You can search for a particular candidate, ballot measure, or find voting recommendations for an area using an address. Alternatively, find voting recommendations using your device's location.
M. L. King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO Endorsements
The M. L. King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO, is the central body of labor organizations in King County, Washington. The core responsibilities of the M. L. King County Labor Council are to assist workers and their unions in the struggle for social and economic justice; support efforts to organize and bargain fair contracts; lobby, endorse and involve working people in the political process; advocate and support laws that protect working people; support community services outreach work; and unite with community allies who are also struggling for justice.
Workers in Burien earning the minimum wage are struggling to meet their basic needs, especially when it comes to the cost of housing. Burien Initiative Measure No. 1 would help working parents pay the rent, budget for emergencies, and save for their kids’ future.
Initiative Measure 1 would raise the minimum wage at large corporations to $21.10, matching Tukwila's rate and correlating with Renton, White Center, SeaTac, and Seattle. For medium and small companies, the wage rate would be $2 and $3 lower, respectively, but will continue to increase over the next few years until the city has one standard minimum wage for all workers.
Last year, the Burien City Council passed a weaker law that appeared to raise wages in the city. However, the legislation included several loopholes that excluded many workers. In response, a citizen initiative in the form of Initiative Measure 1 is an effort to guarantee a true raise that doesn’t penalize working people based on employer size or for receiving tips or medical benefits. The opposition to the initiative has promoted misleading information, including falsely suggesting that it ties Burien’s wage permanently to Tukwila’s.
The initiative is widely endorsed by our statewide partners and local progressive organizations. Vote Yes for Burien Initiative Measure 1 to empower workers and help local families thrive.
Last updated: 2025-01-23
Workers in Burien earning the minimum wage are struggling to meet their basic needs, especially when it comes to the cost of housing. Burien Initiative Measure No. 1 would help working parents pay the rent, budget for emergencies, and save for their kids’ future.
Initiative Measure 1 would raise the minimum wage at large corporations to $21.10, matching Tukwila's rate and correlating with Renton, White Center, SeaTac, and Seattle. For medium and small companies, the wage rate would be $2 and $3 lower, respectively, but will continue to increase over the next few years until the city has one standard minimum wage for all workers.
Last year, the Burien City Council passed a weaker law that appeared to raise wages in the city. However, the legislation included several loopholes that excluded many workers. In response, a citizen initiative in the form of Initiative Measure 1 is an effort to guarantee a true raise that doesn’t penalize working people based on employer size or for receiving tips or medical benefits. The opposition to the initiative has promoted misleading information, including falsely suggesting that it ties Burien’s wage permanently to Tukwila’s.
The initiative is widely endorsed by our statewide partners and local progressive organizations. Vote Yes for Burien Initiative Measure 1 to empower workers and help local families thrive.
Both propositions are designed to fund social housing, which Seattle residents endorsed through Initiative 135 in 2023.
The term “social housing” includes several models that aim to create permanently affordable housing and greater resident control. Under I-135, rent for lower-income residents would be offset by a mix of income levels, all housing would also meet green building standards, and rent would cost less than 30 percent of a household’s income. The initiative established a public developer to create publicly-owned social housing, required the city to provide staff and office space for the first 18 months, and created a feasibility study on housing needs and land sales. For legal reasons, I-135 did not include a source of funding to build housing.
Proposition 1A proposes a new tax, paid by employers doing business in Seattle, that would fund the public development authority to build social housing throughout the city. This tax – 5% on annual compensation above $1 million paid to any employee – would raise an estimated $53 million per year for social housing. The initiative was brought forward by the same community organizers who generated the 2023 initiative passed by voters to establish the Social Housing Developer authority.
1A offers Seattle residents a chance to make a significant investment in social housing, which addresses the affordability crisis by creating publicly owned housing that's accessible to people with a somewhat wider range of income levels. Other approaches are more focused on people with extremely limited resources. The goal is to support housing for teachers, nurses, or social service workers as well as very low-income residents, and to use income from relatively higher-income residents to help offset the lower costs for lower-income residents.
Proposition 1B represents a different approach proposed by the conservative-leaning majority on the Seattle City Council. If approved, this measure would redirect $10 million from the existing payroll tax to the public development authority’s affordable housing initiatives. The measure includes some restrictions on the development authority’s use of the funds, including requiring the authority to hire certain leadership staff to manage the projects and that the authority may not create housing for people who earn more than 80% of the average development area’s income.
The magnitude of our housing shortage requires solutions beyond moving public funding from one pot to another. If we want a strong community, vibrant economy, and thriving city, we must be willing to make real investments in affordable housing. Proposition 1B is too small to make an impact on the problem.
On this unique ballot measure, we recommend voting Yes on question 1 and then voting for Proposition 1A to build more affordable housing in Seattle.
Last updated: 2025-01-27
Both propositions are designed to fund social housing, which Seattle residents endorsed through Initiative 135 in 2023.
The term “social housing” includes several models that aim to create permanently affordable housing and greater resident control. Under I-135, rent for lower-income residents would be offset by a mix of income levels, all housing would also meet green building standards, and rent would cost less than 30 percent of a household’s income. The initiative established a public developer to create publicly-owned social housing, required the city to provide staff and office space for the first 18 months, and created a feasibility study on housing needs and land sales. For legal reasons, I-135 did not include a source of funding to build housing.
Proposition 1A proposes a new tax, paid by employers doing business in Seattle, that would fund the public development authority to build social housing throughout the city. This tax – 5% on annual compensation above $1 million paid to any employee – would raise an estimated $53 million per year for social housing. The initiative was brought forward by the same community organizers who generated the 2023 initiative passed by voters to establish the Social Housing Developer authority.
1A offers Seattle residents a chance to make a significant investment in social housing, which addresses the affordability crisis by creating publicly owned housing that's accessible to people with a somewhat wider range of income levels. Other approaches are more focused on people with extremely limited resources. The goal is to support housing for teachers, nurses, or social service workers as well as very low-income residents, and to use income from relatively higher-income residents to help offset the lower costs for lower-income residents.
Proposition 1B represents a different approach proposed by the conservative-leaning majority on the Seattle City Council. If approved, this measure would redirect $10 million from the existing payroll tax to the public development authority’s affordable housing initiatives. The measure includes some restrictions on the development authority’s use of the funds, including requiring the authority to hire certain leadership staff to manage the projects and that the authority may not create housing for people who earn more than 80% of the average development area’s income.
The magnitude of our housing shortage requires solutions beyond moving public funding from one pot to another. If we want a strong community, vibrant economy, and thriving city, we must be willing to make real investments in affordable housing. Proposition 1B is too small to make an impact on the problem.
On this unique ballot measure, we recommend voting Yes on question 1 and then voting for Proposition 1A to build more affordable housing in Seattle.
