News & Stories

Social Security is of critical importance to every American: it is the most efficient, fair, secure and universal source of retirement income, life insurance, and disability insurance available in the United States. Now, a growing national movement to strengthen and expand Social Security is pushing back against decades of misinformation and political attacks by opponents. […]

I was thirsty this morning, so I went to the sink, turned on the tap, filled a glass, and drank some water. We do this every day. We don’t worry about the quality of the water, the pipes that bring it into our homes, the reservoir where water is collected and stored, the water treatment […]

When my four-year-old son was recently discharged after undergoing facial reconstructive surgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, many friends and family members asked how I was holding up, how I was handling the stress and lack of sleep and all that comes with spending a week in a hospital. Those who have been through the […]

Taxpayers around Washington state are trying to understand Boeing’s recent announcement of layoffs, just months after the Legislature met in special session to grant $8.7 billion in tax preferences — the largest such deal in American history. Our relationship with Boeing has definitely changed. For decades, Boeing products excelled in the marketplace. The company prospered […]

President Obama, in his most recent State of the Union address,  predicted that fighting inequality would be the “defining project of our generation.” The President’s forecast reflects a growing concern among most Americans about rising economic inequality. Conversations about inequality often focus on the wage gap between those at the top and those at the bottom. […]

While rate of uninsurance has declined with implementation of Obamacare, a number of Americans continue to go without health coverage. The biggest reason, according to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, is continued lack of affordability. Nearly four in ten adults responded that they had tried to get coverage through the Affordable Care […]

If you’ve ever seen your waiter sneeze, you may have asked for a different server. If you’ve seen one sneeze repeatedly, you might wonder why he’s still at work, serving tainted food. See, most restaurant workers don’t get paid when they stay home sick. But, some go to work anyway, when they’ve got the sniffles […]

Most kids today grow up with their mom in the workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, two-thirds of new mothers now return to paid work within a year after giving birth, usually in the first few months. Back in the 1960s, fewer than one in five new mothers held a paying job. In those […]

I say, “good mother.” You say, “warm, loving, patient, generous, protecting, wise, how on Earth does she do it” and a whole lot more. The one word that might not pop up in this free association? “Fired.” And yet in the United States of America in 2014, being a good mother can cost you your […]

We are all so grateful for the incredible support that we received on May 6 during GiveBIG, the Seattle Foundation’s annual online day of giving. Our goal was to raise $15,000, but thanks to supporters like you we raised over $18,000 – and that’s before our $5,000 match! Your donations will go directly towards our […]

Boeing is at it again, eating its own in Puget Sound. The company will be laying off engineers in Washington and building a new model with dispersed “centers of excellence” around the country and the world, which is corporate-speak for hiring workers at lower salaries, no union protection, and less understanding of the intricacies of […]

This is why EOI “gives big”. Because health care is a human right. Because working women deserve a fair shot. Because we can work together to reclaim the American Dream. But we can’t do it alone – we need your support. Please GiveBIG for EOI today.  Help us give big for working families. The first […]

Wonders never cease: I agree with Phyllis Schlafly. Reading the arch-conservative lawyer’s controversial, much discussed April column in the Christian Post made me nearly drop my coffee when this jumped out from the page: “Women with children earn less…” Finally someone said it. The elephant in the room—that American moms experience intense wage discrimination—was front […]

Anyone who’s spent time in Seattle recently knows from the cranes punctuating the skyline, the new restaurants in every neighborhood, and the traffic jams that business here is booming. Seattle’s paid sick and safe leave ordinance went into effect in September 2012, guaranteeing most people working in Seattle the right to earn paid leave. The […]

Equal pay for women and fully valuing women’s work   – both in the paid economy and as family caregivers – are critical to rebuilding economic security for working families. That was the clear message from last Thursday’s forum at Kirkland City Hall, cosponsored by Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, Washington’s Work and Family Coalition, Economic Opportunity Institute, […]

One woman’s story about losing her wages and nearly losing her home when she had to take a short leave to care for her daughter and her dad. Shelby Ramirez – a mother of two, caregiver, full-time worker and student in Denver, Colorado – talks about the sacrifices she’s had to make without paid leave. […]

I just returned from a trip to Finland to visit old friends. I brought home a bill from a hospital. You may wonder how these two things connect. The bill from the hospital was for a friend of mine. She needed a new hip. So for five days in the hospital, the surgery, the surgeon’s […]

Danny Westneat reports in The Seattle Times that as the state Legislature scrambled to pass an $8.7 billion tax break for Boeing – the largest corporate tax break in U.S. history – one expert urged lawmakers to insert some type of requirement into the bill that would require Boeing keep jobs in Washington or risk […]

Arthur Laffer’s own data says his “Rich States, Poor States” rankings were never that good – and they’re getting worse. A coin flip is actually a better predictor of economic performance. As they have each year since 2007, the conservative lobby group known as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has teamed up with Dr. Arthur Laffer – […]

A comprehensive report by the Black Women’s Roundtable details the multitude of disparities faced by black women living, working and raising families in the United States. The report assessed conditions of black women in areas of health, education, labor force participation, wages, retirement security, safety, and civic engagement, among others. Findings include: Maternal mortality is […]

Recent headlines highlight what conflicting attitudes we Americans tend to hold about government. The still-unfolding tragedy in Oso, the debates over school and transportation funding, and the Supreme Court ruling on campaign contributions all underscore just what a messy process democracy is. We expect a lot from our government – protection from bad actors and […]

Voices from the Front Lines – a powerful new video from Family Values @ Work – combines a series of real-life vignettes about the struggles of working families across the country. From new moms forced back to work days after giving birth to hard-working dads stringing together part-time jobs to make a living wage, these […]

As the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) prepares to release its 2014 version of Rich States, Poor States, Good Jobs First and the Iowa Policy Project remind the news media that the ALEC report’s track record is poor. “The series already has been debunked,” said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First. “Unless the […]

The promise of the Affordable Care Act has been a long time coming — but it’s finally here. Now that the initial health coverage sign-up period has ended, it’s a good time to take stock of actual impacts. Over the past four years the Affordable Care Act has put real consumer protections in place in […]

Women and families in Washington and around the nation continue to struggle under an unflinching gender wage-gap. Today, on Equal Pay Day, let’s reflect on what the wage gap means for Washington women and families and what we can do here at home to make a better world for our daughters. Women in Washington earn […]