Child Care Centers

It takes all of us working together to make our voice heard in the legislature. Just think what we can accomplish when 12,000 centers across the state unite!

The Director and Teachers of Children’s Village, Renton

Who We Are• We are teachers and directors working together
• We are a powerful voice for the child care profession in Olympia

Our Priorities• Increase state and federal resources for child care centers
• Improve access to training and professional development
• Keep good teachers in the field by improving wages and benefits

Our Plan• First, win the right to bargain with the state over resources for child care centers
• Then win a contract with the state that improves wages, benefits, training resources, and the quality of child care.

SEIU is a Leading Voice for Child Care Funding & Quality

We made tremendous strides in strengthening child care and early learning opportunities for young children in Washington. SEIU provided outstanding leadership in securing badly needed subsidy increases. In addition, SEIU's support for improving early learning opportunities through the quality rating and improvement system, including training and mentorships for providers, is helping us move forward in a very positive and promising direction.

--Rep. Ruth Kagi, 32nd District
Chair of the Early Learning & Children's Services Committee

FAQs On Child Care Center Legislation

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We're Uniting Center Teachers & Directors to Address Today’s Crisis in Child Care

Fawn Dunn In today’s world, working parents depend on quality child care to both ensure children’s safety and to give kids the early education they need to succeed. But all too often, parents face difficult challenges in finding child care providers who meet their needs. The lack of affordable quality child care creates a serious problem.

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Why Should Teachers Join SEIU?

Carmen Gilmore, Teacher, Kidz Academy, Lakewood

I would like to share with you why it is important to join SEIU. Child care is my profession as I know it is for most of you, and by joining with SEIU we will get the respect we deserve for the important work we all do. As a lead teacher I want to make sure that my voice is heard. I want to reach out to our community and let them know how hard it is to get the respect from not just the parents but from other people who are not in our profession. We are the pathway of our future and by joining SEIU we will be given a voice.

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Why Should Directors Join SEIU?

Pam Moore, Program Supervisor, SeaTac Christian Daycare, SeaTac

As I have talked with my fellow directors and teachers over the years, I hear the same story. Teachers are grossly underpaid, many barely making minimum wage, and therefore the turnover is high. Even the most dedicated teacher can only afford to stay in the field a short time unless s/he has another income source. The reality of life is our child care teachers need to be able to live independently, have access to health care and become better educated so they can provide the very best for the children in their care. Up to now, child care teachers have had no recourse for making change.

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The History of Our Child Care Movement
Center workers and family providers have been working together for a decade for quality care

As a parent of a daughter who is currently in child care, I know firsthand that the legislature must do more to address the crisis that child care centers in our state are facing. I'm looking forward to working with SEIU 925 to bring more resources into centers across our state.State Senator Derek Kilmer (26th Legislative District) and daughter Sophie

This movement is about those of us who care for kids having a voice, raising respect for the child care profession.

Leilani Jessie, Teacher, Kidz Academy Preschool, Lakewood

Our child care center union is very different from a traditional union. In traditional unions, employers and employees bargain over wages and working conditions. In our new kind of union, all center employees join together to negotiate with the state to get more resources into our centers. We’re all in this together—we all want to be able to provide quality care for kids.
Kari Koens, Director/Owner, Tomorrow’s Future, Mount Vernon