News & Stories
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The Economic Opportunity Institute just released a new report on the gay wage gap in Washington State. Read it here. The Census Bureau doesn’t try to collect data on LGBT people. No administration has made that a priority. But with some charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent, we can learn still about queer incomes. Gay men […]
The Economic Opportunity Institute just released a new report on the gay wage gap in Washington State. Read it here. After same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015, many Americans came to the well-meaning but misguided conclusion that LGBT people were finally in the eyes of the government. But the American government has never cared […]
These are flyers explaining new rights for workers in Washington that recently came into effect or will come into effect soon. Overview of New Rights Paid Family and Medical Leave Paid Family and Medical Leave Business Guide
You now have the legal right in Washington to talk about wages with coworkers and to ask your boss why you’re paid differently than coworkers or haven’t gotten that promotion you deserve. Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunity Act comes into effect today, guaranteeing this freedom of speech in every workplace. The law also provides penalties […]
The 2018 Social Security Trustees Report is out, weighing in at a somewhat-intimidating 270 pages (!). But if you don’t want to wade through it, here’s the bottom line on Social Security’s bottom line: it’s in good shape – and with a few legislative changes, could be even better. A large (and still growing) surplus […]
My friend Professor Hubert Locke died this week. He was more than a friend. Hubert was the sage who guided many of us through the thickets of morality and policy. Hubert look deeply into the systems of inequality and hierarchy and evil. He was exacting in words and teaching, and he demanded from each of us, […]
Karl Marx-inspired credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service issued a report this month saying that Amazon’s bullying tactics over Seattle’s newly-passed employee hours tax show it has too much influence over our city. The tax would require businesses with more than $20 million in annual revenue to pay about $275 per full-time employee, per year. […]
Seattle Colleges can be tuition-free! Let’s create a vision together about how that should happen! The mayor has announced that she plans to fund tuition-free community college for graduates of Seattle Public Schools. We want to hear what students have to say concerning what the Seattle Promise program should look like. Everyone deserves access to […]
There’s a lot more to do, though, to change the rules of our economy so that women and children of all income levels and races have access to opportunity and the ability to pursue happiness.
Thank you Jeff Bezos! With one public comment, Amazon has opened the door to rational and humane development in our city. How did Bezos manage to do this? Simply by stating that he would halt construction of a new Amazon building downtown and not occupy another building already under construction. We seem to see this […]
Earlier this year, Amazon was secretly lobbying to stop equal pay for women, even though other tech companies like Microsoft supported it. But now Amazon is openly bullying the city, halting construction on buildings because the behemoth would have to pay 0.26 percent of its profits in local taxes to help solve the homelessness crisis […]
Fourteen years ago, the City of Seattle, King County and several other philanthropic and corporate partners embarked upon a bold new approach to end homelessness among families with children. Administered by Building Changes, the Washington Youth and Families Fund aimed to make youth and family homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in our state. Yet just […]
When changes in her contract work at Microsoft timed with with her partner’s need for full-time care, Aganita Varkentine left the workforce earlier than she had anticipated. In order to care for her partner, Aganita had little choice but to begin her Social Security benefits at age 62, even though she knew her benefits would […]
When Emily Kim graduated from law school in 2011, the job market was bleak. She was thrilled when she landed her first position and she took the salary offered, fearing that negotiation might cost her the job. A while later, Emily assumed a role managing the office’s budget. In comparing past years’ payroll expenditures, Emily […]