Organizing to Protect Renters

The COVID-19 pandemic left many thousands of King County households unable to pay rent and at risk of eviction. This year, TRU stepped up to build and lead a countywide coalition called Stay Housed Stay Healthy. We fought for emergency protections to keep renters in their homes, and for stronger permanent protections to shift the balance of power between renters and landlords for good. We organized with renters and successfully passed powerful legislation in jurisdictions around King County:

Emergency Renter Protections

• • Kenmore: Enacted a local eviction moratorium from July 1, 2021 through Jan. 15, 2022. Created a legal defense to prevent future evictions due to rental debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Burien: Enacted a local eviction moratorium from July 1, 2021 through Jan. 15, 2022.
  • Kirkland: Enacted a local eviction moratorium from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2021.
  • Seattle: Extended a local eviction moratorium through Jan. 15, 2022. Created a legal defense to prevent future evictions due to rental debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Permanent Renter Protections

Seattle: Closed the “lease loophole” in Seattle’s Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, ensuring that ALL renters are protected from arbitrary & unjust evictions. Supported legislation requiring six-months notice of rent increases and landlord-paid relocation assistance if a tenant has to move after a rent increase of 10% or more.

King County Council: Won a pathbreaking package of renter protections for unincorporated areas of the county like Skyway and White Center, including:

• ALL renters are protected from eviction or lease termination without a “just cause.”
• Move-in fees are capped at 1-month rent and renters can pay in installments.
• Late fees are capped at 1.5% of monthly rent.
• For rent increases greater than 3%, landlords must give 120 days notice.
• Renters on fixed incomes can change their rent due date.
• You don’t need a Social Security Number to apply for a rental home.

This legislation creates a high standard we’ll work to match in cities around King County in 2022.

Unmasking False Compassion 

TRU, together with the ACLU of Washington and the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, brought a successful lawsuit to knock the “Compassion Seattle” initiative off the ballot. In addition to being illegal and misleading, this measure was far from a good faith effort to address the homelessness crisis. Instead, it was a cynical unfunded mandate backed by big business interests that don’t want to pay their taxes. TRU also joined the House Our Neighbors coalition to put forward real solutions: housing, shelter & services at scale.

Taking on Big Tech

Amazon has accumulated enormous power over our economy and our lives. But what is a monopoly? What are its dangers and how are we impacted as residents, consumers and workers? And what can we do about it? TRU co-hosted a teach-in with Puget Sound Sage, with special guests from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office Antitrust Division, to dig into these timely questions.

State Legislative Wins

The remote legislative session allowed TRU’s members and supporters to participate as never before. We set up many virtual meetings with individual legislators, testified at hearings, signed in “PRO” or “CON” on bills, sent emails and made phone calls. Working with allies, TRU’s pressure helped to win big victories like renter protections, criminal-legal system reform, the HEAL Act, Working Families Tax Credit and a capital gains tax. 

Organizing for a Solidarity Budget

TRU is a core member of the Solidarity Budget coalition, fighting for a vision of an equitable city where all of us can thrive. Thanks to this powerful coalition work, Seattle is the only city in the U.S. to shrink its policing budget two years running. Our pressure helped to restore the JumpStart Seattle corporate tax revenue to its intended purposes, including major ongoing investments in new affordable housing and equitable development. With the MASS coalition, we expanded investments in safe streets for walking, biking and rolling. And more! 

Sustaining Our Unsheltered Neighbors 

The pandemic has been especially hard on homeless people, and homeless deaths are near a record high. This year, TRU’s camp outreach project turned over $50,000 into food, propane, batteries, water and other basic necessities for our neighbors sleeping outside. This project is powered by TRU members’ volunteer labor, cooking meals and visiting camps every weekend, and funded entirely by individual donations from TRU members and supporters.

ORCA Passes for Afghan Refugees 

When refugee families began arriving in the Seattle area from Afghanistan this fall, TRU stepped up. We raised over $2,500 from individual donations from our members and supporters, and used these funds to purchase loaded adult and youth ORCA passes for the Muslim Community Resource Center to give to refugees in need of transportation in their new home.

TRU is conducting a project in order to better understand the issues affecting Tukwila workers and residents. Do you live or work in Tukwila, or have friends or family who do? Invite them to take our 5-minute survey:

For Tukwila workers: bit.ly/tukwila-jobs

For Tukwila residents: bit.ly/tukwila-resident

Here is who we recommend voting for in the 2021 General Election:

King County

• Executive – Joe Nguyen
• District 3 – Sarah Perry
• District 5 – Shukri Olow

Seattle

• Mayor – Lorena González
• Position 8 – Teresa Mosqueda
• Position 9 – Nikkita Oliver
• City Attorney – Nicole Thomas-Kennedy

Port of Seattle

• Position 1 – Ryan Calkins
• Position 3 – Hamdi Mohamed
• Position 5 – Toshiko Grace Hasegawa

Bellevue

• Position 4 – Ruth Lipscomb

Bothell

• Position 1 – Han Tran

Burien

• Position 1 – Hugo Garcia
• Position 5 – Sarah Moore
• Position 7 – Krystal Marx

Kenmore

• Position 4 – Nigel Herbig

Kent

• Mayor – Dawn Bennett
• Position 2 – Satwinder Kaur
• Position 4 – Cliff Cawthon
• Position 6 – Brenda Fincher

Kirkland

• Kirkland City Council Position 5 – Neal Black

Issaquah

• Position 3 – Barbara de Michele

Renton

• Position 1 – Joe Todd
• Position 2 – Carmen Rivera

Tukwila

• Position 1 – Tosh Sharp

Federal Way

• Position 4 – Katherine Festa

Lake Forest Park

• Position 3 – Stephanie Angelis

SeaTac

• Position 2 – Jake Simpson
• Position 4 – Mohamed Egal
• Position 6 – Iris Guzmán

Port of Edmonds

• Commissioner-at-Large Position 5 – Scott Marshall

On Tuesday afternoon, after hours of public comment & debate, the King County Council voted 6-3 to pass a pathbreaking package of renter protections, including:

• ALL renters are protected from eviction or lease termination without a “just cause.”
• Move-in fees are capped at 1-month rent & renters can pay in installments.
• Late fees are capped at 1.5% of monthly rent.
• For rent increases greater than 3%, landlords must give 120 days notice.
• Renters on fixed incomes can change their rent due date.
• You don’t need a Social Security Number to apply for a rental home.

