Author: Clay Showalter (Clay Showalter)

On December 14, 2015, the Seattle City Council approved legislation increasing the penalties and remedies for wage theft. Now, if you are not paid your full wages, you are eligible to get back three times what you are owed. I proposed this as an amendment to the minimum wage ordinance in 2014, but no other […]

On December 14, 2015, the Seattle City Council passed a groundbreaking proposal to provide Uber, Lyft, and other app-based drivers the collective bargaining rights that have been denied them due to their “contract worker” status. ALL workers deserve collective bargaining, and this is a great first step toward helping workers in Seattle and all over the […]

On Monday, December 14, 2015, the Seattle City Council will vote on a groundbreaking proposal to provide and recognize app-based drivers’ collective bargaining rights. We need to stand with our city’s drivers! ALL workers deserve collective bargaining. Please read this letter from the Martin Luther King, Jr. County Labor Council (MLKCLC) below, then join Seattle drivers to demand […]

News that 16-year-old Seattle Central College student Hamza Warsame fell to his death from a 6-story building in Capitol Hill Saturday afternoon has shaken the Seattle community. We are saddened by this news, and our sympathies are with his family and friends. The Seattle Police Department must urgently and thoroughly investigate Hamza’s death. Some reports […]

On Friday, November 23, 2015, the Seattle City Council cast our final votes on the 2016 budget. The People’s Budget movement won a number of progressive budget victories by rallying behind amendments, and I was proud to vote in favor of them. But, even with these victories, the final budget package remains woefully inadequate. As a workers’ representative that was elected on a […]

Last week, on November 19, 2015, The Seattle Women’s Commission sent this powerful statement to Seattle City Councilmembers in support of my amendment to provide 12 weeks paid parental leave for City workers, and in solidarity with the struggle to win paid parental leave for all Seattleites. The Seattle Women’s Commission has recently approved our 2016 […]

We’re Just 1 Vote Shy of Winning 12 Weeks Paid Parental Leave for City Workers! Urge Councilmembers to Support 12 Weeks Paid Parental Leave, Pack City Hall for Final Budget Votes! – Monday, Nov 23 @ 2 pm This week our movement won many important budget victories. We doubled funding for Career Bridge, youth apprentice […]

With the Council’s recognition of the Mayor’s Proclamation of Civil Emergency on homelessness, the City of Seattle has the opportunity to dramatically escalate the fight against homelessness. Activists and social service providers have been organizing for decades to win this admission from the City government, and I want to thank everyone for the work they have done. I […]

Seattle is well known for its rich history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community organizing, activism and cultural expression – in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, in particular. However, unlike San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles, Denver, New York City, and Chicago, the City of Seattle does not have an official LBGTQ Community Center. In June 2011, […]

Guaranteed paid parental leave is both a workers’ rights and a women’s rights issue. All workers, regardless of their gender identity or family configuration, should be guaranteed this right. Research shows that direct contact with parents during the first three months are crucial to the immediate and long-term health and development of a child. It […]