On Friday, November 23, 2015, the Seattle City Council cast our final votes on the 2016 budget. The People’s Budget movement won a number of progressive budget victories, and I was proud to vote in favor of them. But, even with these progressive amendments, the final budget package remained woefully inadequate. As a workers’ representative that was elected on a pledge to […]

Last week, on November 19, 2015, The Seattle Women’s Commission sent this powerful statement to Seattle City Councilmembers in support of my amendment to provide 12 weeks paid parental leave for City workers, and in solidarity with the struggle to win paid parental leave for all Seattleites. The Seattle Women’s Commission has recently approved our 2016 […]

We’re Just 1 Vote Shy of Winning 12 Weeks Paid Parental Leave for City Workers! Urge Councilmembers to Support 12 Weeks Paid Parental Leave, Pack City Hall for Final Budget Votes! – Monday, Nov 23 @ 2 pm This week our movement won many important budget victories. We doubled funding for Career Bridge, youth apprentice […]

With the Council’s recognition of the Mayor’s Proclamation of Civil Emergency on homelessness, the City of Seattle has the opportunity to dramatically escalate the fight against homelessness. Activists and social service providers have been organizing for decades to win this admission from the City government, and I want to thank everyone for the work they have done. I […]

Seattle is well known for its rich history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community organizing, activism and cultural expression – in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, in particular. However, unlike San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles, Denver, New York City, and Chicago, the City of Seattle does not have an official LBGTQ Community Center. In June 2011, […]

Guaranteed paid parental leave is both a workers’ rights and a women’s rights issue. All workers, regardless of their gender identity or family configuration, should be guaranteed this right. Many Americans know that paid parental leave is common in Europe. It is less well known that paid parental leave is a global phenomenon. In 2013, 96% […]

Yesterday, I wrote about my amendment to secure funding for Career Bridge. Today I would like to speak to a complementary amendment, calling on Councilmembers to support Priority Hire Pre-Apprenticeship Support. Supporting Priority Hire This past January, after two years of campaigning by over 40 organizations and countless community activists, Council unanimously voted to adopt […]

Over the last two decades, Seattle has seen a massive influx of new workers, particularly in the tech industries. City Hall has gone to great lengths to court specific companies through sweetheart deals to mega-corporations and developers. In the meantime, low income Seattleites and people of color, in particular, have been neglected, and the Mayor’s proposed budget continues this […]

On November 3, 2015, one day after the Mayor issued a Proclamation of Civil Emergency on homelessness, I joined homeless organizers, social justice activists, and social service providers to deliver a statement. I then addressed the Council on the need to produce a response that is in proportion to the crisis. View my speech below. I’m glad […]

On November 3, 2015, one day after the Mayor issued a Proclamation of Civil Emergency on homelessness, I joined homeless organizers, social justice activists, and social service providers to deliver the following statement. Let’s Use the City’s Rainy Day Fund to Seriously Address This Crisis SEATTLE – Councilmember Kshama Sawant, along with Julia Sterkovsky, the Executive Director […]