This legislation will protect renters in unincorporated areas of King County like Skyway and White Center, home to historically underserved Black and brown and low-income communities. It also creates a high standard that we can now work to match in cities around the county! Read more in The Stranger and The Seattle Times.

This major victory wouldn’t have been possible without sustained pressure from the Stay Housed Stay Healthy coalition & from all the TRU members and allies who sent emails, made phone calls, testified at council meetings and amplified our message on social media. THANK YOU!!! Together we make progress!!!

Our Stay Housed Stay Healthy campaign for stronger renter protections is rocking it! With energetic pressure and support from renters, TRU members and so many allies in this powerful county-wide coalition, elected officials have approved a suite of renter protections this month:

June 7: Seattle City Council passed legislation closing the “lease loophole” in Seattle’s Just Cause Eviction Ordinance; creating a defense to eviction for COVID rental debt; and banning school year evictions of families and educators.

June 14: Kenmore City Council passed a local moratorium on evictions and rent increases through Sept. 30; a defense to eviction for COVID rental debt and for renters with rental assistance applications in progress; and a requirement that landlords certify that they have applied for rental assistance before initiating an eviction.

June 15: Kirkland City Council passed a local moratorium on evictions through Sept. 30.

June 18: Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan extended Seattle’s moratorium on evictions and rent increases through Sept. 30.

June 21: Burien City Council passed a local moratorium on evictions through Sept. 30.

And we’re not done yet! Stay tuned for news of King County Council’s permanent renter protections package, up for a vote on Tuesday, June 29.

At TRU’s membership meeting last week, we debated and voted on endorsements for the 2021 Primary Elections, considering races throughout King County. (Not every candidate we endorsed will appear on the primary ballot; in races where there are only two candidates, there is no vote until November.) Here is who we recommend:

King County

• Executive – Joe Nguyen
• District 3 – Sarah Perry
• District 5 – Shukri Olow
• District 7 – Saudia J. Abdullah
• District 9 – Ubax Gardheere

Seattle

• Position 8 – Teresa Mosqueda
• Position 9 – Nikkita Oliver
• Mayor – Andrew Grant Houston
• City Attorney – Nicole Thomas-Kennedy

Port of Seattle

• Position 1 – Ryan Calkins
• Position 3 – Hamdi Mohamed
• Position 5 – Toshiko Grace Hasegawa

Bothell

• Bothell City Council Position 1 – Han Tran

Burien

• Position 1 – Hugo Garcia
• Position 7 – Krystal Marx

Kenmore

• Position 4 – Nigel Herbig

Kent

• Mayor – Dawn Bennett
• Position 2 – Satwinder Kaur
• Position 4 – Cliff Cawthon
• Position 6 – Brenda Fincher

Kirkland

• Kirkland City Council Position 5 – Neal Black

Issaquah

• Position 3 – Barbara de Michele

Renton

• Position 1 – Joe Todd
• Position 2 – Carmen Rivera

Tukwila

• Position 1 – Tosh Sharp

Federal Way

• Position 4 – Katherine Festa

Lake Forest Park

• Position 3 – Stephanie Angelis

SeaTac

• Position 2 – Jake Simpson
• Position 4 – Mohamed Egal
• Position 6 – Iris Guzmán

Port of Edmonds

• Commissioner-at-Large Position 5 – Scott Marshall

Yesterday, TRU joined with Real Change, Nickelsville and Be:Seattle to file a petition challenging the ballot title for the “Compassion Seattle” campaign’s proposed amendment to the city charter.

For our neighbors experiencing homelessness, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a crisis on top of a crisis. Indoor public spaces and public restrooms closed their doors. Many free meal programs and other services shut down. Shelters struggled to keep people distanced and safe from COVID. Meanwhile, there’s still a severe shortage of deeply affordable housing. And many homeless or housing insecure people lost jobs. So more people are sleeping outside. Not because they want to, but because there aren’t better options.

TRU members and friends have stepped up to do what we can and offer solidarity— our steadfast volunteer outreach team visits camps every week bringing home-cooked food, water, essential supplies and items people ask for. (You can donate here!)

We know the real solutions are systemic: First and foremost, deeply affordable housing. And until there’s enough housing, shelter that meets people’s needs, including keeping families and couples together, accommodating pets, having secure storage for people’s belongings, and offering both privacy and community. And whatever other services and supports people need— which also means paying human service workers a living wage.

There’s no mystery to ending homelessness. It requires acknowledging the scale of the crisis and coming up with the resources to truly address it, as multiple McKinsey reports have shown. We took a big step last year with the passage of Jumpstart Seattle, a pathbreaking tax on large corporations that, starting next year, will fund new affordable housing. The big business lobby groups hate the tax and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is suing the city to try to overturn it. What jerks.

This year, those same lobby groups teamed up with former Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess to launch “Compassion Seattle.” They’re tired of seeing the tents lining the downtown business district. This initiative began as an attempt to codify sweeps in the city charter, which is a foundational document, like the constitution of the city.

Their initial language was really, really bad. But they realized they weren’t going to get far without the legitimation of service providers and homelessness “experts.” So they allowed some service providers to have input, and after a number of revisions, the final language is much less bad than it was. Reading it, you might even think it sounds good: The initiative directs the city to create 2,000 units of “housing” (permanent or emergency) within a year, with services including mental health & drug treatment; and it says the city should keep public spaces clear but balance this with the harm done to people by clearing encampments. And now, the whole thing “sunsets” (expires) after six years.

