From Stonewall to the Gay Liberation Front, to marches of hundreds of thousands on Washington in recent years, the LGBTQ+ movement has a rich history of struggle. 

Socialist Alternative members and Kshama Sawant campaign supporters participated in an emergency protest today against the City Council’s June 11^th vote to eliminate the Nickelsville homeless encampment that houses many families.

In their letter to end Nickelsville, the city council members, including Sawant’s political opponent Richard Conlin, say they will allocate $500,000 from the city’s general fund for housing and services for the current Nickelsville residents. “It is dishonest and disingenuous on the part of Conlin and the majority of city council members to offer a small one-time payment that they know is not a solution. This is a feeble attempt to throw dust in our eyes and make an inhuman act palatable to those who care about the homeless,” said Kshama Sawant, the Socialist Alternative candidate for Seattle City Council, position 2.

Encampments are not a permanent solution. However, outlawing the encampment while closing down already under-equipped shelters, and providing no humane alternatives for the homeless is unacceptable. “Rather than bulldozing the homeless, the city council should be taxing millionaires and corporations to fund social programs, living-wage jobs, and affordable housing for all. This is why we need to fight for a grassroots voice in City Hall,” Sawant added.

 Last Thursday I marched with fast food workers in Seattle to demand a $15/hour minimum wage and the right to organize a union, without retaliation.  As noted by the Seattle Weekly, all the other local politicians who came out claiming to support the strike, including our opponent City Councilor Richard Conlin, refused to take a position on the demand for $15/hour. Conlin was also the only councilor who voted against paid sick leave.  Clearly, we cannot trust him to represent the interests of ordinary Seattle workers.  

As I explained, "It’s one thing to give lip service and do political posturing on which way the wind is blowing; it’s another to say I won’t take corporate contributions and support a $15 minimum wage. It’s like drawing a line in the sand, saying I’m going to fight for this."

I have been calling for a $15/hour minimum wage since our campaign last year for state legislature, where I received over 20,000 votes (an historic 29% of the vote for a Socialist candidate).  

This week we've opened our campaign headquarters that will serve as the central location from which we can organize and build support for our (your!) campaign, and for a $15/hour minimum wage.   

But, we can't build this campaign without your support. 

Kshama Sawant recently wrote a guest editorial for The Stranger (Seattle's main weekly paper) on the case for a $15/hr minimum wage. The article has now been re-published on the widely read progressive website Common Dreams.

Across the country, low-wage workers are striking for $15/hr. We stand on the side of low-wage workers in Seattle and across the country who deserve a living wage - and a voice in City Hall. Our campaign is calling for $15/hr as a means for building a revitalized movement of working class people to fight for fundamental change. Show your support for $15/hr by donating $15 to the Kshama Sawant campaign for Seattle City Council, and join us in building an independent political voice for working-class people.

Make a pledge today!

We are extremely fortunate that that no one was killed on May 24 when an I-5 bridge collapsed in Mount Vernon, Washington and two vehicles dropped into the Skagit River. However, three people were injured, one was knocked unconscious, and two were trapped in the extremely cold river for an hour.  The bridge collapsed after an oversized truck collided with an overhead brace on the bridge that politicians knew was functionally obsolete.  For weeks, or possibly months, thousands of commuters will be forced onto detour routes where they will get stuck for hours in traffic jams. 

How is it possible, in one of the wealthiest states in the wealthiest country in the world, that we face such basic infrastructure problems? The politicians are trying their best to dance around this basic question, but the undeniable truth is that this tragedy was entirely foreseeable and preventable.

Now that we are on the ballot, we are busy preparing to set up our campaign headquarters, which will serve as the home base for Sawant supporters and is crucial to continue building grassroots support leading up to the August 6th primary.

Office space in Seattle is really expensive, so to get the most out of each dollar contributed to the campaign we are appealing to our supporters to donate space rather than pay for it. The money that would pay for office space can be better used to spread the word about the campaign through leaflets, posters, and yard signs.

Do you have office space? Want to help build a grassroots campaign to challenge corporate control of Seattle? Please contact us!

We are looking for at least 300 sq. ft. of space, but the bigger the better as we expect to mobilize many volunteers and supporters. Please let us know if you have space, or know of someone who does, but would need some rent for it (i.e., maybe not free, but a cheap rent). To attract new people to our campaign we also prefer (but are not limited to) street or store front location.

Hard work pays off! We have succeeded in turning in over 2,400 signatures to qualify Kshama Sawant on ballot for Seattle City Council, twice the required amount. In Seattle, candidates running for office have a choice to either pay an expensive filing fee of over $1000 or turn in an equal number of signatures.   While other city council candidates used donations from corporate interests and wealthy supporters to pay the expensive $1,175 filing fee, our campaign relied on unpaid volunteers dedicated to spreading the word and gathering signatures. The overwhelming community support for our campaign reflects the overall acceptance of our message to fight big business and bring about change for the ordinary Seattle worker!

Talk by Kshama on "Relevance of Socialism in Seattle Today?" recorded May 16, 2013 at the Common Good Cafe at University Temple United Methodist Church

Dear Friends,

Because of the help from supporters like you, we succeeded in qualifying Kshama Sawant to be on the ballot for Seattle City Council by turning in over 2,400 signatures, more than double the number of signatures required!

Kshama Sawant is the only Seattle candidate who collected signatures to qualify for the ballot.  All the other city council candidates paid the expensive filing fee of $1,175 in lieu of collecting signatures.   Our signatures were collected overwhelmingly by dedicated unpaid volunteers, which reflects the popular support for our message and our campaign’s unparalleled grassroots volunteer base!  Please join us in celebrating this success this Saturday, May 18 from 6 - 8:30pm at Jai Thai at 235 Broadway E (cross street Thomas).  

The next step for the campaign is to spread out into Seattle neighborhoods to door knock and build more support throughout the community.  This will require printing hundreds of thousands of brochures and yardsigns.  Please support this crucial phase of the campaign by making a personally meaningful contribution.  Donate Today