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.
Washington’s State Senate today took another step forward for gender pay equity, passing HB 1696, which prohibits employers from asking applicants about their wage history. The vote was strongly bipartisan, with majorities of both Democrats and Republicans supporting the bill. The Senate reached that bipartisan consensus by amending provisions about pay scale transparency that were […]
We’ve been pretending we can fund quality public services in Washington on the cheap, and now it’s catching up with us. We need more from state services than a generation or two ago. We expect public schools to provide more challenging curricula with smaller class sizes, comprehensive special education, and counseling to help kids cope […]
“OZ” is almost synonymous with charlatanism. The Wizard of Oz was just a man behind the curtain pretending he had fearsome powers. Dr. Mehmet Oz from television advocates for astrology and has been called before Congress for selling “miracle” diet pills. And now, traveling fraudsters are trying to get the Washington Legislature to invest in […]
Illustrations by Ellen Crenshaw All across the country, it’s harder than ever to survive. Even though the unemployment rate is low, that doesn’t mean people are making more money. People are working more hours at their job – or jobs – and are still just barely getting by. Wages for the typical worker haven’t improved […]
For a PDF, click here Cascade Care, HB 1523 Cascade Care will make health care more affordable and accessible in the individual insurance market and for all Washingtonians. The high cost of health insurance and deductibles results in delayed care, poorer health, medical debt, and people dropping insurance altogether. 6.1 percent of Washingtonians remain uninsured. […]
Washington’s legislature is moving forward a menu of bills that will improve health and economic security for state residents by lowering health care costs, increasing access, and offering more comprehensive, transparent, and equitable medical services. These bills still have to survive another series of hearings and votes before becoming law, but they made it past […]
Washington’s next revenue forecast will lay out a stark choice for legislators: stick with a status quo that shortchanges residents — or take bold steps to solve the state’s chronic budget shortfalls. When the state’s revenue forecast is released next week, legislators will turn much of their focus to hashing out Washington’s 2019-2021 budget. Given […]
When you start a career in nonprofit work, you’re generally giving up on earning Bezos-like money, even if you make it to the top. As an old mentor used to say, “There are hundreds of dollars to be made in doing the right thing.” To wit: EOI is a nonprofit. It paid its leader $85,208 […]
President Trump’s Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a proposed new overtime salary threshold of $679 per week, or $35,308 a year. The proposed new rule will leave millions of American workers toiling long hours below a living wage. Overtime rules require employers to pay salaried workers who make less than the threshold additional wages […]
In time to celebrate International Women’s Day, the Legislature is tackling a range of issues central to opportunity and economic security for Washington women, including pay discrimination, childcare, long term care, and restoring rights to previously incarcerated people. These policies still have to go through several more hoops to become state law, but in the […]
Each year, our dinner draws supporters, activists, legislators, and friends to celebrate progressive policy victories and re-focus our shared vision for the future. Will you join us this year and be a Changemaker? Reserve your seat today! Event Details: Date: September 19, 2019 Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm Location: Fisher Pavilion, Seattle Center 305 Harrison St. Seattle, 98109 We’ll […]
The failure to fully compensate early learning teachers and caregivers reinforces pay disparities for Washington’s Hispanic population, as the workforce is disproportionately composed of Hispanic people. Poverty level compensation violates the State of Washington’s intent to address racial inequity in early learning and build the “organizational capacity to advance racial equity.” Using Census Bureau Quarterly […]
Hello happy couples! Are you considering having a baby? Well when a man and a woman love each other very much … they wait for PAID family and medical leave. In 2020, Washington workers will be able to take time off work to care for their new child, while receiving financial benefits. But if your […]
Last year, Washington’s Legislature took an important step in closing the gender and racial wage gaps by updating our state’s equal pay law for the first time since World War II. But more is needed to end the legacy of centuries of discrimination. This year, legislators are considering another step that will bring us closer […]
Washington legislators are considering a plan to make health care more affordable to families and individuals who struggle to pay premiums, then face a high deductible when they need medical care. Jed Whittaker, a Kitsap father of two and small business owner, shared his family’s dilemma at a hearing for Cascade Care, House Bill 1523, […]
For years, conservative fiscal hawks have claimed they want to ‘save’ Social Security through ‘reforms’ — like privatization, raising the retirement age, and stingier COLA formulas — that cut benefits for future retirees. Today, Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) and more than 200 members of Congress have proven America can do better, by introducing the Social […]
Health care reform is urgent. By implementing Cascade Care, we utilize existing infrastructure to leverage federal subsidies and cap costs to ensure all residents have access to quality medical care without the worry of an excessive price tag.
Microsoft announced this week that it will spend $500 million to offset the lack of affordable housing and combat homelessness around Lake Washington. The money will be dispensed through loans and grants to promote development and support the homeless through legal aid, financial funding, and casework. It’s hard to say that the noblesse oblige of large […]
The State Supreme Court has decided to forgo direct review of Seattle’s income tax on the affluent, choosing to send the income tax first to the state court of appeals. We anticipate a continued deliberate, thoughtful, and persistent legal process, first at the Court of Appeals and then to the State Supreme Court. This course of action […]
On January 8, Governor Jay Inslee announced a new statewide public option health insurance proposal that will drive down costs for residents and employers. The proposal is being presented in the Legislature by Rep. Eileen Cody (D-LD34). Called Cascade Care, it will exist alongside, and compete with, private health plans. EOI has been involved in […]
On New Year’s Day 2019, workers and employers begin contributing to the trust fund that will finance benefits. A year later starting in January 2020, workers will be able to stay home with a new baby or ailing parent, recover from their own serious illness, or cope with a family member’s military deployment knowing they […]
For a lot of workers, the 40-hour workweek feels about as current as the pearls and heels June Cleaver wore while making dinner on “Leave It to Beaver.” Back then in the 1960s, most workers earned overtime when they worked more than 40 hours a week, including those paid salaries. But now, few salaried workers […]