The 2020 legislative session is upon us and once again UFCW 21 will be in Olympia fighting to advance workers’ rights. Past legislative sessions have seen us win victories like ensuring uninterrupted meal and rest breaks for frontline health care workers, and vacating cannabis misdemeanors. In 2017, we fought for and won the most progressive Paid Family and Medical Leave law in the country. As of January 1, the program is now live! Information about eligibility for coverage and how to apply can be found at www.paidleave.wa.gov or reach out to your rep with any questions. This is one of the strongest statewide Paid Leave programs in the country and you now have access to it!

Legislative wins like this only happen when we have pro-worker majorities in Olympia and when legislators hear the real stories of workers. UFCW 21 has a full slate of policies on the agenda for 2020 that will make Washington a better place for workers, our families, and our communities. Read on to find out more!

• The Working Families Tax Credit would help fix Washington’s broken and upside down tax system by providing tax relief to low and moderate wage workers.

• UFCW 21 proudly represents cannabis workers at Have A Heart, and our cannabis legislation provides an opportunity for our union to grow while also ensuring that cannabis jobs in Washington state are good jobs.

• Our slate of health care legislation includes bills to help reduce work-related injuries for health care workers, protect the personal information of our public sector health care workers, and have better financial transparency in large health care institutions. These bills are designed to improve working conditions for health care workers, as well as improving the quality of care patients receive.

• We will continue our fight from previous legislative sessions to pass bills that promote housing affordability, which has been identified as the top non-bargaining issue for our members.

• Updating the workers’ compensation process is another top priority – the system is currently stacked against workers with unnecessary and overly invasive Independent Medical Exams for injured workers and Third-Party Administrators who are often utilized to suppress workers’ claims. We need to strengthen protections for workers as they navigate the system so workers can safely return to work – and pay their bills on time when they are out due to injury.

Winning on issues like this is hard, it takes electing pro-worker candidates as well as workers getting involved in the legislative process. If you are interested in coming to Olympia during the 2020 legislative session, reach out to Karsten Wise, political organizer at 206-436-6556 or email: actionteams@ufcw21.org