Community organizers and labor leaders announce plans for workers’ rights initiative

Tacoma For All and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367 announced plans to bring an initiative to Pierce and Thurston county voters next year. The groups are calling the initiative a workers’ bill of rights. 

The initiative is still being drafted, but one aim is to establish a $20 per hour minimum wage for Tacoma and Olympia.

“People are ready for a $20 an hour minimum wage,” said Ann Dorn, who serves on the steering committee of Tacoma for All, “and I’m really excited to be here and to create this with you today.”

Tacoma and Olympia abide by the state’s minimum wage of $16.28 per hour.

At the Saturday meeting, service workers shared the difficulties they face in their jobs and how a higher minimum wage would make a difference in their lives.

“Despite our efforts, many of us find ourselves struggling to make ends meet,” said retail worker Thai Vo. “This is not just about numbers on a paycheck. This is about our ability to support ourselves and our families with dignity.”

Organizers and workers talked about the need for more training and better staffing in service jobs to keep workers safe. 

Grocery store worker Larry Louis spoke about the conditions at his workplace.

“You’re working with 500 degree ovens, some of which are below you, and when you open the door, you get an immediate steam bath,” Louis said. “This is all stuff we deal with every day, and to do that for less than standard wages is criminal.”

Current backers of the movement include Pierce County Councilmember Ryan Mello, who is also running for Pierce County Executive, the Washington State Labor Council, and state Sen. Yasmin Trudeau.

Trudeau, who is running for reelection, was among the first elected officials to endorse the tenant bill of rights, which Tacoma For All drafted. The group successfully got the tenant bill of rights for Tacoma on the ballot in 2023. Voters passed that initiative in November. 

At the event in Tacoma, Trudeau shared her support for the labor community, and why she has supported community-led efforts in the past.

“I’m your neighbor,” Trudeau said. “That’s what it means to be a community. We actually are, in fact, neighbors, and it means that when you succeed, I succeed. And when you do better, I do better.”

Organizers said they’re looking to start on this campaign earlier; they plan to bring it to voters in November 2025.