Firelands Workers United, OneAmerica and the Washington Community Action Network, all member groups of People’s Action, are celebrating the defeat of a ballot initiative to roll back Washington State’s capital gains tax, which would have stripped away $2.2 billion in funding from schools, climate defense and health care to line the pockets of the ultra-rich.
“This millionaire wanted to steal billions of dollars from our kids’ schools and childcare, cut thousands of climate and care jobs, especially in rural areas,” said Stina Janssen from Firelands Workers United (FWU), who went door-to-door in rural areas to defeat the measure. “We said ‘Hell, No!’”
Washington State has long been a haven for the wealthy because it has no personal and corporate income taxes. Instead, the state raises revenue through sales taxes, which take a bigger bite out of the paychecks of low-wage workers than from the hefty salaries of executives. In 2023, Washington passed a capital gains tax on the sale of stocks and bonds to redress this inequity, and the measure sets aside more than $500 million every year for schools, early learning, and child-care programs.
To defeat the measure, the groups formed a strategic alliance, and went door to door in rural and urban areas. 64 percent of voters rejected the rollback.
“We fought back hard together with many other groups – unions, tribes, and other People’s Action affiliates, including OneAmerica and Washington Community Action Network,” said Janssen. “And we won in a landslide.”