Benton County Democratic Central Committee

We are excited to announce Attorney General Bob Ferguson as this year’s keynote speaker for our 12th Annual Luncheon on May 8th at The Westin Seattle! 

Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s continued commitment to serving the people of Washington State aligns perfectly with the Alliance`s dedication to preventing gun violence and promoting safer communities. His insights and perspectives are sure to leave a lasting impact on all attendees. Learn more about Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

The luncheon is the Alliance`s signature fundraising event, with a goal of raising $1 million to enable us to advance policies and programs that save lives. The event brings our entire community together to support our mission – and you’re invited! Please join us for an afternoon that is sure to fill you with hope and empowerment in our fight to end gun violence as a community.

Can`t make it? You can still help us ensure the continued success of our mission to end gun violence. Please consider a gift today to support our work.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Abdirahman (He/Him)

Everyone’s talking about our movement.

Hundreds of feminists took to the Supreme Court yesterday to protect access to medication abortions. 13 of us, including senior leadership, advisors, and board members, got arrested. Together, we made it clear that we won’t tolerate any attacks on our reproductive freedom from an illegitimate Supreme Court.

Yesterday was just the beginning — we’ll be back in Washinton, DC, in a month when SCOTUS begins hearing even more far-right activist led cases in an attempt to undermine our freedoms and democracy.

We want to share some of our favorite headlines about yesterday’s actions. After you finish reading, we’re asking if you can make an urgent donation right now to continue powering our organizing efforts to defend abortion access and our freedom. In a month, the Supreme Court is going to reconvene to determine the future of emergency access to abortions,  Trump’s involvement in the January 6th insurrection attempt, and so much more. It’s critical we continue growing our momentum for the fight against fascism. 

From the New York Times to The Washington Post, Associated Press, and the Hill — everyone is talking about the strength of our movement.

This was exactly the kind of national, women-led uprising we needed as the Supreme Court began to meet to determine the future of abortion care and our freedoms. But our work isn’t over yet, and we’re already running out of time.

It’s going to take all of us working together to defend our freedoms.

We rely exclusively on grassroots donations. We need people chipping in $5, $15, $50 as often as possible to sustain this movement and win.

Let’s do this,

Women’s March

IT’S ABOUT TIME

Reducing the workweek to 32 hours is overwhelmingly popular, garnering 57% – 34% support in a recent poll of US voters, including 69% of Democrats, 58% of independents, and even 44% of Republicans. Shorter workweeks also work: numerous pilot programs in Britain, in Portugal, at Kickstarter, and beyond have consistently shown that a reduced workweek enhances productivity, improves retention, and increases job satisfaction.

And yet unlike almost any other policy change with that much popular support and that much evidence behind it, the idea of government actually taking steps to reduce the workweek tends to be treated mostly as a daydream rather than something that could possibly happen. But this idea that it’s not serious to consider reducing the workweek is a fairly recent development. In fact, back when the 40-hour workweek was first established, it was thought to be only a temporary compromise, and it was generally assumed that automation and productivity increases would continue to reduce the amount of time humans had to labor. Noted economist John Maynard Keynes even predicted the workweek would be just 15 hours by now. But instead, the official workweek has remained stuck at 40 hours, with salaried workers typically working quite a bit longer, and the whole idea of working less seems to have evaporated from the political conversation. Today, there’s apparently a silent shared conviction among the powers-that-be that work is just naturally supposed to be a long and painful punishment, that human flourishing isn’t worth talking about, and that there are some popular ideas that just shouldn’t be elevated to serious debate.

in new federal revenue could be collected if Congress passes new proposals from President Biden to limit the corporate tax deduction for private plane ownership, and increase the tax on the jet fuel they purchase. The private plane industry contends that private planes are an “essential industry,” and that taxing them is unfair because companies use the planes to fly executives to visit offices and factories.

is the pay rate for people who peel shrimp for export to the US, work that causes many severe skin problems and other health hazards. Some of the most common problems could be prevented simply by providing gloves to shrimp peelers, which cost an unaffordable $3 a box — a day’s wages.

are members of the ultra-conservative Republican Study Committee, which recently issued an official report which proposed raising the Social Security retirement age. While the group frets about “insolvency approaching,” they do not propose raising taxes on the rich to secure retirement benefits.

