Our Wins
We’ve been winning policy change in Washington state for decades.
Here are some of the wins we’re especially proud of.
Millionaires Tax
In 2026, we partnered with over 100 organizations to advocate for passage of the historic Millionaires Tax, a 9.9% tax on annual earnings over $1 million. Revenue from the Millionaires Tax, an estimated $3 billion each year, will make life more affordable, sustain vital public services, and reduce taxes for people and businesses across the state.
Capital Gains Tax
We partnered with a broad coalition of advocates in 2021 to push for a tax on the capital gains of the very wealthy, with a 7% tax on profits exceeding $278,000 per year from the sales of assets like stocks and bonds. In 2025, the measure generated nearly $1.5 billion to fund public education, child care, and early learning – as well as capital improvements to schools and licensed child care centers.
Cascade Care
With the passage of Cascade Care in 2019 and Cascade Care 2.0 in 2021, we fought for and won alternatives to health plans with high out-of-pocket costs and limited coverage.
Cascade Care includes a standard insurance plan and a public option called Cascade Select that increases access to high-value care at a lower cost, and a subsidy program called Cascade Care Savings that, together with federal premium assistance, helps bring monthly premiums down to low or no cost for many around the state. Over 100,000 Washingtonians benefit from Cascade Care Savings and pay less for insurance thanks to state-funded premium assistance.
Reference-based pricing
We worked with partners to pass landmark legislation in 2025 to improve access and drive down health care costs for public and school employees.
The bill uses a cost-control approach known as reference-based pricing to rebalance health care spending. Thanks to this law, there is now an upper limit on what hospitals can charge for inpatient and outpatient medical services and a minimum reimbursement level for critical – and underfunded- services like behavioral health and primary care. These new price limits reduce costs for patients while also ensuring that essential preventative care services are well-funded.
Paid Family & Medical Leave
In 2017, after nearly two decades of fighting for better paid leave policies, an EOI-led coalition succeeded in lobbying our state legislature to pass Washington’s Paid Family & Medical Leave Act (PFML). The program allows 12 weeks of paid leave, with up to 16-18 weeks for multiple qualifying events or pregnancy complications.
We have continued to make PFML more equitable and accessible by expanding the definition of family, strengthening job protections, and making other improvements.
Equal pay
We helped lead the effort to pass the state’s Equal Pay and Opportunity Act, which went into effect in 2018. The measure, fought and won by a coalition of organizations and community leaders, ends common pay secrecy policies and requires employers to provide job-related reasons for differences in pay and opportunity.
This policy helps combat Washington’s racial wage gap — among the worst in the nation — which perpetuates discrimination and economic disparities among communities of color.
Overtime reform
In 2019, our research findings supported the Department of Labor and Industries’ modernization of outdated overtime rules. As a result, low-salaried employees receive overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week. Work standards like minimum wage and paid sick and safe leave now also apply to them.
This puts money in people’s pockets and prevents employers from misclassifying and thereby underpaying workers.
More about our work
Progressive Revenue
Washington’s tax code is upside down. We need a balanced tax system where we all pay our fair share and public revenue sustainably funds the services our communities and economy rely on to grow.
Health care
Lawmakers can make health care more accessible and affordable for all by controlling costs, expanding corporate accountability, increasing subsidies, and eventually shifting to a universal health care system.
Dignified Work & Resilient Communities
Good jobs with fair wages, strong benefits, and safe conditions are the bedrock of dignified work, thriving communities, and a stable economy. And no one should have to choose between going to work and caring for themselves or a loved one.