UPDATE (April 10, 2021) — SB 5194 passed the Washington State House of Representatives on Friday by a 60-38 vote! The bill now returns to the Senate, where it already passed 30-19, for concurrence and then it moves to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk for signature. Communities for Our Colleges to rally Thursday for SB […]
UPDATE (April 6) — Corrects to clarify status and the removal of the emergency clause. OLYMPIA (April 6, 2021) — Frontline workers who are infected with COVID-19 would receive medical coverage and partial wage replacement for lost work hours under the Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA) passed Monday by the House, 68-30. The legislation, […]
OLYMPIA (April 6, 2021) — The Worker Protection Act (HB 1076), legislation approved by the Washington State House of Representatives to allow workers to seek justice in court when if employer violates existing wage, work safety and discrimination laws, died last Friday when it failed to advance from the Senate Ways and Means Committee by […]
Urge state representatives to end the racist legacy by passing SB 5172 without amendments OLYMPIA (April 5, 2021) — Washington would be the first state in the nation to bring the 40-hour work week and overtime pay to all agricultural workers, some of the nation’s lowest-paid workers, under SB 5172, which has been passed […]
Thank your Washington state legislators for this important COVID-19 response OLYMPIA (March 31, 2021) — Last week, Democratic leaders in the Washington State House of Representatives and the State Senate released their proposed budgets for the 2021-23 biennium. Both proposals place heavy emphasis on helping the people suffering the worst consequences of the COVID-19 […]
OLYMPIA (March 30, 2021) — SB 5194, the “Our Colleges, Our Future” Act which is a major legislative priority for AFT Washington, working in coalition with the Communities For Our Colleges coalition, will have a public hearing on Wednesday, March 31 at 1:30 p.m. in the House Appropriations Committee. This bill, which already passed the […]
Texas-based Penhall faces largest WA prevailing wage citation in recent years SEATTLE (March 26, 2021) — A contractor on a Sound Transit light rail project has been cited for shorting more than three dozen workers hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages. After a lengthy investigation, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries […]
OLYMPIA (March 22, 2021) — The Worker Protection Act (HB 1076), which creates another avenue for workers to seek justice when if employer violates existing wage, work safety and discrimination laws, advanced from the Senate Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs Committee last week. The House-approved legislation, which is strongly supported by Washington’s labor movement, now […]
UPDATE (March 19, 2021) — The Senate Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs Committee advanced the Worker Protection Act (HB 1076) to the Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. Stay tuned for another update on Monday. OLYMPIA (March 12, 2021) — The Worker Protection Act (HB 1076), which would allow workers to blow the whistle on […]
Group has supported or been neutral on most bills, but has concerns on SB 5051 The following is from the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Corrections Unions: OLYMPIA (March 11, 2021) — A broad coalition of Washington state law enforcement unions, representing more than 14,000 officers, released a letter Wednesday urging lawmakers to continue […]
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