News & Stories

Jean Godden used to be one of six columnists for the now-closed Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper. The other five were men. Then, Godden, who is now a Seattle City Council member, found out she was the lowest paid of the six. “I don’t want another woman to face the same problem I faced with wage discrimination,” Godden […]

Two bills to improve economic security for Washington’s working families are off to a strong start in the 2015 legislature: 1. Paid Sick Days, to ensure everyone working in Washington can earn paid sick days on the job (HB 1356/SB 5306) 2. Family and Medical Leave Insurance funding and expansion which will (finally!) make paid family […]

A quick update on an exciting legislative effort — underway now — to significantly boost Washington’s early learning system. A bill introduced by Senator Steve Litzow and Representative Ruth Kagi (the Early Start Act – House/Senate) would improve access to quality pre-school and child care programs. The League of Education Voters has a nice write-up on it here. Of special note is […]

As we enter 2015, three million low-wage workers in 21 states will gain a small increase in their wages, thanks to increases in state minimum wages. People you know will see a wage increase — your neighbor, your teenage kid, the person who serves you coffee and donuts. The minimum wage increase is a good thing […]

According to the Children’s Bureau’s most recent data, Washington receives one of the highest foster care subsidies in America. That means over 99% of foster parents receive subsidies for taking in foster children. Yet, we still struggle in providing adequate foster care homes for our most vulnerable populations. Washington Court data show an estimate of over […]

Now that the Legislature is back at work, they have to find the revenues for K-12 education, for higher education, for foster kids, for the mentally ill, for the state patrol, for home care workers and early childhood teachers and caregivers.  They also need to confront a fundamental reality of current state financing:  we just […]

The other day, President Obama spoke to 100 top CEOs from the Business Roundtable. He was asked about two huge new trade deals, favored by global companies, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP.) The President taunted critics of our failing trade policy, telling them, “Stop fighting the […]

Back in 1943, when women flocked into the workforce to help win World War II, Washington State banned paying women less than men for similar work. Now 70 years later, women’s pay still trails behind men’s. Women make up almost half of our workforce and earn the majority of college degrees. Yet, the typical Washington […]

Washington state has long been a leader in health care innovation – from the success of Cover All Kids, which has enabled every low-income child, including undocumented children, access to health coverage, to the most recent feat of establishing a health benefits exchange. That forward-thinking leadership has paid off in some ways: the number of […]

The stock market is going great guns! That’s supposed to be the good news for this New Year’s Eve. It is indeed for a very small slice of people, but not really for the rest of us. That’s because the median household income in Washington state fell between 2009 and 2013 (half of households have […]

It’s simple math: More money for workers means a stronger economy – period. What happens when we support the lowest-paid workers and families among us? Let us count the ways. With increased pay, families are more able to put food on the table, parents can pay for childcare so they can go to work, and workers across the board rely less […]

Thank you, to all of you – 2014 has been an outstanding year. From birth to retirement, EOI has been a leader at the local, state and national levels pushing for policy changes to support working families. We’ve seen outrageous success across the country on paid sick days, with a record seven new cities and two states adopting legislation […]

Last week, while most of us were madly preparing for the holidays, Governor Inslee proposed a Washington state budget for the next two years. Adopting a budget will be the main task of our legislature when it convenes the second week of January. Inslee’s first draft devotes new resources to education and transportation, takes small […]

By Sarah Jane Glynn and Jackie Odum Although women have made significant strides over the past several decades in leadership, labor-force participation, and educational advancement, they continue to face a disproportionate number of issues that impede their economic security. The most recent Census Bureau data show that the average woman working full time, year round […]

When is a law not a law? That seems to be the question taken up by The Herald’s editorial board, education “reform” groups like Stand for Children, the Seattle Times, state legislators and now the governor. It is an odd question to ask, as it is directed at Initiative 1351, the class size initiative that […]

By Cheryl Fish-Parcham Last month, Minnesota was the first state to submit its blueprint for a Basic Health Program to the federal government for approval. In January 2015, Minnesota hopes to launch its Basic Health Program to provide health coverage to low-income families that is more affordable than marketplace coverage. New York is also on the path […]

Last week, the Illinois General Assembly joined the State Senate by passing the Secure Choice Retirement plan (SB 2758). If signed by out-going Governor Quinn, Illinois will be the second state in the nation to adopt and perhaps the first to offer a state-run retirement plan for the private sector, with a June 1, 2017 […]

No one should be forced to go to work sick. No one should be forced to stay at work when they have a sick child waiting miserably at school. Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland unveiled a paid sick and safe leave proposal to City Council last Tuesday. She pushed back against dissenters on the Council who […]

Over 3.2 million jobs have been lost nationwide due to trade with China. Growth in the U.S. goods trade deficit with China between 2001 and 2013 eliminated or displaced 55,900 jobs in Washington state, according to China Trade, Outsourcing and Jobs, a new study from Economic Policy Institute Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Research Robert […]

By Molly Moon Neitzel When I first decided to open an ice cream shop, I knew that one of my goals would be to pay all of my employees a living wage. So I wrote it into my business plan, along with a few other things that were important to me, like paying 100% of the […]

Thanksgiving is in our wake, and Christmas is upon us, with a vengeance of catalogues, push e-mails, to-do lists and gifts to buy. It is American consumerism at its apex. We Americans like to wrap ourselves in football, new automobiles, beer, espresso drinks and other things, or, at least, wish we could when we can’t […]