Tacoma challenges February election for so-called 'workers bill of rights'

The city of Tacoma has asked a judge to reconsider his recent decision to put a proposed “Workers Bill of Rights” on the ballot in a special election in February, according to court filings.

The move comes after a monthslong back-and-forth between the activists responsible for getting the initiative on the ballot, the city of Tacoma and Pierce County over whether the initiative should appear on the November 2025 or February 2026 ballots. Superior Court Judge Philip E. Thornton ruled after a hearing in late August as part of an ongoing lawsuit on the matter that it could not be placed on the November ballot and in an opinion issued Sept. 9 called for it to be placed on the ballot for a special election in February.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367, Tacoma For All and the Tacoma Pierce County Democratic Socialists of America sued the city of Tacoma, Pierce County and County Auditor Linda Farmer last month arguing that they didn’t act with “reasonable promptness and diligence” to protect the right of initiative after the measure was not scheduled to appear on the November ballot.

In a motion for reconsideration filed Sept. 19, the city of Tacoma’s lawyers made the case that Thornton’s decision “contains errors of law and is void and unenforceable.”




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