http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/01/02/seattle-unions-win-battle-to-protect-200000-family-wage-jobs/Lily Wilson-Codega, political organizer for the Martin Luther King Jr. County Labor Council, sends us this report.
Along with environmental advocacy groups and industrial business, we in the Seattle-area union community celebrated a historic victory in recent days with the passage of the 2007 Industrial Jobs Initiative. The ordinance will institute protections for industrial businesses and jobs by limiting office and retail development encroaching on Seattle’s industrial zones.
Industry and manufacturing are the lifeblood of this local economy, bringing in $31 billion annually and generating a diverse spectrum of high-paying, family-wage jobs that employ a quarter of the city’s workforce.
Herald Ugles, president of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 19, explains:
The Port of Seattle and our maritime industrial core are such a critical resource for our community. For thousands for working people like myself, these jobs mean access to everything from homeownership to health care access. This was not something we could afford to lose.
As is the case for many municipalities, increasing pressure on industrial lands from real estate speculation has been chipping away at this vital economic resource. With hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake, the labor community mobilized a broad coalition to address the issue in what became a three-month land use battle at City Hall.
FULL story at link.