February ’17 Fair Work News
Greetings and welcome to the first edition of the Fair Work News, our new quarterly e-newsletter.
As we begin 2017, we do so with the belief that our work is more important than ever. All of us at Fair Work Center know we we’ve got our work cut out for us protecting the gains made over the past eight years. We are in the middle of a national assault on workers and our families, particularly those of us who are most likely to have our rights violated at work: immigrants, people of color and/or LGBTQ workers. I take hope in that our country has a long history of movement builders and lawyers working together to protect our basic civil liberties, and I was buoyed to see that collaboration on display at airports around the country over this past weekend.
Here in Seattle and in Washington State, our community has won some of the strongest labor standards in the country. We will continue to push that needle and ensure that all workers in our region know their rights and have the tools and support to enact them.
In 2016, Fair Work Center talked to more than 9,000 workers about their employment rights, helped recover tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and supported dozens of wrongfully-terminated workers in getting their jobs back. More importantly, we built collaborations with dozens of movement builders, community organizations and legal advocates who are prepared to work together in the coming years to protect all workers’ rights.
In 2017, we will expand our reach and our capacity to support more workers from across the state, regardless of immigration status. Despite the direction that our country may be headed, we are confident the Pacific Northwest will continue to lead the way in raising standards for workers and defending our civil rights.
Thank you for supporting Fair Work Center, and thank you for your role in protecting each other and our rights.
In Solidarity,
Nicole Vallestero Keenan
Executive Director