But here’s one major catch: No new funding is identified for all this work. In fact, the campaign claims that none is needed. Last week in Crosscut, TRU’s general secretary Katie Wilson thoroughly debunked this ridiculous claim.

And here’s another catch: While the measure promises “housing,” creating permanent housing in one year is a tall order, so whatever the city does cobble together will likely be “emergency housing,” a.k.a shelter— and as the city scrambles to fulfill the mandate, it might even pull funds away from creating permanent housing.

The ballot title— what voters will read on their ballot in November, if the campaign gathers enough signatures— is extremely misleading, claiming that this measure will create housing and services and keep public space clear of encampments. We’re challenging this title because voters deserve to know the truth. Amending the city charter is not the right way to make policy, and it’s not going to solve our homelessness crisis.

What can begin to solve the crisis? Listening to homeless people, who are experts on their own situations. Supporting grassroots homeless organizations like WHEEL, SHARE and Nickelsville. Actually creating more housing! Addressing the deep underlying causes of the homelessness crisis, including a profit-driven housing market, systemic racism, and decades of neoliberal policies. Being honest about the scale of the homelessness crisis and serious about coming up with the resources needed to address it. And electing a new Mayor who will lead on these issues, rather than just sweep, sweep, sweep.

TRU will continue to push for real answers. And we’ll call out the fake ones. Join us!

Check out this recording of our launch event for the Stay Housed, Stay Healthy campaign which took place on Monday, March 29!

We’re fighting to ensure renters can be stable during and after the pandemic, so that our community doesn’t need to face a landslide of evictions after moratoriums are lifted. We’ll be pushing strong tenant protections including a Just Cause law through the King County Council, and to strengthen Seattle tenant protections as well. At the launch we heard from renters who are struggling with rental debt and the threat of eviction, and also from special guests King County Councilmembers Girmay Zahilay and Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Seattle City Councilmembers Tammy Morales and Kshama Sawant.

Seattle’s eviction moratorium expires March 31. If we let this happen, a mass wave of evictions could increase homelessness and contribute to a new spike in COVID-19. This week in Crosscut, TRU’s Katie Wilson wrote about why the city & state eviction moratoriums must be extended through the end of 2021. Read more here.

Rental assistance programs need time to work, and tenants need stability to get caught up on rent. Seattle’s moratorium also protects small businesses and nonprofits. Today, we sent a letter to Mayor Durkan signed by 47 organizations calling on her to extend the moratorium through the end of this year. Want to add your voice? Send Mayor Durkan an email here!

Concerns about Big Tech’s monopoly power are multiplying. Seattle-based corporate giant Amazon has accumulated enormous power over our economy and our lives. But what is a monopoly? What are the dangers of monopoly, and how are we impacted as residents, consumers, business owners and workers? And most importantly, what can we do about it?

On Thursday, Jan. 28, TRU was proud to co-host a teach-in with Puget Sound Sage, with special guests from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office Antitrust Division, to dig into these timely questions. We recorded the presentation portions of the event, which you can watch below.

Want to go deeper into the history and meaning of monopoly and antitrust? Check out this series on Amazon and antitrust in Crosscut by TRU’s general secretary Katie Wilson.

It’s Black History Month! We’re here to help you study up on your Black transit history. And while you’re here… How ‘bout a quick action to advance racial equity in transportation in our own day? Sign in PRO on House Bill 1301, to help us decriminalize fare non-payment. If this bill passes, Sound Transit can no longer tell us that state law forces them to rely on court-issued civil infractions when riders can’t pay. The deadline to complete this action is 2:30pm on Monday, Feb. 8.

The real Rosa Parks & the long history of Transportation Protest

“Over the years, I have been rebelling against second-class citizenship. It didn’t begin when I was arrested.”

“I don’t believe in gradualism, or that whatever is to be done for the better should take forever to do.”

The story of Rosa Parks and the Mongomery Bus Boycott you learned in school wasn’t just skewed, it was way less interesting than the reality. The New York Times breaks it down.

Rosa Parks’s act of civil disobedience is only the most famous in a long, long history of Black people protesting segregated transportation systems. This history goes back at least to Frederick Douglass, who along with a friend in 1841 refused to leave a train car reserved for white passengers in Massachusetts. Their action led to organizing that resulted in Congress passing the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which granted Black citizens equal rights in public accommodations— until it was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1883. Read more about the history of civil rights transportation protests here.

Safe Bus: Transit Mutual Aid

In 1926, in segregated Winston-Salem, NC, 13 Black jitney operators banded together and founded Safe Bus, a bus company to serve the Black neighborhoods where the privately-operated streetcars didn’t run. It grew to 75 employees and at one point was called the largest Black-owned transportation company in the world. In 1966, 20-year-old Priscilla Estelle Stephens became the first female driver for Safe Bus. Eventually, in 1972, the company was bought by the city and integrated into the public transit system.

The Real McCoy: Black ingenuity advancing transportation

Black inventors have left their mark on transportation history. Back in the 19th century, inventor & engineer Elijah McCoy, a child of escaped slaves, developed new lubricants for railroad steam engines. It may be apocryphal, but they say the superiority of his products led railroad engineers to ask for “The Real McCoy.”

Andrew Jackson Beard, a former slave who became a flour-mill owner and then an inventor, created a device that automatically joined railroad cars together, eliminating the need for a worker to stand between two cars to drop in a metal pin— a dangerous job that sometimes led to the worker being crushed.

Granville T. Woods, the first African American mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War and a prolific inventor, authored many transportation-related inventions— notably the Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph, a device that allowed for communication between trains.

Garrett Augustus Morgan, a child of freed slaves, was a businessman, inventor and community leader. After witnessing a serious vehicle crash, he invented and patented one of the first three-signal traffic light systems in 1923.

