48 Firelands Workers United / Trabajadores Unidos leaders – eight core members and 40 volunteers – will engage in a targeted six-month campaign to develop their organizing and leadership skills and collectively fight against billionaires’ efforts to roll back recent legislative wins for working people in Washington State, including a capital gains tax to fund schools and a climate commitment cap which ensures funding for ecological resilience.
In the most recent legislative session, Firelands also successfully fought to win $28.4 million in the state budget to double the number of immigrant families who can access low-cost health insurance, despite initially being told by lawmakers that no funding was available. They also secured $3 million for a Clean Energy Ambassadors program that will support people in accessing existing energy assistance programs.
Participants in the inaugural class of the Timber Country Organizing School include Spanish and English speakers, youth and folks from across the Pacific county. Leaders will learn deep canvassing skills, develop political analysis as well as leadership and organizing skills.
Through a related canvass campaign, Firelands Workers United leaders will target 4,000 homes, register and activate new voters, and move them to engage in the 2025 legislative session, with an end goal of doubling the group’s membership by next year and to deepen a multilingual, multigenerational base.