The Future We Build With Activism
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
Something interesting is quietly happening in America.
Last year, the first No Kings Day, on June 14th, 2025, took place in about 2,100 cities, towns, and places people decided to set up a protest. The most recent one, March 28th of this year, had 3,300 locations. The numbers of attendees have also grown, as more and more people have felt impelled to stand for their values.
In February of this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics put out an economic news release, the Union Members Summary, that shows in 2025, 16.5 million workers, 11.2% of the workforce, in America were represented by a union. This is an increase of 463,000 union members from 2024. Much of the growth was among federal employees fighting the administration’s illegal efforts to strip them of their collective bargaining rights.
In June of this year, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani backed several progressive New York-area candidates who won their primaries, defeating Democratic incumbents and candidates backed by establishment politicians alike. This follows a string of Democratic candidates overperforming in elections across the country, an unusual event even for a midterm election year which is conventionally lost by the party in power.
These events, and others like them, have been greeted with skepticism or glib explanations that seek to downplay their significance.
We’re told far more about the anti-incumbency mood of the country than we are about the desire – the need – for elected leaders who will represent working-class Americans fiercely and work to make our lives better. The number of workers realizing that union protections matter has been downplayed into silence and buried in quiet press releases. All of these events are pointing to an inescapable conclusion about our increased level of activism.
We’re seeing millions of average Americans understand that we can create the society we want to live in. For many of us, living in a country that intentionally dilutes and isolates workers has been the norm. Under the extraordinary pressure of an attempted authoritarian takeover and the outsized impact the wealthy have on our daily lives, we are rediscovering that, together, we have tremendous power. And we are using it to make our lives better.
Activism is found at the ballot box, supporting candidates who pledge to use their positions to improve the lives of the working class (and holding accountable elected officials who do not). Activism is found in climate work, where communities reject AI data centers and renewable energy now accounts for more than half of the energy generated globally. Activism is still standing up for a future worth living, for better wages and solutions to the problems that plague us as both a country and a world. Collective activism is being honed by these times, in the streets, in union halls, and at the ballot box. People are, quite simply, fed up with a status quo that tells us the future will be worse, poorer, less secure, less diverse, and harder.
Over the history of the Union Spotlight, we have highlighted ways that Washingtonians come together to build a better world. By now, you know of the legislative routes we’ve taken, our wins, and the growth of our union and of the labor movement as a whole. Often those wins have been achieved by a small group – a Contract Action Team, an Organizing Committee, a dedicated cadre of activists – but what is happening now is bigger than us. We are seeing a real shift in the ways that Americans think about our shared future and our communities.
Highline College’s pro staff employees saw that the college was not going to voluntarily give them the pay they need or the respect in the workplace they deserve. They organized. They came together in a way that pro staff units across the state are increasingly turning to because administrations will not treat these workers as valued and important parts of campus communities. This month, they won their card count and are beginning work negotiating a first contract.
Tacoma Federation of Education Support Professionals has faced serious challenges for years, many caused by their school district. As many of our Education Support Professionals do, they built an alliance between other unions in the district to put their combined weight behind the change they want to see.
Edmonds College responded to the recent ICE abduction of a person from the campus by calling on administration to do better in the
face of the threat ICE represents to so many of our students and community members. They are now developing a rapid response network, because in these times, we must keep ourselves safe.
There are many, many other examples of people and locals and schools and colleges standing up and standing together and demanding that we have communities and futures that are better, stronger, and safer than right now looks likely.
All of these actions were unprecedented when the status quo worked for working Washingtonians. Right now, though, you only have to look around to see that many Americans are struggling with issues that simply shouldn’t be problems. We can have an economy that works for us as we work to build it, and we can have leaders who are accountable to us. What we are seeing in these moments of taking action is the demand for that better future. We are no longer asking, we are demanding, and we are working to get it.
Sometimes, an action is as simple as saying yes to your union. Sometimes, it takes longer to happen. No matter the action you take, what we are doing with all of them is building our solidarity, our communities, and the groundwork for an empowered future where workers, who have gone unheard for so many for so long, can make the change that we need.
It’s inspiring to watch America stand up and demand better. Building this solidarity is essential to following through and getting that better future. Find the actions you can take and make your voice heard.