Philadelphia Transportation Company strike: It ain’t all pretty

Labor unions have a complicated track record when it comes to race. Some unions have been staunchly anti-racist, all about forging multiracial solidarity. But at other times, white workers have banded together not just to fight the bosses, but to protect their privilege and their jobs from competition with Black workers. That happened, big-time, in Philadelphia during WWII.

The Philadelphia Transportation Company, which operated the city’s trolleys, buses and subways, employed Black workers as porters and tracklayers but refused to hire or promote them as drivers or conductors. Effective organizing by Black-led civic groups and churches led to the federal Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) ordering the company to promote Black workers. 

But the white members of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Employees Union were not pleased. They walked out and shut down the entire Philadelphia mass transit system for five days. The conflict spread to the streets where Black protesters retaliated against white-owned businesses, smashing windows and slashing police tires. The strike was ultimately broken by federal troops sent in by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Within a year, large numbers of Black workers had been promoted.

2020 was quite a year. Here is some of what we accomplished together:

Rising to the COVID-19 challenge

In early March, just as shut-downs were starting, we recognized the profound economic impact the pandemic would have on our communities, and especially on people who were already struggling. TRU seized the moment and teamed up with allies at Working Washington and Washington Community Action Network to build a broad coalition that sent a strong and effective message to elected officials across Washington state: 

“We urge you to use your emergency powers to preserve medical benefits, halt evictions, prevent utility  shut-offs, and provide emergency income assistance.”

#SeattleNeeds Relief: Taxing Big Business

Photo credit: Alex Garland

In Seattle, we brought the call for economic relief to our Mayor and City Council, holding one of the first socially distant demonstrations in April at City Hall.

Working with both the Tax Amazon Coalition and the JumpStart Seattle Coalition, TRU played a crucial role in winning a progressive payroll-based tax on our city’s largest corporations, expected to raise between $214 and $250 million per year for COVID relief, affordable housing and a Green New Deal! 

#BlackLivesMatter: Police & Public Transit don’t mix

TRU members joined the Seattle uprisings in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, and we learned that King County Metro buses were being used to transport a militarized police force to the protests. With allies we raised the alarm — also issuing a joint statement with transit rider groups across the country — and won a commitment from King County Metro to cease this practice. 

Supporting Transit Workers & Transit Riders

Public transit is essential, and so are transit workers! 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, TRU has been working allies including ATU 587, the union that represents Metro drivers and mechanics, to fight back against layoffs and to navigate a rapidly changing safety landscape, to better protect both riders and drivers during the pandemic.

Fighting to Fund Public Transit & Protect Transit Riders 

Between plummeting sales tax revenue, Tim Eyman’s I-976, and lost fares due to COVID, public transit funding is in big trouble. TRU worked with allies locally and nationally to push for federal relief funding for transit, and we’re gearing up to fight for progressive, sustainable transit funding next year in Olympia, too.

On top of all that, Seattle’s transit measure passed in 2014 expired this year, threatening deeper cuts. When Mayor Durkan proposed a much smaller replacement measure, TRU and allies stepped up and pushed for funding more adequate to the need. Due to our pressure, the city council approved a measure that will raise 50% more than the mayor’s original proposal, a total of almost $40 million annually for bus service and affordable transit programs. 

Then, we got out the vote! We collaborated with a new coalition of transit rider groups around the country on an Oct. 6 day of action, launching the Seattle Safe Transit Project. In the month leading up to the election, TRU volunteers assembled and distributed over 1,000 transit rider care kits with masks, hand sanitizer and information about the ballot measure. Our efforts were featured in The Seattle Times, the Seattle Channel and the South Seattle Emerald. Seattle Prop 1 passed with over 80% of the vote!

ORCA for All & Decriminalizing Fare Nonpayment 

When 2020 began, TRU was in the middle of a major campaign called ORCA for All. Our central aim was to win a Seattle law requiring that large employers subsidize transit for all their workers, including low-paid workers who are currently much less likely to receive an employer-paid transit pass than high-paid workers.

When the pandemic hit we had to press pause on this legislation. But we did make progress on another piece of the ORCA for All campaign: decriminalizing fare nonpayment. After continual pressure from TRU and allies, Sound Transit announced it will run a “fare enforcement ambassador” pilot program in 2021, focusing on education and connecting people with affordable transit programs rather than fines and citations. We will be monitoring this closely and continuing to push for a commitment to divorce any future approach to fare nonpayment entirely from policing and the court system.

This fall also saw the rollout of a free annual transit pass program for the lowest-income riders, up to 80% of the Federal Poverty Level— a program we fought for for years. We are excited to see it begin, and will continue working to expand free transit to more and more riders until transit is fully-funded and free for all! 

Organizing for a Solidarity Budget

Facing a challenging 2021 Seattle city budget process, TRU teamed up with allies to build a huge coalition (200+ groups!) determined to stick together in solidarity and not be divided and conquered as we championed a pro-people budget: 

One that divests from policing and invests in Black lives, instead of doubling down on centuries of racial oppression. One that supports Seattle residents and small businesses struggling through the COVID-19 recession, instead of making things worse by slashing city programs. One that advances toward an equitable, world-class transportation system and a carbon-free city, instead of letting that vision recede dangerously into the future.

With leadership from Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now, we fought hard to divest from the Seattle Police Department and invest in Black communities and community-based health and safety systems. While there is much further yet to go to actually meaningfully shrink the police force, the council reduced SPD’s budget by almost 20%, shifting some functions to other city departments and some funds to policing alternatives. Excitingly, at least $30 million will go to a community-led Participatory Budgeting process! 

