SEATTLE - May 1 traditionally is a rallying day for workers' rights - and it's also known as "Worthy Wage Day," an effort to improve wages and benefits for early childhood teachers and center directors.

According to the latest federal data, most workers in this field make poverty-level wages - 77 percent of full-time workers and 61 percent of part-timers.

Lois Martin, an early-learning center director in Seattle, said they've seen the strides made in other care-giving professions in collective bargaining with the state - and early learning is heading slowly but steadily in that direction.

"If we don't take care of our teachers, it's like not taking care of our roads - eventually, it will crumble," she said. "No matter how much money we put in early achievers and push for quality, it will not happen if we do not invest in our educators."

Even being able to have health-care coverage would be a small victory for early-learning center directors and staff members, she said. According to the federal General Accounting Office, Washington child-care workers make about $11 an hour, and preschool teachers earn slightly more than $14 an hour.

Emma Gordon, lead organizer for Washington Educators in Early Learning, part of AFT Washington, said legislation is necessary to allow early learning centers to organize. It's been introduced three times but hasn't passed. In the meantime, she said, turnover is among the toughest challenges for providers.

"It's very difficult to stay in this as a profession, which is also the biggest problem with early learning - because consistency in your care providers is one of the biggest indicators of quality," she said. "When someone can't stay in the profession because of how low their pay is, and they have no benefits and there's no career track for 'em, they leave."

Martin said early learning as a whole gets mixed messages from the Washington Legislature, which she thinks are confusing to parents as well as providers.

"As we look at increasing ECEAP slots for children - which is wonderful, we definitely need to do that - but at the same time, they're looking at cutting benefits to Working Connections child care, which is where a majority of providers receive their funding," she said.

ECEAP - the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program - is the state-subsidized preschool program in Washington.

A new report from the National Institute for Early Education Research says state budget cuts across the nation have brought early-childhood program funding to its lowest level in 10 years.

The reports are online at aft.org and nieer.org.



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Washington joins a handful of states to do away with mandatory meetings for employees on political or religious matters.

Sometimes known as captive audience meetings, the gatherings were seen as a way for employers to give their opinions on subjects like unionization, and held potential consequences for employees who didn't attend. Lawmakers passed a bill this session allowing workers to skip the meetings without repercussions.

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, a sponsor of the bill, said we live in a divided society where emotions run high on political topics.

"This bill simply protects employees to have a real choice on whether or not to attend a meeting called by their boss to be told about some political or religious issue," Keiser explained.

Keiser pointed out the legislation is nonpartisan. For instance, employers could not force employees to attend anti-union meetings, but also could not force them to attend a meeting about the importance of reproductive rights. The bill takes effect June 6.

Keiser noted the bill likely got across the finish line this session because of the uptick in union organizing and support for labor. She added there are widely known stories of Starbucks managers, for example, requiring employees to attend anti-union meetings while the employees organized the workplace.

"Employees have been forced to attend meetings to listen to the boss or the employer basically tell them why they shouldn't join a union," Keiser observed.

Washington is the sixth state to pass a law prohibiting attendance at captive audience meetings. Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota and New York have passed similar laws in recent years. Oregon passed a law allowing workers to skip such meetings without repercussions in 2010.


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A bill vetoed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin would have raised the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour starting in 2026.

While the bill moved out of committee and the General Assembly, it did so on party-line votes. Youngkin opposed the bill, saying it could hurt small businesses and some restaurants.

Jay Speer, executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said it was disappointing to see the measure vetoed.

"Wages are way too low. People cannot afford housing and food and everything else," Speer pointed out. "It's a disappointment that they can't raise the minimum wage so people can survive. I mean, it's long overdue."

Passing the bill was part of a 2020 minimum-wage increase requiring a reauthorization to bring it up to $15. A state study found a person has to make at least $14.55 an hour to afford the cheapest place to live while only spending one-third of his or her income on housing. The current minimum wage in Virginia is $12 an hour, but around 500,000 Virginians make $12 or less.

Youngkin also vetoed a bill ending exemptions from Virginia's minimum-wage requirements for farmworkers or temporary foreign workers.

Kim Bobo, executive director of the Virginia Interfaith Center on Public Policy, said it was not as impactful since most farmworkers make more than the minimum wage. But she said the exemption remains for another reason.

"The only reason farmworkers continue to be exempted in Virginia is racism," Bobo contended. "That's why they're exempted. And, we should just change that, like there's no reason not to. It really does not affect that many workers in Virginia."

Youngkin and other legislators with a farming background said the bill would hinder farmers' ability to turn a profit.

New York restaurant workers need to know their rights to better navigate their workplaces. A new report finds high rates of what it calls "occupational segregation" in the restaurant industry, which can relegate some people to lower-paying jobs.

Workers' rights organizations are counteracting this with training programs. Alima Iskakova, a server for Exquisite Staffing, a catering company, said the CHOW training from Restaurant Opportunities Centers United is helping her.

"Since I completed this training course, I am more confident when it comes to job interviews," she said. "I am more confident - like, when it comes to these types of interviews, plus with all my experience and the knowledge that I got from ROC United, I have a higher income."

She was also trained in safe food handling, OSHA certification and other need-to-know information about the restaurant industry. These courses are available in several cities beyond New York.

The report also notes that, unlike training offered by organizations such as the National Restaurant Association, these courses prioritize developing restaurant workers' power to support individual career development.

The report says racism and sexism abound in the restaurant industry. White men make up a majority of higher-earning positions, such as bartenders.

Although these training courses are helpful, Iskakova noteed that not knowing English can be a disadvantage. She said other cultural differences can make this work challenging.

"In the hospitality industry, even like when people come here as an immigrant, they don't know the rules, they don't know the laws," she said. "And ROC United, they help us to do the cover letter, resume. There are certain things - like, there is a difference."

Another challenge she encountered was the difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Iskakova said her work has been interesting, but she's got ambitions outside of food service. Along with photography, she's a communications major at CUNY.


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