One of the most remarkable recent economic developments is that over the past few years, wages have increased the most quickly for the lowest-wage workers — a complete inversion of the long-term trend towards inequality that began at the dawn of the trickle-down era. While the lowest-wage workers at the 10th percentile of the wage distribution have seen a 12% increase in their inflation-adjusted wages from 2019 – 2023, the very-highest wage workers at the 90th percentile have seen almost no increase. (But don’t worry, they’ll be fine.) And the gains are especially robust among Black men, young workers, and working mothers. 

Several factors are driving this highly unusual reduction in inequality, including increases to the minimum wage in many states, the strong post-pandemic labor market which is forcing employers to compete for workers, and the whole range of middle-out economic policies pursued by the Biden administration. And while there’s plenty of ground to be made up, this data shows that income inequality has always been a policy choice — and that when our government discards trickle-down and chooses a different path, the results follow.

According to a new report from the Center for American Progress, union members build more wealth than workers who aren’t union members. And it’s not even close. The median union household has 1.7 times the wealth of the median non-union household, with the relative increase in wealth particularly strong among workers of color. In fact, CAP finds that “union households of color have between 167 percent and 228 percent more median wealth than nonunion households of color.”

It’s easy to guess that much of this is due to the higher wages that union members are able to negotiate, and that’s true. But there’s more to it as well. Union members are also more likely to negotiate contracts which provide stable employment, buffering them from income shocks that can drain wealth. And they’re more likely to be enrolled in retirement plans that provide additional wealth and security. It all adds up to yet another reason why supporting strong unions is good public policy, and a cornerstone of middle-out economic growth. 

What did you think? Choose a reaction:

Civic Action
119 1st Avenue South Suite 320
Seattle, WA 98014
United States

This year’s legislative session has officially ended, and we have lots to share with you! TONIGHT at 6pm we’re hosting an activist briefing to debrief and talk next steps – and you’re invited!

We’ll take some time to recap this session and discuss it’s impacts. We’ll also look ahead to what’s next in our fight defeat the capital gains tax repeal as I-2109 lands on our ballots. 

Join us to hear about the ways you can be involved in protecting the capital gains tax, making progress toward a more fair and just tax code, and more!

IWN ACTIVIST BRIEFING

DATE: Tuesday, March 26

TIME: 6 – 6:45pm

LOCATION: Virtual, on Zoom

If you are not able to join Tuesday’s briefing but still want to receive additional updates and commit to calls to action, you can sign up to join our Rapid Response Team here.

With 2024 upon us, our work to make a more fair tax system is ramping up. We have a lot of work to do, and are so glad you are part of the team to make it happen.

With gratitude,
Treasure Mackley

Executive Director
Invest in Washington Now

Get in Touch Today

Info@investwanow.org

 Invest in Washington Now, 509 Olive Way Ste 1133, Seattle, WA, 98101

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court hears arguments that seek to limit access to a widely used drug for medication abortions, reshape health care policy,  and undermine the FDA’s regulation processes. 

Reproductive freedom isn’t free. Organizing and mobilizing the largest base of women on the left is costly. Can you chip in $15 today to ensure we are ready for the fight ahead?

They will also hear Women’s Marchers from across the country say unequivocally that partisan and politicized SCOTUS rulings on abortion are illegitimate. No matter the outcome of this sham case, medication abortion will remain accessible to all who seek it. 

Donate $60 or more by MIDNIGHT and receive our Jezebel shirt to wear to your next activist shenanigans!

We only have one more day to get all the people we can to make sure that we fight this baseless case until it’s dead. Our average donation at Women’s March is about $20, which means that it takes all of us to keep this movement going. Can we count on you?

– Women’s March