Call to Members: Step Forward, Take Ownership, Lead the Work
TRU has always been strongest when members step up to lead. From tenant protections to transit funding, the victories throughout our history came from members who saw a need, gathered others around them, and pushed forward with creativity and determination.
To guide our movement through the upcoming year, our General Manager, Lam Ho, synthesized the ideas, debates, and visions raised by our members across three planning workshops into the comprehensive TRU Vision 2026 Document. Published with the formal feedback and full approval of our membership, this framework outlines our active strategic umbrellas, including urgent safety improvements on high-injury corridors, fights for progressive municipal funding, regional housing justice, and absolute accessibility for disabled riders. Rather than a rigid agenda, this plan is a flexible invitation for you to take ownership of the campaigns you care about. Explore our complete 2026 vision framework below:
If a priority or project in these pages speaks to you, we want your help! You do not need to be an expert. You do not need to have years of organizing experience. You simply need to care, to join us today, to show up, and to be ready to fight for transit justice. ✊
TRU is a Member-Powered Union
That means:
- You can start a project.
- You can join a committee.
- You can lead a campaign.
- You can bring others with you.
And when you do, TRU will have your back: with support, with training, with resources, and with a community that believes in you.
Ready to jump into a specific fight right away? Explore our the links below to see our current campaigns in action, find deep-dive resources, and get directly in touch with the TRU member leading the work on the ground.
Funding Public Transit
Our region’s public transit shouldn’t be starved by corporate tax breaks while working people are forced to foot the bill through unfair, regressive sales taxes. We are organizing to shift the burden onto big business and the wealthiest sections of our population to build a truly world-class, fully funded transit network.
Seattle Transit Measure
We are mobilizing a massive grassroots effort to ensure the upcoming transit ballot measure is robustly funded through progressive revenue sources, expanding bus frequencies and routes where they are needed most.
Want to get involved? Reach out to Wes Mills (wes@transitriders.org).
Everybody Bus!
The Everybody Bus! campaign is TRU’s regional push to transform public transit from a basic safety net into a frequent, fully funded, and accessible network connecting every community across King County. King County Metro is facing a severe fiscal cliff that threatens the bus lines working people rely on every day. To prevent devastating service reductions and fund essential transit improvements, TRU is mobilizing riders to support a proposed 0.2% countywide sales tax measure. While TRU continues to organize for statewide progressive tax reform, this sales tax is currently the only viable funding mechanism available at the county level to keep our buses running. Transit is a fundamental public good, essential for climate justice, economic mobility, and disability access. Through the Everybody Bus! campaign, TRU is organizing riders at transit hubs across the region to ensure King County invests in expanded routes, frequent service, and accessible stops for all.
Want to get involved? Reach out to Avery Gottsman (avery@transitriders.com).
Housing Justice & Tenant Rights
The skyrocketing cost of housing and a lack of tenant protections are driving displacement and forcing working-class residents away from the transit corridors they rely on. TRU views housing justice as a critical lynchpin of transit equity, because you cannot have a democratic city if people are priced out of their neighborhoods.
Seattle Junk Fees Ban
Seattle renters are all too familiar with the bait-and-switch: signing a lease only to find unpredictable monthly add-ons for essential services like receiving mail, using in-unit appliances, or paying rent by check. Mayor Katie Wilson’s legislative proposal to ban predatory rental “junk fees” represents a major victory for housing justice and transparency across our city. Grounded in a citywide survey showing that nearly 60% of local renters are squeezed by these hidden costs, the proposed ordinance strictly limits permissible lease charges and outlaws extra fees for basic building access, pet rent, and routine maintenance. TRU has long organized against arbitrary landlord fees that erode wage gains and destabilize working families. By outlawing hidden charges at the municipal level, Seattle is setting a powerful regional precedent: base rent must be transparent, and housing costs must remain predictable for working-class communities.
Want to get involved? Reach out to Lam Ho (lam@transitriders.org).
Redmond Renters Bill of Rights
As housing costs soar across the Eastside, working-class tenants in Redmond are fighting for stability through the proposed Redmond Renters Bill of Rights. Building on TRU’s regional momentum for tenant protections, this campaign aims to close loopholes that leave renters vulnerable to displacement. The initiative establishes vital protections, including capped move-in costs, extended advance notice for steep rent increases, strict limits on late fees, and defense against unjust evictions. Housing justice doesn’t stop at Seattle’s city limits; TRU is actively organizing alongside Eastside community members and coalition partners to build independent tenant power across King County. Passing the Redmond Renters Bill of Rights is a essential step toward ensuring that transit riders and working families can afford to stay rooted in their neighborhoods.
Want to get involved? Reach out to Kraig Peck (kraig@transitriders.org).
Civil Rights
A free and open city requires that transit riders can move through public spaces without fear of state surveillance or targeted harassment. We fight to ensure our transit systems remain safe, welcoming, and protective of the civil liberties of all community members, particularly undocumented and marginalized riders.
Anti-Surveillance
We are campaigning to ban invasive facial recognition and automated biometric tracking technologies across municipal transit networks and public plazas.
Want to get involved? Reach out to Coda (coda@transitriders.org).
Anti-ICE
TRU is holding local agencies accountable to ensure transit security and regional transit properties are strictly non-cooperative with federal immigration enforcement, protecting our sanctuary city principles.
Want to get involved? Reach out to Lam Ho (lam@transitriders.org).
Elections and Endorsements
Winning our campaigns ultimately requires electing leaders who are unapologetically accountable to working and poor people instead of big business and corporate donors. Because public transit is deeply political, we build independent political power by putting heavy grassroots pressure on candidates during election cycles.
Our member-run Endorsements Committee interviews local candidates and coordinates our union’s formal endorsement process.
Want to get involved? Reach out to Eric Keto (eric@transitriders.org).
Accessibility, Disability Rights, and Safety
A transit system isn’t truly public if it remains broken, inaccessible, or dangerous for disabled, blind, visually impaired, or elderly riders. We believe absolute accessibility and physical safety on our streets and buses are fundamental human rights that must be prioritized over car traffic speed.
Transit Accessibility
Led by our disabled and visually impaired members, this campaign is forcing transit agencies to upgrade automated announcement systems, repair broken elevators, and ensure seamless regional connectivity.
Want to get involved? Reach out to Kristina Sawyckyj (kristina@transitriders.org).
Vision Zero
Through our participation in the MASS Coalition (Move Around Seattle Sustainably) TRU is pushing local transportation departments for immediate, aggressive infrastructure investments—like protected bike lanes, raised crosswalks, and traffic calming—on high-injury corridors that disproportionately harm pedestrians and riders.
Want to get involved? Reach out to Matt Weatherford (matt.weatherford@pobox.com)