Here are just a few highlights of other budget victories won through the efforts of the Solidarity Budget and allied groups:

• With the MASS Coalition, we fought to reverse damaging cuts to the transportation budget that would leave many communities behind. We won funds to complete the Georgetown to South Park Trail, repair sidewalks on Rainier Avenue, add protected bike lanes in South Seattle, complete the Rt. 44 multimodal corridor project, and build new sidewalks on Beacon Hill.
• Alongside our friends at SHARE, WHEEL and Nickelsville, we fought for city funding to support SHARE & WHEEL’s 24-hour shelters, Nickelsville’s Tiny House Villages, and SHARE’s Tent City 3.
• With the Mercer Mega Block Alliance, we fought to restore $30 million to purchase land for community-driven development projects in neighborhoods at high risk of displacement.

Encampment Outreach & Solidarity Fundraising 

Governments should be stepping up to shelter and house our homeless neighbors during this pandemic. Unfortunately, that’s not happening at scale. So this year, TRU members and friends stepped up — reaching out to people living in encampments, asking what they need and getting it for them.

We began fundraising for this project in August and already we’ve raised over $12,000, which goes directly to purchasing food, propane, batteries, water and other basic necessities.

This year TRU also mobilized the generosity of our members and wider network of supporters to raise funds for allies:

• We collected donations of groceries and raised over $2,500 for WHEEL’s 24-hour women’s shelter. 
• Practicing international solidarity with our sister organization Riders’ Rights Lebanon, we helped to raise over $2,000 for out of work bus and van drivers with no safety net in Beirut.
• Working with our allies in the MASS (Move All Seattle Sustainably) coalition, we organized a solidarity fundraiser raising over $7,000 for Seattle organizations WA-BLOC, El Comité and Creative Justice, which are all doing vital work organizing with Black and brown youth and immigrant communities in Seattle.

Wow, has it been an intense two months! In late September, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan released her proposed city budget for 2021. Thanks to the path-breaking big business tax we helped to win earlier this year, it wasn’t the all-cuts austerity bloodbath it might have been. But it still needed work.

Since then we’ve been working alongside comrades in the Solidarity Budget coalition to fight for a pro-people budget: One that divests from policing and invests in Black lives, instead of doubling down on centuries of racial oppression. One that supports Seattle residents and small businesses struggling through the COVID-19 recession, instead of making things worse by slashing city programs. One that advances toward an equitable, world-class transportation system and a carbon-free city, instead of letting that vision recede dangerously into the future.

On Nov. 23, the Seattle City Council passed their 2021 city budget with the leadership of budget chair Teresa Mosqueda. The mayor has said that she will sign it. (Yay! We don’t have to fight to override yet another Durkan veto.) You can read good local analysis in The Stranger, The Seattle Times, and Publicola.

We won a lot of things! And also, there is much more still to be done! Right after the final council vote, the Solidarity Budget team hosted a teach-in to review the progress we’ve made, and next steps. If you missed the livestream, you can watch it here.

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken action over the past two months to advance the goals of the Solidarity Budget: sending emails and making phone calls, testifying and taking action in the streets. These victories could not have happened without you. And we will need to stick together as we continue the struggle.

With leadership from Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now, we fought hard to divest from the Seattle Police Department and invest in Black communities and community-based health and safety systems. While there is much further yet to go to actually meaningfully shrink the police force, the council reduced SPD’s budget by almost 20%, shifting some functions to other city departments and some funds to policing alternatives. Excitingly, at least $30 million will go to a community-led Participatory Budgeting process! (Want to get involved? Take this survey from the Black Brilliance Research Project.)

Here are just a few highlights of other budget victories won through the efforts of the Solidarity Budget and allied groups:

• With the MASS Coalition, we fought to reverse damaging cuts to the transportation budget that would leave many communities behind. We won funds to complete the Georgetown to South Park Trail, repair sidewalks on Rainier Avenue, add protected bike lanes in South Seattle, complete the Rt. 44 multimodal corridor project, and build new sidewalks on Beacon Hill.
• Alongside our friends at SHARE, WHEEL and Nickelsville, we fought for city funding to support SHARE & WHEEL’s 24-hour shelters, Nickelsville’s Tiny House Villages, and SHARE’s Tent City 3.
• With the Mercer Mega Block Alliance, we fought to restore $30 million to purchase land for community-driven development projects in neighborhoods at high risk of displacement.

We know that all our struggles and our visions of a just future are interconnected. In this very challenging year, the Solidarity Budget turned this truism into reality by building alliances across issues, bringing together the biggest, baddest, broadest coalition around. We showed that by working together we can make progress, instead of letting ourselves be divided and conquered. We will continue and deepen these collaborations in the months and year ahead, knowing that our work is far from done. Thank you for being part of the movement!

On Oct. 6, the Transit Riders Union launched our Seattle Safe Transit Project as part of a TRUST national day of action, calling on our elected leaders from federal to local to step it up and #TrustRidersFundTransit! Read all about it in the South Seattle Emerald.

Here in Seattle, from now through election day our team will be out at the bus stops and on the buses, handing out bags containing goodies including a mask, hand sanitizer, a snack, some TRU schwag, and voter information about Seattle Prop 1. Check out this article in The Seattle Times that features the project, and don’t forget to VOTE Yes for Transit!

On Oct. 15, we got the excellent news that the state Supreme Court ruled Tim Eyman’s Initiative 976 unconstitutional! Here’s our statement:

A Win for Transit Riders, Disability Community, Clean Air and Less Congestion

State Supreme Court Rules for the People in Striking Down I-976; Communities Now Have Green Light to Move Ahead with Transportation Improvements and Investments

Statements from Transit Riders Union, Climate Solutions and Washington ADAPT, three interveners in the case against I-976 that would have defunded transportation projects across Washington State:

“The court’s decision to overturn Eyman’s I-976 is a win for transit riders and for everyone in Washington state who benefits from a functional transportation system— and that’s all of us,” said Katie Wilson, general secretary of the Transit Riders Union. “It’s also a win for democracy, affirming the rights of voters in cities and transportation districts around the state to make their own decisions about how to fund transportation improvements and public transit. Now it’s time to get to work. Fully funding an equitable, sustainable transportation system will be essential to our state’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession.”

