Puget Sound Sage

Contact Information

1032 S. Jackson Street
Suite 203
Seattle
WA
98104
206-568-5000
dwest@pugetsoundsage.org
http://www.pugetsoundsage.org

Mission

Puget Sound Sage brings together labor, faith and community to build an economy based on shared prosperity.  We ensure all families benefit from economic growth, all workers are free from discrimination in the workplace and all development meets the needs of our communities.

Vision

We envision an economy in which all jobs provide hard working people the wages and benefits needed to grow and support a family.  We foresee a time when growing inequality has been reversed and democracy strengthened with the participation of all people.  We anticipate a region where safe, clean and affordable housing and communities are available to everyone. 

To achieve this future, the institutions that represent regular people - unions, faith congregations and community organizations - must work in partnership with government and business to plan responsibly for the future.

Sage will help bring about this future by building stronger institutions for working families, creating policy that balances the drive for economic growth with economic justice and engaging directly in the day-today decisions of government that affect our communities.

News Articles

Local and State Ballot Measures Win Big!

Partnership for Working Families | November 6, 2014

Dear Friends,

Regardless of how you feel about this week's election results overall, there’s no doubt that when voters got a chance to decide on working family issues, we won big. We won on minimum wage, paid sick days, mass transit, and democracy. We also achieved important gains in criminal justice reform and healthcare reform. Across our network, our affiliates organized hundreds of thousands of voters around key issues that concretely impact our lives.

New Study: $15 Minimum Wage is the Single Best Option to Reduce Seattle's Gender and Race Pay Gap

Partnership for Working Families | April 17, 2014

A new study by Puget Sound Sage concludes that a $15/hour minimum wage would create large scale benefits for women and people of color in Seattle, and effectively narrow the city's gender and race pay gaps.  In a policy brief released recently, Puget Sound Sage examines the potential outcomes of a $15 minimum wage on the local economy, assesses outcomes by industry sector, and demonstrates that a $15 minimum wage (with a phase-in only approach) is the single best option to reduce Seattle's gender and race pay gap.

Workers in SeaTac get a raise to $15

Partnership for Working Families | November 13, 2013

Voters in the City of SeaTac, Washington appear to have approved an historic living wage ballot initiative that will lift wages to $15 an hour for 6,300 workers and inject an estimated $54 million into the local economy. Yes on Prop 1 currently leads by 53 votes with mail ballots continuing to come in. The vote culminates a nearly year-long campaign by a strong community-labor partnership.

Partnership Affiliates Showcase Strategies and Victories at 2013 Housing Solutions Conference

Partnership for Working Families | November 6, 2013

In September, Partnership affiliates Puget Sound Sage, Working Partnerships USA, FRESC, and ISAIAH showcased and analyzed their housing campaigns before representatives of nearly 40 local and national organizations at an important gathering of organizations working on inclusionary housing nationwide.

Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport Good Jobs Initiative Qualified for Upcoming Ballot

Puget Sound Sage | July 1, 2013

Thanks to hard work from Seattle-based Partnership affiliate, Puget Sound Sage, and community allies, the King County elections department has recently verified that the SeaTac Good Jobs Initiative has achieved adequate signatures from SeaTac residents to qualify for an upcoming ballot. Two weeks ago 40 Sea-Tac workers, residents, business owners, faith leaders and labor leaders handed 2,500 signatures to the SeaTac City Council.

Partnership Members Stand Up to Live Better in Black Friday Walmart Actions

Partnership for Working Families | November 26, 2012

On Black Friday, shoppers looking for holiday bargains weren’t the only ones at Walmart.  Walmart workers and supporters rallied in 1,000 protests across 46 states. The actions had two goals: educating shoppers about the abysmal working conditions in Wal-Mart stores and suppliers; and showing strong solidarity to prevent Walmart bosses from retaliating against participating workers.    

Changing Conversation about Income Inequality

Puget Sound Sage | June 29, 2012

They say that the tide is turning in the Puget Sound. Boeing orders are flying high. Amazon is priming a new campus. Tourism and business travel are pushing the needle. More passengers are landing at Sea-Tac airport than ever. And Walmart wants to sell groceries to our communities. It sure is great to be in the midst of growing prosperity -- unless you aren’t prospering.

Over the last few months, Puget Sound Sage has released four studies showing that as we rebuild our regional economy, too many people are left behind.

SAGE Celebrates Paid Sick Leave Victory

Partnership for Working Families | March 30, 2012

September 2012 will mark the first time an estimated 160,000 employees in Seattle will enjoy paid sick leave benefits. Only Washington, DC and San Francisco have similar laws protecting workers when they are sick. In September 2011, The Seattle City Council in an almost unanimous vote passed a policy mandating tiered Paid Sick Leave benefits.

Partnership Affiliates Receive REVERB Grants

Partnership for Working Families | March 30, 2012

The Partnership congratulates four members of our network who were selected as winners of the REVERB spring grants program. An initiative of the Progressive Technology Project, REVERB is designed to help social justice organizations develop effective ways to align their organizing, communications, and technology efforts.

Sage Takes Lead Role in Fight for Seattle Workers to have Paid Sick Days

Puget Sound Sage | June 17, 2011

In Seattle, roughly 190,000 employees – 4 in 10 workers – have no paid sick leave. That's 78% of restaurant workers, 55% of retail workers, and even 29% in health care who have to choose between going to work sick or staying home and losing pay or worse. Sage has taken a lead role as part of the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce, a partnership between businesses, faith-based, labor, family, and community groups, in a campaign to help pass minimum standards for paid sick days.

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