I have written a letter to Mayor Jenny Durkan, explaining why I have not advanced her nomination of a permanent director of the Human Services Department, and calling on her to involve city workers, the community, and human service providers in an open, transparent, and inclusive candidate search. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ February 7, 2019 Dear Mayor Durkan, […]

I was elected and then reelected to the Seattle City Council on the basis of my pledge to unwaveringly use my office to help build movements to win victories for ordinary working people. A recent article from SCC Insight, now happily picked up by the corporate conservative media, argues that pledge is somehow at odds […]

In my letter to Mayor Durkan and the other City councilmembers, I challenge them to end “a culture of contracting out our safety net to profiteers” Seattle stands hours away from losing Basic Life Support services as a result of a toxic combination of big business greed and a corporate political establishment that uses contracting […]

On December 11, I sent a message to Mayor Durkan expressing solidarity with Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), members of Teamsters Local 763, who recently announced plans to go on strike, and urging her to support EMTs in their demand for better pay, healthcare, and working conditions. EMTs and supporters rallying at Harborview for better pay […]

Thursday December 6, 2018 Dear members of WFSE Local 3488 and all union members at the University of Washington, For years, members of WFSE Local 3488 have diligently and with dedication cleaned the linens and hospital scrubs for University of Washington-run medical facilities. Your work is difficult but essential to providing a clean, safe environment […]

On November 29, 2018 I sent the following letter to City Attorney Pete Holmes, urging him to drop all charges against the three clergy arrested while peacefully protesting the new youth jail. Dear Pete Holmes, I am writing to urge you to drop all charges against the three courageous members of the clergy who were […]

I will be voting ‘NO’ today on this proposed contract between Seattle police and the City of Seattle, which I cannot support in its current form. I am a rank and file member of a public sector union, I want to be clear that I support the right of all public sector workers to negotiate […]

I sent out the following news release announcing my plan to vote ‘No” on the Seattle Police Officers Guild contract, in solidarity with numerous community groups and union members calling for police accountability. NEWS RELEASE: Councilmember Sawant Announces She Will Vote Against Seattle Police Officers Guild Contract Sawant supports wage increases but urges Mayor Durkan […]

This morning, more than 40 of my fellow union members and I were proud to stand in solidarity with Seattle’s working people for police accountability. Union Members Stand Against Rollback of Police Accountability in SPOG Contract We, the undersigned Seattle-area union members, fully support fair pay for Seattle police officers. The wage increases their union, […]

Seattle’s emergency medical technicians (EMTs) working at the for-profit American Medical Response (AMR) have been fighting for decent wages and benefits, and against exploitative working conditions. My office, the EMTs, their union Teamsters Local 763, and others in the labor movement forced the City Council to pass a resolution to hold AMR accountable. But rather than […]