WSLC welcomes Osta Davis as its new Political Director

SEATTLE (Nov. 20, 2023) — The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO has welcomed Osta Davis as its new Political and Strategic Campaigns Director, filling the position that was vacated by Cherika Carter at the start of the year when she began her term as WSLC Secretary Treasurer.

“We couldn’t be more excited about Osta joining our team,” said WSLC President April Sims. “She possesses a unique combination of grassroots campaign organizing experience and understanding of Washington’s political landscape that will serve WSLC’s affiliated unions well. Osta has already hit the ground running to help get Washington’s union movement ready for the critical 2024 elections.”

As Political and Strategic Campaigns Director, Davis will help the council develop and implement its strategic political plan, run the WSLC’s Labor Neighbor grassroots political action program, promote member education campaigns on election issues, and help recruit and elect pro-worker candidates at the direction of the WSLC officers and its affiliated unions via the Committee on Political Education (COPE).

Prior to joining the WSLC, Davis served as Redistricting Lead & Policy Analyst for the Washington State Legislature, and worked with Commissioner April Sims to develop the state’s new congressional and legislative maps. She has also served as Deputy Director for the House Democratic Campaign Committee and Field Director for the Washington Senate Democratic Campaign Committee. In addition, she has been a Presenter for the WSLC’s Path to Power candidate training program.

Davis’s career of advocacy began as a Field Organizer on the Yes! for SeaTac minimum wage campaign in 2013. That successful campaign made SeaTac the first to establish a $15 minimum wage and helped spark a national effort to Fight for $15 from coast to coast.

“Working shoulder to shoulder with Sea-Tac Airport workers, community members, and union organizers, we not only secured a victory at the ballot box, we also fundamentally reshaped the narrative regarding fair wages,” Davis said. “On that campaign, I learned that successful organizing at its core requires a deep respect for those most affected and that an organizer should enter every conversation with the principal aim being to uphold the dignity of the community they are trying to reach.”

Davis said she will continue to apply those lessons to her work with WSLC affiliates, their rank-and-file members, and the council’s community partners.

“It’s an honor to join the WSLC team,” she said. “I will carry with me a reverence for the enormous responsibility of delivering for union members and affiliates in a way that makes a concrete difference in their lives.”

Osta Davis can be reached at odavis@wslc.org or by calling 206-817-1124.

Widely considered to be the “voice of labor” in our state, the WSLC represents and provides services for hundreds of local unions throughout Washington. The WSLC is the largest labor organization in our state, with more than 600 local unions affiliated with the WSLC, representing more than 500,000 rank-and-file union members. Learn more at the www.wslc.org.