhelming support of Oregon’s Pay It Forward proposal (House Bill 2662) on Friday, March 6 2015 – testimony begins at 1:22:06; click here for video with annotated list of speakers: Lamar Wise and other Pay It Forward supporters had a pointed question for members of Oregon’s House Committee on Higher Education, […]
Following up on the success of the rap music video ‘Scrap the Cap (We’re Movin’ In)’, here comes a new country music video and call to action that will help protect and expand Social Security. The video — for the original song ‘(Don’t Wanna) Work ‘Til I Die’ — is produced by Social Security Works – Washington […]
Two key measures to boost Washington’s economy and protect the economic security of millions of working families in Washington have passed the state House: State Minimum Wage Increase (HB 1355): Sponsored by Rep. Jessyn Farrell (D-Seattle); increases Washington’s minimum wage to $12 over four years. Paid Sick and Safe Leave (HB 1356): Sponsored by Rep. […]
Kate White Tudor, Washington Association of Community and Migrant Health Centers, testifies before the House Committee on Health Care and Wellness in support of House Bill 1321 (Declaring the intent for all Washingtonians to have health care coverage by 2020) – she shares how her staff still see uninsured patients despite significant efforts to sign everybody up for coverage: […]
Rebecca Talbot Bluechel, Registered Nurse at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, testifies before the House Committee on Health Care and Wellness in support of House Bill 1321 (Declaring the intent for all Washingtonians to have health care coverage by 2020) – she shares how a lack of insurance makes preventing illness and injury so much harder for her patients: […]
Ronnie Shure, a former pharmacist and current member of Puget Sound Alliance for Retirement Action, testifies before the House Committee on Health Care and Wellness in support of House Bill 1321 (Declaring the intent for all Washingtonians to have health care coverage by 2020) – he shares people have to cope with a lack of affordable health care: My […]
Mayor Ed Murray and City Councilmember Jean Godden announced their plan on Monday February 23 to create a paid parental leave benefit for employees of the City of Seattle. “We are the only country in the industrialized world, the only first world country, that doesn’t offer this benefit,” Mayor Murray said. Councilmember Godden has championed […]
Alison Mondi, Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager for Lifelong, testifies before the House Committee on Health Care and Wellness in support of House Bill 1321 (Declaring the intent for all Washingtonians to have health care coverage by 2020), recounting the story of Luis, a U.S. permanent resident since 2011, and his struggle finding health care: Chair Cody and Members […]
In the U.S., health care has been rationed by price for far too long. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) set us on a path toward better access but we still have a ways to go. We must identify persistent gaps in access to insurance coverage and health care and pursue policies that put us on […]
Washington was the first state to institute annual cost of living adjustments to its minimum wage in 1998, and for the past decade has had the highest state minimum wage in the country. Still, in 2013 nearly 50,000 people in Washington worked full-time, year-round and still lived in poverty. Building on our 2015 Legislative Agenda, EOI has […]
Job and pay discrimination are already illegal, but women still do not get equal pay, even with the same qualifications.Too often employers prohibit employees from discussing wages and track men into higher paying jobs and career tracks. Building on our 2015 Legislative Agenda, EOI has set out the following policy goal for 2015: Promote paycheck fairness with […]
Everyone occasionally needs to take a few days off – to recover from the flu, tend to a sick child, or take an ailing parent to the doctor. Yet 1 million Washington workers don’t get a single paid sick day, including many in restaurants, retail and even health care. Building on our 2015 Legislative Agenda, EOI has […]
If you had a child at the University of Washington at the beginning of the Great Recession, you may have been set back by the tuition. In the 2008-09 academic year it was $7,254 (in today’s dollars), almost one-fifth of a full time job paid at the median wage. You may have thought that was […]
The opportunity for higher education is a cornerstone of our democracy and our economy. But cuts in public budgets have resulted in skyrocketing tuition at public institutions, and student debt across the nation has reached untenable levels. The current model of high tuition and high debt is keeping many low- and middle-income kids out of college — […]