“Overturning I-976 is a win for anyone who rides transit and wants safer streets, hates potholes and congestion, and wants clean air and a healthy climate,” stated Vlad Gutman-Britten, Washington State Director for Climate Solutions. “The Washington Supreme Court today restored voter-approved transit initiatives. Now that this sorry saga is behind us, it’s time to focus on investing in the sustainable, affordable, equitable transportation system Washington needs.”

“The Washington State disability community will benefit from the I-976 decision if these funds go to more accessible public transit services,” said Janine Bertram of Washington ADAPT. “I-976 would have left disabled transit riders around the state stranded. 30 years after ADA was signed, we still have inadequate service and dysfunctional elevators. It’s long past time to make our transportation system accessible to all.”

At our September Membership Meeting, TRU made endorsements in several state legislative races, as well as affirming our support for the Seattle transit ballot measure. Here are our recommendations as you fill out your ballot this fall:

Vote YES for Seattle Transit this November!

Yes for Transit ‌Proposition 1, on the November ballot in Seattle, renews and modifies an expiring measure to provide $39 million annually over six years for essential bus service, free or reduced fares for low-income riders, addressing the West Seattle transportation crisis, and ensuring our transit system is efficient and reliable. Vote YES for transit this November!

Kirsten Harris-Talley for Rep. Pos. 2, 37th District

‌TRU early-endorsed Kirsten Harris-Talley way back in February, because we know we need her representing the 37th district! Kirsten was a champion for progressive taxation as an interim Seattle City Councilmember in fall 2017, and we know she’ll carry that commitment with her to Olympia.

Nicole Macri for Rep. Pos. 1, 43rd District

Nicole Macri has been a tireless and effective champion for renters and people experiencing homelessness during her time in Olympia, and she has also pushed the needle on progressive taxation. She’s one of the people best placed to advance bold policies like rent control.

Sherae Lascelles for Rep. Pos. 2, 43rd District

Sherae Lascelles is running to empower the marginalized communities that don’t usually get a seat at the table in Olympia. An activist and an organizer, they’ve demonstrated their strong dedication to mutual aid and harm reduction, aiming at culture shift as well as policy change.

Liz Berry for Rep. Pos. 2, 36th District

‌Liz Berry showed up at a rally to save transit service and bus driver jobs this summer, and we believe her commitment to public transit and to workers is real. We also love Berry’s uncompromising stance against austerity and commitment to reforming our tax system.

T’wina Nobles for State Senate, 28th District

T’wina Nobles is the champion for public transit and affordable housing that Pierce County urgently needs! If elected, Nobles would also be the only Black senator in Olympia. She is running to unseat a Republican who has been no friend of public transit or the poor.

David Hackney for Rep. Pos. 1, 11th District

David Hackney promises to be a champion for renters, workers, and low-income families. We believe Hackney will be an effective voice and vote to tackle racial inequities, support public transit and multi-modal infrastructure, and reform our state’s upside-down tax system.

Ingrid Anderson for State Senate, 5th District

Ingrid Anderson is a nurse who we believe will step up for workers, public health and access to healthcare for all, and more urgent action on the climate crisis. We are hopeful that she will be a strong voice for ordinary people and stand up to corporate interests in Olympia.

Photo credit: Alex Garland

Yesterday, the Seattle City Council passed a major tax on large corporations for COVID-19 economic relief and affordable housing. Conservatively it’s expected to raise $214 million per year; with a higher tax rate for mega-corporations like Amazon, which the city doesn’t have the data to estimate, it’s likely the total is more like $240 or $250 million.

What a victory. For the Transit Riders Union, this fight began years ago— all the way back in 2017 when we first launched a campaign to transform our upside-down tax system with the “Trump-Proof Seattle” coalition. That summer we won a Seattle income tax on wealthy households, which was challenged in court and ultimately overturned, with mixed legal results. In fall 2017, we regrouped with the “Housing for All” coalition and launched the fight to tax big business into prime time. What followed was a brutal battle with Amazon and Seattle’s big business interests, culminating in the May 2018 passage of a $47 million “head tax,” a referendum campaign and the council’s ultimate repeal.

What a difference two years makes. Thanks to pressure of the Tax Amazon campaign and leadership from Councilmembers Teresa Mosqueda, Tammy Morales and Kshama Sawant, we just won a measure four to five times larger. It’s a major victory for progressive tax reform, and it will provide badly needed economic relief for renters, small businesses, undocumented immigrants and refugee communities; help to prevent an austerity budget next year; and fund affordable housing, community-driven development projects to fight displacement especially in Black and brown communities, and Green New Deal programs to tackle our climate crisis while creating good jobs. We are grateful to all our comrades in this victory and proud of TRU’s role in making it possible.

We can’t rest entirely easy until this measure passes fully into law and we’re sure that Amazon won’t run a referendum or try some other tricky business. This Wednesday, the Tax Amazon coalition is holding an action conference to discuss and decide how the 30,000 signatures the campaign has gathered should be used to protect this victory.

2020 has been a challenging and revolutionary year, and it’s only half over. Let’s take a moment to celebrate this progress and gather our energies for the road ahead!

For years, the Transit Riders Union has fought to reform our upside-down tax system. For example, we have long argued that employers should contribute to fund public transit, because right now working and poor people pay twice: at the farebox, and through the regressive sales tax. In 2017, TRU helped to lead the Trump-Proof Seattle coalition, winning a Seattle tax on high-income households that was ultimately blocked in the courts. In 2018, TRU helped to lead the Housing for All coalition, winning a big business tax for housing and homelessness that was vigorously opposed by the business lobby and quickly repealed.

