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Christmas Post for PCCLC

No Kings, Just People Power 💪🏼 Labor in Pierce County’s Fight for Democracy

TACOMA, WA — October 18, 2025

On Saturday, for the first time, the Pierce County Central Labor Council (PCCLC) led its own Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign—part of a countywide mobilization to defend democracy and ensure working people’s voices are heard in local elections.

View a reel of clips from Saturday on Instagram!

Volunteers including teachers, laborers, scientists, and office professionals then fanned out across neighborhoods to knock doors and remind fellow workers and neighbors to return their ballots. The coordinated canvass was one of several grassroots direct actions happening across the county, from Parkland and Puyallup to Gig Harbor, in the lead-up to the afternoon’s “No Kings” rallies.

Union Power at the Ballot Box (and Beyond)

October 18, marked Pierce County Democracy Day, was created to affirm our shared commitment to civic participation, democratic values, and equity-driven leadership. The GOTV action served as both a prelude and a statement: that working people are reclaiming civic space and fighting democratic backsliding (state-led debilitation or elimination of political institutions that support a functioning democracy)—one conversation and one vote at a time.

Union households make up one in five voters in key local elections. Members are 3–5 times more likely to vote than the general public, and that collective participation has power. Research shows that when democratic movements against authoritarianism include unions, they succeed 83% of the time, compared to just 29% without them.

As PCCLC Secretary-Treasurer Nathe Lawver put it to Saturday’s group, “Whenever you have tyranny and authoritarianism, the best way around that is exercising democracy. ”

People Power in Action

This October, the labor movement and its allies in Pierce County are showing what democracy looks like when it works: visible, inclusive, and collective. From sign-waving to street-level conversations and solidarity rallies, working people are shaping the future of their county.

Democracy thrives when no one stands alone, and our strength has always been our Solidarity. When every ally adds their voice, we build a brighter, more equitable future together.

#pcclc #labor #media #words

#pcclc #social content #graphic design

One Year In: A Love Letter to Labor

Warning: what you are about to read is not a testament of “love” to a corporate job that says we’re ‘family’ while exploiting the labor of those from which they demand constant growth and production.

Today marks one full year since I started as Communications Director at the Pierce County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and the road of jobs to get here has been, well…long, winding, occasionally pothole-ridden, but always meaningful. If you know me, you probably know at least one of the detours I took to get here—like moving to Washington on a whim, then spending a global pandemic 2,000 miles from family, determined (and a little stubborn) enough to figure it out anyway.

Work has always been important to me, even when it didn’t quite fit. Maybe that comes from growing up on a farm, where responsibility wasn’t optional and where feeling proud of your work wasn’t a bonus—it was survival. From the start, the through-line has been simple: help people (and sometimes animals). Do work that matters. Repeat.

Not to sound like Goldilocks, but this role? It feels just right. Ok, maybe I don’t care if I sound like Goldilocks. But I’m not here to chase profits and then—if there’s time—squeeze in a little “giving back.” I’m here to serve working people and have some fun. When I draft a post, I am amplifying causes that deserve attention. When I dig into research, I am translating information so policymakers can do the right things for working families.

And when people come to me with questions, I don’t just hand over resources—I am a resource. That’s the difference this last year has made clear to me between punching a clock and living your purpose.

My staff is small, with giant hearts and decades of invaluable information about the world we live in. My meeting rooms are full of union delegates, community advocates, organizers, and allies who bring their whole selves to the work—100% for their families, then another 100% for their communities.

Being in rooms with people like that? People who show up, who recognize our shared responsibility, who put solidarity into practice every day? That’s more than enough to justify what seemed like such a big leap I took last year. Actually, it’s everything.

Here’s to year one down—and many more ahead!

#pcclc #labor #words

#Photography

20 for 20 Campaign celebrating Amy's 20 years at Rebuilding Together South Sound

#social content #rebuilding together south sound #nonprofits

More than a dozen partners from across Pierce County and western Washington gathered for a community roundtable with representation from Gov

More than a dozen partners from across Pierce County and western Washington gathered for a community roundtable with representation from Governor Bob Ferguson’s office, including Heather Hudson, Deputy Director of Childcare, Education, Workforce, and Labor. The group included employers, unions, workforce and education leaders, and members of the Pierce County Labor Community Services Agency (PCLCSA) board.

This gathering marked an exciting step forward in shaping a shared vision: creating a center for childcare, workforce development, and an accessible space to support the needs of working families in Pierce County.

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