UPDATE (June 24, 2016) — This is it.

Thank you to all of you who gathered signatures for Initiative 1433, the important effort to raise the state minimum wage and allow workers to earn paid sick leave. To make sure I-1433 makes the ballot, it’s critical that you mail any signatures you have in hand. Every signature counts so please read below about the two ways you can ensure Washington voters have a chance to vote YES for Initiative 1433:

MAIL ALL SIGNATURES BY MONDAY, JUNE 27:

It’s critical that the campaign receives every last signature. If you have ANY signatures in hand, please drop them off at the campaign headquarters or mail them in — 321 16th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98144 — by Monday, June 27 in a regular business-sized envelope. (The campaign address is also on your petition.) Here’s the amount of postage needed: 1 petition = 1 stamp; 3-5 petitions = 2 stamps; 10 petitions = 4 stamps

SIGN UP TO GATHER SIGNATURES OVER THE FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND

Call the campaign today at 206-709-1313 to sign up for a two-hour signature gathering shift. For everyone gathering over the Fourth of July weekend, the campaign will have drop-off locations across the state. The organizers will let you know about the statewide drop-off locations that final weekend.

Thank you for your support of Washington’s workers!

Volunteer petitioners needed for Initiative 1433’s home stretch

(May 26, 2016) — Summer’s here, and that means time is running out.

With the unofficial beginning of summer this Memorial Day weekend, time is running out on the historic Initiative 1433 signature-gathering campaign to raise Washington state’s minimum wage in four steps to $13.50/hour and to allow all workers to earn paid sick and safe leave.

With just six weeks left, volunteers are urgently needed to gather the 75,000 more signatures needed to qualify Initiative 1433 on this fall’s ballot. And this holiday weekend — and next weekend — offer some great opportunities and events where lots of signatures can be gathered quickly.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! Please click here to volunteer to help gather signatures. You’ll get contacted by Raise Up Washington about the best events, sites and opportunities to get signatures in your area. Also, if you have petitions with signatures — even if they are only partially full — please return your petitions now so the campaign knows how many more are needed to qualify. Drop them off or mail them to: Raise Up Washington, 321 16th Ave. South, Seattle, WA, 98144. Call 206-709-1313 for more information.

Union members and community supporters are fighting to give workers a raise and ensure everyone in our state has the same opportunity to thrive. In Washington state, neither families nor individuals can meet their basic needs working full time at the current minimum wage of $9.47. No one who works full time should be forced to live in poverty!

Meanwhile, about one million workers in Washington get no paid time off when they are ill, which forces them to either work sick — and spread their illnesses — or lose precious pay. That’s just not right. And it’s not healthy for our communities.

Initiative 1433 would phase-in a higher state minimum wage over four years: $11 (2017), $11.50 (2018), $12 (2019), and $13.50 (2020). It also would allow workers to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, so workers can take care of themselves and their family when sick without fear of being fired or losing a day’s wage. Employers who provide higher wages or more generous paid leave are not affected by these changes.

Hundreds of volunteers for the Raise Up Washington campaign have gathered more than 100,000 signatures already. But now that the campaign is in the home stretch, volunteers are needed to gather the remaining 75,000 signatures needed by June 30.

Please sign up today to volunteer or have petitions sent to you. Be a part of history and make a difference!