Tag: spokane alliance

At a Housing Assembly in Spokane, community leaders urged Mayor Lisa Brown to commit to using the city's 1590 affordable housing levy funds transparently and equitably as originally intended. After years of the funds being diverted, the HEART team successfully advocated to protect the $11 million for its purpose of increasing affordable housing. Speakers highlighted the toll of housing instability on students and detailed harsh realities facing Spokane's homeless population residing in shelters.

I learned about community organizing about 14 years ago and it has allowed me to take fear and turn it into cold anger, take despair and remold it into courage to fight for the common good.

In Spokane, that translates to roughly 40,000 employees in the civilian workforce who don't have access to paid sick, safe or family leave. These employees are more likely to be poor and people of color, living in communities that lack the same resources as middle class suburbs.

The Spokane Alliance plans to pack the city council chambers at Monday's City Council meeting to ask Council President Ben Stuckart and members of the council to pass three Quality Job ordinances.

Faith, government and business leaders stood in front of almost 200 people at Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ on Tuesday night and pledged to support Spokane Alliance in its efforts to get the City of Spokane to adopt a Paid Sick, Safe Family Leave policy by 2015.

The Spokane Alliance released a statement this week expressing its disappointment in the Spokane City Council's 2013 budget decision.

After three consecutive weeks of Alliance members asking the council to pass a budget that saves jobs and services, the council voted 4 to 3 to close a $10 million deficit by eliminating 92 jobs.