Issue Position: Economic Opportunity

Issue Position

Washington state is at its best when families across all communities are thriving, which includes access to jobs with living wages and good benefits, a commitment to equal pay for equal work, and equitable support for small businesses. Stronger investments in our people, including increasing family wage jobs, providing access to affordable childcare, and investing in training programs will help our state prosper.

Worker Protections
Noel fully supports collective bargaining because when our workers can organize, they advocate for better, safer working conditions for everyone. We also must foster a diverse workforce that pays all people, including women, people of color and people with disabilities, equal pay for equal work.

Investing in People
The people of Washington State have not benefited uniformly from our great economic prosperity. While the Puget Sound has boomed, rural Washington still has high unemployment. Women often immediately return to work upon the birth of a child to make ends meet or leave the workforce entirely to raise children because the cost of childcare exceeds that which she can make working full-time. Additionally, we must support training outside of a traditional four-year college path to prepare our youth and mid-career adults for a variety of career paths.

Economic Development
Much of our economic development strategy in the state of Washington has been the passage of tax breaks to attract large corporations to locate in our state. While some of these investments have created jobs, they lack a long-term, sustainable strategy to grow our local economies from within, supporting small business, and strengthening local communities. It's time for a new strategy.

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