Photo credit: Alex Garland

With so many false starts, we are thrilled that the Seattle City Council is now considering serious proposals to raise funds for economic relief and community resilience by taxing large corporations. We thank Councilmembers Kshama Sawant, Tammy Morales and Teresa Mosqueda for taking the initiative to put forward strong legislation. It’s heartening that a supermajority of the council has publicly stated support for proposals that would raise significant revenue for immediate pandemic-related assistance and, in the longer term, for affordable housing.

There are some things we liked specifically about the “Amazon Tax” legislation introduced by Councilmembers Sawant and Morales in April. The larger revenue amount, $500 million per year, is more commensurate with the immense scale of the housing and homelessness crisis and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 recession. With no “sunset” clause, there is a strong commitment to a progressive tax shift, and flexibility to bond against the revenue if needed. (If comprehensive tax reform does happen at the state and/or county level, city legislation could always be repealed or modified.) The tax would go into effect immediately, so even though collection couldn’t begin until 2022, revenue for this year would ultimately be captured. Finally, there are dedicated funds for “Green New Deal” programs that address our urgent climate crisis while creating good jobs.

There are also things we like about the “Jumpstart Seattle” plan put forward by Councilmember Mosqueda on June 16. By focusing on high-salary industries, the tax is more targeted at the corporations that can most afford to contribute. There are dedicated funds for immigrant and refugee communities, including undocumented workers who have been mostly excluded from COVID-19 relief programs. The proposal also addresses the danger of an “austerity” budget, reserving some funds to prevent cuts to vital city programs and services. It funds the Equitable Development Initiative, supporting community-driven development projects and stewardship of land and housing, especially by communities of color. Finally, with no “emergency clause,” this legislation doesn’t require the support of Mayor Jenny Durkan in order to pass — it only needs a supermajority of the council to override a mayoral veto.

The Jumpstart plan has the backing of a broad progressive coalition, and Councilmembers Lisa Herbold, Lorena González, Dan Strauss and Andrew Lewis have all indicated their support. It’s now clear that this legislation is the most likely vehicle for passing a major economic relief and community investment package this summer. We wholeheartedly support this effort, but we also believe this legislation can and must be made stronger.

The Transit Riders Union urges the city council to amend the Jumpstart Seattle legislation to raise the revenue amount to at least $300 million annually; this way, it will match or exceed the size of the “Tax Amazon” initiative measure that volunteers have been working energetically to place on the ballot, already gathering many thousands of signatures this month. The council should also direct significant funding toward Green New Deal programs. Finally, we urge the council to make the tax effective immediately so that revenue is ultimately collected for this year, and to remove the 10-year “sunset” clause.

Passing this legislation so amended will make an enormous difference to the health and well-being of our communities in the coming difficult years. It will build homes, prevent evictions, reduce displacement of Black and brown communities, preserve and create good jobs, save small businesses, and lift up the most marginalized. It will also mark a crucial turning point in the long struggle for equitable revenue, building momentum to flip our state’s upside-down tax system once and for all. We call on Seattle leaders to take this first important step!

UPDATE: On Thursday, June 11, King County Metro pledged to stop the practice of transporting police to protests and demonstrations.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, June 10 we put out this press release in collaboration with allied organizations and several King County Councilmembers.

The Transit Riders Union is an independent, democratic, member-run union of transit riders organizing for mobility and transit justice in Seattle and King County. TRU is in solidarity with protesters in Seattle, Minneapolis, Louisville and many other communities across the country demanding health, safety and freedom for Black people in America and demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and countless others killed by the police. The uprisings sweeping the nation flow from centuries of racial oppression, increasing economic inequality, and years of unheeded calls for reform and restitution. Over this past week, TRU members have marched for justice in the streets of Seattle alongside thousands of our neighbors, many of whom arrived at the protests via transit.

As a union of transit riders, we are dismayed and shocked to learn that King County Metro buses were used to transport a militarized police force to the protests. We have also heard reports, which Metro denies, that buses may have been used to transport arrestees or detainees to police stations. We demand a full accounting by King County Metro, Sound Transit, and the City of Seattle of any public transit resources (buses, drivers, bases, etc.) used to support the Seattle Police Department during the protests, and for what specific purposes.

Further, we call upon King County Metro and Sound Transit to make a clear public affirmation that they will not, in the future, under any circumstances, transport people who have been arrested or detained by the police; and that they will not be co-opted to transport police to or from a protest. Public transit is public transit: It is for the people, and transit riders will not stand by while our transit system is used for repressive ends.

While we understand that the safety of transit operators was a consideration in closing Link light rail stations and redirecting buses serving downtown, we also note that when Mayor Durkan announced a 5:00 p.m. curfew on Saturday, May 30 with just 15 minutes notice she stranded protesters and other people who rely on city transit downtown, without transit options to leave the area or go home, exposing community members, including children, to increasingly aggressive police tactics. TRU condemns the imposition of this curfew and subsequent curfews, a tactic designed to maximize fear and intimidation.

Furthermore, TRU condemns violence committed by the Seattle Police Department at protests since Saturday, June 30 and the use of flash bangs, mace and tear gas by SPD officers, introducing violence into largely peaceful protests. In particular we condemn:

• Police officers using flash bangs on Saturday at 2:45, 15 minutes prior to the start of the protest
• Police officers using pepper spray and tear gas on crowds, including children and in particular the escalation by police of Monday’s protest at the East Precinct
• Police officers covering badge numbers and obscuring name tags, preventing accountability
• Police officers leaving weapons in unattended vehicles

Finally, TRU condemns the failure of leadership by Mayor Jenny Durkan, who has emboldened and endorsed the violence of the Seattle Police Department, misled the public and the press regarding violent tactics by SPD, and is in fact working with the Trump administration to release SPD from a federal consent decree. It is obvious from the past few days that SPD has not made the changes necessary to make that release appropriate.

