Washington
On September 23, 2011, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn signed the Seattle Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance into law following an 8 to 1 vote by the City Council. The campaign, led by the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce, generated wide earned media coverage and more e-mails and phone calls to Council members than any issue in memory. Public hearings and forums were packed. Workers, small business owners, and school nurses who rarely have a say in policymaking became key spokespeople, making a compelling case that paid sick days standards are necessary to protect public health and rebuild family economic security.
The Washington Work and Family Coalition, coordinated by the Economic Opportunity Institute, helped launch the Seattle campaign in the aftermath of the H1N1 flu epidemic. For over a decade, the statewide Coalition has brought together seniors, women, labor unions, health professionals, children’s advocates, faith communities, low income workers, employers, and policy makers. The Coalition has successfully pushed through state-wide legislation that allows workers with paid leave to use it to care for sick family members, and that lays the foundation for a family and medical leave insurance program for all workers. We’re beginning a year-long campaign to fund and implement the family and medical leave insurance program, including expanding to cover a workers own serious health condition and caring for an ill family member, in addition to caring for a new child.
Website
http://waworkandfamily.org/
Contact
Marilyn Watkins, Economic Opportunity Institute, marilyn@eoionline.org
Partners
Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce
Steering Committee:
Economic Opportunity Institute
Legal Voice
Main Street Alliance of Washington
MomsRising
Martin Luther King County Labor Council
Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans
Puget Sound Sage
Teamsters Local 117
United Food and Commercial Workers, 21
Washington Community Action Network
Washington State Labor Council
Seattle Coalition Member organizations:
A. Phillip Randolph Institute
Allyship
Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 587
American Association of University Women, Washington
American Federation of Teachers, Local 1789
Asian Counseling & Referral Service
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
Casa Latina
Cedar River Clinics
Church Council of Greater Seattle
Columbia City Fitness
Community Coalition for Environmental Justice
El Centro de la Raza
El Comité
Eleventh District Democrats
Forty-sixth District Democrats
Forty-third District Democrats
FUSE Washington
Got Green
International Alliance Of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 15
International Community Health Services
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 286
King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence
King County Democratic Central Committee
Kohl Construction
Latino Political Action Committee of Washington
Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington
Mainstreet Financial Services
Marine Engineers Beneficial Association
Minority Executive Director’s Coalition of King County
National Asian Pacific American Woman’s Forum, Seattle Chapter
National Organization for Women, Washington Chapter
National Women’s Political Caucus, State Chapter
OneAmerica
OPEIU Local 8
Organization United for Reform Washington
Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart)
Planned Parenthood Votes! Washington
Pride At Work, Martin Luther King County Chapter
Public Service Employees Local 1239
Puget Sound Chapter, Coalition of Labor Union Women
Radical Women – Seattle Chapter
Real Change News
Seattle Fire Fighters Union, IAFF Local 27
Seattle Human Rights Commission
Seattle Human Services Coalition
Seattle Immigrant and Refugee Advisory Board
Seattle Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Commission
Seattle Women’s Commission
SEIU Local 6
SEIU Local 775
Statewide Poverty Action Network
Sustainable Seattle
Take Back Your Time
Teamsters Joint Council No. 28
Thirty-seventh District Democrats
Thirty-sixth District Democrats
Thirty-third District Democrats
Unite Here Local 8
United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 141
Washington Association of Churches
Washington Bus
Washington Fair Trade Coalition
Washington Family Leave Coalition
Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence
WashTech, CWA Local 17083
Washington Family Leave Coalition Members
American Academy of Pediatrics, WA State Chapter
AARP
American Association of University Women of WA State
Association of Retired Americans
Amalgamated Transit Union
Children’s Alliance
Economic Opportunity Institute
Family Values @ Work
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
League of Women Voters of Washington State
Legal Voice
MomsRising.org
National Organization for Women of Washington
Pierce County Human Services Coalition
Planned Parenthood of Washington
Take Back Your Time
Washington CAN
Washington State Labor Council AFL-CIO
