Election 2024: what workers won

As the final votes are counted, progressive policies and pro-worker candidates win big across Washington

SEATTLE, WA (November 22, 2024) — Washington State was an outlier in the 2024 election, with working people voting for progressive policies and pro-worker candidates up and down the ballot. Organized labor showed up, getting boots on the ground to ensure union members had needed information to vote in their best interests. Through the WSLC’s Labor Neighbor program, union members came together to talk with coworkers, neighbors, and loved ones, ultimately delivering big wins for working communities across Washington. 

“Our efforts engaging in political organizing was time well spent,” said Osta Davis, WSLC Political & Strategic Campaigns Director. “Amidst the swirling mix of emotions in the wake of the 2024 election, we can take pride in the fact that our work together has produced tangible results.”

Volunteers with the WSLC’s Labor Neighbor program pose for a photo with U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Congresswoman Kim Schrier, and State Senator Bill Ramos. Photo: WSLC

In Congress, voters retained WSLC endorsed candidates in two key congressional districts. On the state-wide level, voters elected Bob Ferguson for Governor, and Nick Brown for Attorney General, two fierce advocates who will defend working communities in Washington from threats at the federal level. What’s more, every single WSLC-endorsed candidate won their race, both for executive office and the judiciary, including Sal Mungia’s election to the Washington Supreme Court.

“WSLC affiliates believe Sal has experience listening to working people,” said Davis. “We are heartened to see our door knocking, phone banking, and mailers pay off in a close election he won by only 21,000 votes.” 

In the State Legislature, voters retained all WSLC-endorsed incumbents, and flipped two seats to pro-worker candidates; Adison Richards for State House in the 26th LD, and educator and union member Adrian Cortes for State Senate in the 18th LD.

Statewide, voters chose to keep taxing the rich, keep penalizing companies for polluting, and keep providing a safety net for older or chronically-ill Washingtonians. In keeping with the trend in both red and blue states — where voters passed a $15 minimum wage (Alaska, Missouri), expanded paid sick leave (Alaska, Missouri, Nebraska), banned captive audience meetings (Alaska), enshrined the right to abortion, (Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York), and rejected school vouchers (Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska) — Washingtonians embraced progressive policies that uplift working families and hold the ultra wealthy accountable.

A map from the Washington Community Alliance showing voters’ broad rejection of the initiative to repeal the capital gains tax.

Across partisan lines, progressive policies win. At current count, about 290,000 more people voted to retain the capital gains tax than voted for Bob Ferguson, an open, state-wide, partisan seat. Nearly 200,000 more Washingtonians voted to retain the cap gains tax than voted for the Harris/Walz ticket. 

Pro-worker policies resonate even where partisan politics have driven deep wedges.

“We pushed leaders to introduce bold policy, we packed committee hearing rooms providing testimony about the lived impact on workers, and when these issues came up as initiatives on the ballot, we won,” said Davis. “As we look towards the 2025 Legislative Session and beyond, it’s clear that Washingtonians support bold action to improve the quality of life for everyday, working folks.”

Labor Neighbor volunteers pose for a photo before hitting the doors to get out the ‘NO’ vote on anti-worker initiatives. Photo: WSLC

Washington’s labor movement is ready for more.

“We are optimistic about the future and will continue to work collaboratively with our leaders and partners to support the priorities of our members and the broader community,” said Heather Kurtenbach, the Executive Secretary of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council. “This election reaffirms our shared commitment to building a stronger, fairer future for all workers in Washington.”

These election wins were made possible by the hundreds of union volunteers who knocked more than 38,000 doors and made more than 116,000 calls to get out the labor vote in counties across Washington.

“I want to extend my deepest thanks to every person who helped make our Labor Neighbor program a success,” said Davis. “Thank you to the unions who let us use their buildings for canvass launches, the stalwart volunteer phonebankers who humored our icebreaker questions week after week after week, the striking Machinists who pivoted to getting out the vote, and the union voters who responded warmly to a knock on the door.” 

In the words of Davis: “Working people in Washington get to write the story about what comes next.”