Our police officers and elected officials are accountable to their constituents, including transit riders. TRU is committed to working in solidarity with our allies across Seattle to hold SPD and Mayor Durkan accountable for abusive use of force by the police. TRU is committed to the redirection of taxpayer dollars from SPD to education, housing, restorative justice and social safety net programs that make our communities safer and more resilient.

All transit riders in Seattle and King County deserve the right to use transit free from excessive fares, free from harassment, and free from violence. In a county bearing the name and face of Martin Luther King, Jr., we must ensure that our city and county governments and our transit agencies embody his commitment to fighting oppression against the Black community and against poor people of all races. Otherwise, as Dr. King said, “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”

For International Workers Day, how about some international solidarity? We’re teaming up with our grassroots sister organization in Beirut, Riders’ Rights Lebanon, to launch a fundraiser to support struggling transit workers. Can you pitch in through our GoFundMe campaign?

Lebanon’s transit workers don’t have a labor union, minimum wages or unemployment insurance like our bus drivers do here. On March 15, the government shut down the country’s bus and van networks as part of its COVID-19 emergency response. Transit workers, who were already living on the edge, now have no source of income and nowhere to turn.

Riders’ Rights Lebanon and Train/Train Lebanon are organizing to provide a little assistance for the struggling transit workers in their networks. Lebanon was already in turmoil before COVID-19. Here in Seattle and King County, we’re stepping up to help. Watch the short video and if you can, act in solidarity this May Day by making a donation!

Photo credit: Alex Garland

Seattle residents and members of the Transit Riders Union gathered outside City Hall Wednesday morning to call for a greater city response to the impacts of COVID-19 on Seattle workers, residents and small businesses, calling on Mayor Durkan and the Seattle City Council to pass economic relief measures funded with new progressive revenue. On Wednesday, the City Council’s Select Budget Committee discussed the needs created by the coronavirus recession and a proposal to raise new revenue through a payroll tax on large businesses.

Each week the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic gets worse in our city. Federal and state aid is helping but has left enormous gaps, and the City’s response so far to assist small businesses, people struggling to pay rent and bills, and people experiencing homelessness has fallen far short of the need. The City has not yet implemented widespread relief programs or a long-term funding mechanism for what is likely to be a years-long recovery process.

Photo credit: Alex Garland

“There aren’t nearly enough restrooms, hand washing stations and showers, especially ones that are wheelchair accessible,” said Kristina Sawyckyj, a homeless vehicle resident and wheelchair user, and TRU’s Disability & Access Officer. “With the libraries and community centers closed, it’s hard to find a place to charge a cell phone, laptop, wheelchair or other medical equipment. Without internet we can’t reach medical providers or get information about the pandemic. There has been a great reduction in food banks and soup kitchens available for those struggling with food security. Homeless individuals must travel great lengths within the city to get basic meals. Water, toilets, food and housing are human rights. In this day and age, a charged cell phone is a human right.”

Photo credit: Alex Garland

“Covid-19 has drastically affected my business. I may not be able to go back to work or will have to drastically change the way I work,” said massage therapist Heidi DeAndrade.  “In my practice I am hands on with clients. I have been in practice for 15 years and have a physical location. I have grown a successful business and was looking to hire staff. This pandemic has forced me to look into other means to support myself and family. The amount of funding available for small business is far from sufficient. SBA considers companies with 10 billion in assets as small business. There are many wonderful “real” small businesses who are not getting access to funding. If funding for the “real” small business doesn’t become available, I feel that many won’t make it.”

“We devoted our time, our resources, and our bodies to elect what was supposed to be the most progressive city council Seattle has ever seen,” said Tye Reed, a TRU organizer and a housing case manager working with families facing eviction in King County. “And yet nothing is being done to provide support for the thousands of people out of work with no income on the horizon. Nothing is being done for the thousands of Seattleites facing an eviction in June with no plan for rental relief.”

Photo credit: Alex Garland

“I’m a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner working on the front lines in community health,” said Simon M. Taylor, ARNP. “I’m also immunocompromised – that means that in order to stay healthy and keep taking care of my patients I can’t work as many hours in the clinic as I used to. They raised my rent this month. So even as my income went down, my rent went up. When I asked if the large corporate landlord could help – they said no. In the middle of a pandemic I’m a nurse working the front lines and I am struggling to make rent. I need the support of the city to build affordable housing that can help relieve the financial pressure for healthcare and non-profit workers. Amazon is a central part of the economic cycle that pushes up rents in our city. The people of Seattle have made Amazon and Jeff Bezos rich, it’s time they do their part for the people of Seattle. We need a big business tax, and we need it now. Nurses need help.”

Photo credit: Alex Garlard

“Where I imagine an opportunity to use a global crisis to bring people indoors, to elicit the compassion required to turn public opinion toward permanent answers, I’m instead seeing less official services rather than more,” said Dee Powers, a vehicle resident who is high risk for developing complications if she were to catch COVID-19. “We used to get given trash bags if we made an effort to be where the trash bag people would be each week. We don’t see them anymore. It feels like the city has forgotten about the people who cannot self-isolate, who cannot just go home and stay there. The people with disabilities and underlying health conditions being discharged from hospitals without a shelter referral. I saw a request on Facebook the other day from a Harborview RN helping with the respite care program asking for donations of used tents and sleeping bags because they were no longer able to send their medically fragile discharges to respite shelters and wanted to give them some minimum of shelter from the elements.”

“As a creative, the pandemic has affected every aspect of my life,” said Just Marshall, a Black artist in the South End. “The Marshall Law Band was planning on going on a 50-day national tour that we put countless of hours of collective work into. This loss of wages and more importantly time, has left us all scrambling to understand our new role in the community as musicians. So far, my friends and I have struggled to receive any paying gigs. Unfortunately working tirelessly on my craft and providing art for little to no money is something I’ve grown accustom to. However, with no shows or government relief in place, times are tougher than ever.”