Investigations
Legislators are shaping their staff’s collective bargaining rights
But workers it would affect can’t weigh in. Ethics rules prevent them from lobbying on bills — even ones that would define their ability to unionize.
Lizz Giordano
Lizz Giordano is Cascade PBS's investigative labor reporter focusing on workplace safety, labor organizing and worker rights. lizzgiordano@cascadepbs.org
Latest work
Investigations
Over a third of WA’s job safety fines are reduced after appeals
One company negotiated a $1.3M reduction with the state’s safety agency after a worker’s hand was crushed, following multiple other violations.
Investigations
WA bridges still in poor condition, despite $630M in federal aid
The state transportation agency has allocated about 13% of early funding for repairs, but more is needed to address the backlog of projects.
News
WA fines Yakima grower $290k after two fatal tractor rollovers
Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries handed a Yakima orchard $290,000 in fines after two workers died in
Investigations
A WA worker’s death reveals the limits of safety enforcement
A fatal trench collapse in 2016 set precedent for holding employers criminally liable, but officials still struggle to head off repeat violations.