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Welcome to this Labor Day edition of Teresa Tuesday where summer is ending but school is starting for many families across District 8. As we all start to spend more time in doors, please consider getting updated flu/COVID shots which are now available. As always, if there is anything we can do to help please don’t hesitate to reach out.
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Yesterday was Labor Day! For many of us Labor Day is more than just a day off and the unofficial end of the summer. It’s a time to recognize all the hard-working people who make our daily lives possible. It’s a moment to reflect on the hard-won rights generations of workers fought for and that we now enjoy. Now it’s also a time to support the people organizing, pushing, and standing up to raise standards in their workplaces not just for themselves but for all of us. I’m proud that District 8 is home to many of our region’s Union Halls and important infrastructure like the Port of Seattle powering our local economy with family wage jobs done by the longshore workers union. I’d like to take this space to highlight 3 important labor struggles as we return from our Labor Day holiday.
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During the pandemic, our local tourism industry ground to a halt. Many hotels sat largely empty during the lockdowns of early COVID days, meaning the people who worked on those hotels were laid off. As we emerge from the pandemic our visitors have returned and our hotel occupancy rates are back to what they were in 2019. However, for the workers who bore the brunt of the downturn, they have not enjoyed in the prosperity the industry is now experiencing.
For workers in hospitality, their asks are simple: one job should be enough! I stand with them. They deserve wages that allow them to not only support their families but to also have enough time to spend with them.
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The people who build the planes are not the cause of Boeing’s recent troubles. The company has prioritized corporate profits over listening to the frontline workers who are literally closest to the product. Machinists 751 have authorized a strike, not only to win back benefits they have sacrificed for the good of the company, but to also get the company back on track. Time and time again it has been shown that when companies invest in workers instead of shareholder value everyone is better off. If the machinists are forced to withhold their labor to win a fair contract, I for one will stand with them and if I have to travel during their strike, well if the plane is a Boeing...I ain’t going!
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Between the Women’s National US Soccer Team bringing home the gold medal from the Paris Olympics and Megan Rapinoe having her jersey retired by the Seattle Reign, US Women’s Soccer continued to make history with a groundbreaking collective bargaining agreement. This isn’t just a big deal for women’s soccer, it’s a big deal for professional sports raising the standards for what professional athletes can and should expect. Here are a few key highlights:
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Eliminates the draft - allowing players to decide which teams they want to play on rather than allowing team owners the ability to dictate where a player is allowed to play.
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Every player is now a Free Agent - helping to ensure fair contracts bargained between the player and management as equals.
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Guaranteed contracts to provide job security - sometimes only the most elite athletes are able to secure contracts in other professional leagues.
- Players can no longer be traded without their consent.
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Salary cap will now be tied to revenue sharing - meaning players will now do better as the league continues to do better.
Much like in workplaces across the country, a union contract is a way to level the playing field providing transparency and fairness in wages and benefits for women and all workers.
Learn more about the historic NWSLPA deal at WeSaidNow.com
and show your support for the @nwsl_players
on social media with the #WeSaidNow hashtag.
One Ocean Day – Declaring…
Councilmembers present Seattle Aquarium president and CEO, Bob Davidson (center), Chair of the Capital Campaign, Martha Kongsgaard (second from right), and past board chair and leader in the waterfront effort, Bob Donegan (far left) with One Ocean Day proclamation
I am proud to have Prime Sponsored the proclamation of One Ocean Day as we celebrate the opening of Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion. The text the of proclamation can be found here. I was also honored to join for the grand opening which was a truly terrific event. More on that can be found further into this Teresa Tuesday.
When the viaduct came down, it opened up a world of possibility for what the waterfront could become. Without a doubt, one of the coolest new additions to the heart of Seattle is the Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion. I joined with elected leaders including, Governor Inslee, Executive Constantine, Mayor of Seattle Bruce Harrell and others including tribal leaders to celebrate the grand opening. This new addition is really world class and I encourage everyone to go and visit. To get a sense of how awesome it is check out a few highlights from opening day.
Conservation District Highlights for District 8
Since 1949, King Conservation District (KCD) has provided education, technical assistance, and financial help to people stewarding the natural resources of King County. Private residents manage a significant portion of King County’s streams, lakes, forests, and agricultural lands and KCD has been a long-trusted partner in assisting them to improve water quality and soil health, increase tree canopy, reduce wildfire risk, and bolster local food systems.
The current KCD program of work and supporting rate structure will expire in December of 2024. KCD is working with program participants, partner organizations, and other stakeholders to update their program of work and secure a three or five-year agreement with King County to continue funding their critical conservation services.
Page 1 of KCD's District 8 report
Protecting Renters from Price Fixing
 I’ve been calling attention to and working on solutions for the problem of corporate landlords using algorithms to charge higher rental prices for a while now. Recently, the US Department of Justice sued RealPage, alleging that they are violating anti-trust laws through the use of their software, jacking up rents here locally and nationally. KIRO 7’s own Jesse Jones has done incredible work following this story. I continue to work on lifting up this issue at the county level through our comprehensive plan, and remain in coordination with our state partners on a possible statewide approach to ensure everyone gets a fair chance at a fair rent.
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