Front and Centered

House Bill 1903 passed out of the House and is now scheduled for a hearing tomorrow morning in the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee! Through this legislation, we are working to establish a sustained bill assistance program for energy burdened households in Washington who are currently left out of the state's patchwork of energy assistance programs. If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to sign in PRO before the Senate committee hearing tomorrow at 8.00am! https://lnkd.in/g4EzC9za

Farmworkers have been deprived of collective bargaining rights for 90 years—that's nearly a century! We have a historic opportunity to fix this in this legislative session. Help our coalition partner, Familias Unidas por La Justicia, get Senate Bill 6045 out of the Senate before Tuesday, February 17th. This bill would give farmworkers the right to unionize and collectively bargain. 🚨 Take two minutes and tell your Senator to vote YES on SB 6045! 🚨 Take action here: https://lnkd.in/g_s5fAyy Plant Based Food Share, Black Farmers Collective, Community Alliance for Global Justice, Northwest Harvest, Viva Farms, Tilth Alliance. #FarmworkerJustice #SB6045 #Solidarity #UnionRights #WashingtonFarmworkers #WAleg

Farmworkers have been deprived of collective bargaining rights for 90 years—that's nearly a century! We have a historic opportunity to fix this in this legislative session. Help our coalition partner, Familias Unidas por La Justicia, get Senate Bill 6045 out of the Senate before Tuesday, February 17th. This bill would give farmworkers the right to unionize and collectively bargain. 🚨 Take two minutes and tell your Senator to vote YES on SB 6045! 🚨 Take action here: https://lnkd.in/g_s5fAyy Plant Based Food Share, Black Farmers Collective, Community Alliance for Global Justice, Northwest Harvest, Viva Farms, Tilth Alliance. #FarmworkerJustice #SB6045 #Solidarity #UnionRights #WashingtonFarmworkers #WAleg

Today, the Frontline Funding Collaborative is launching the latest round of our HEAL Capacity Grant Program, which is intended to support any community organization in #WashingtonState whose capacity-building efforts are aligned with the state's HEAL Act and will advance the law's goals. Grant applications are NOW OPEN and more information about the program and how to apply can be found on our Frontline Funding Collaborative page: https://lnkd.in/gzPhzZjm The Frontline Funding Collaborative (FFC) is a partnership between Front and Centered and four other BIPOC-led organizations—Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Latino Community Fund Of Washington State, Na'ah Illahee Fund, and the WASHINGTON STATE COALITION OF AFRICAN COMMUNITY LEADERS—who are catalyzing investments in #ClimateJustice and #EnvironmentalJustice across Washington State. The HEAL Capacity Grant Program is an example of how the FFC aims to support frontline communities by resourcing their needs and amplifying their solutions to climate change and environmental health disparities. P.S. YOU CAN HELP! It’s important to us that this grant opportunity is seen and shared with as many communities in Washington State that we can possibly reach. We want to ensure a broad, diverse group of organizations across our state hear about the program and that we make the application process as accessible as possible. Please help us spread the word by forwarding this email and sharing our webpage and social media with anyone whom you think might be interested in this grant program!

Today is the day! Installment number three of our #WinterReading series about #EnergyJustice is here! NW Energy Coalition hosted The Clean and Affordable Energy Conference at Portland State University and we had a great time. Two of our own policy team members attended, alongside utility leaders, policymakers, advocates, and energy experts from across the region. “For many across the Pacific Northwest, energy has become more unaffordable and unreliable. And much of the energy we generate worsens the human-driven climate crisis and pollutes local environments by relying on fossil fuels. These paired issues—affordability and sustainability—are foundational to a future where all people, for generations to come, can access clean, affordable, and reliable energy to power their lives.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gpzY3vAh At Front and Centered, we are committed to advocating for an equitable, energy-secure future that prioritizes the well-being of frontline communities.

Just a friendly reminder that there's still time to take action on House Bill 1903! Our handy action form will be open all week so that you can email the Appropriations Committee, but the deadline to sign in PRO is tomorrow morning (Feb. 5) at 9:30 am—an hour before the committee hearing starts! 1. Sign in PRO here: https://lnkd.in/gcns9Be6 2. Use our handy action form to contact the committee: https://lnkd.in/gUBiXzyK 3. If you've already taken both actions, thank you! Please considering sharing these easy actions with your network. Your work will get us closer to passing monthly energy assistance for those who are the most in need in Washington State. Tacoma Power PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT OF FERRY COUNTY NW Energy Coalition Puget Sound Sage DUWAMISH RIVER COMMUNITY COALITION WASHINGTON STATE COALITION OF AFRICAN COMMUNITY LEADERS Asians for Collective Liberation in Spokane

We have exciting news: House Bill 1903—our priority bill that would bring monthly energy bill relief to households in need—is scheduled for a hearing this Thursday morning in the House Appropriations Committee! 🥳🥳 #WAleg You can join us and take action to help pass HB 1903! This is a short legislative session and we are working on a tight deadline to have the bill heard and voted out of committee. For that reason, we're asking you to take two minutes to take two actions that will help bring monthly bill assistance to the households in Washington who need it most: First, you can sign in PRO before the Appropriations Committee meets this Thursday MORNING using this link: https://lnkd.in/gcns9Be6 (What does it mean to sign in PRO? It's as simple as sharing your name, email, city, and ZIP code while declaring your stance as "PRO"—in support of House Bill 1903.) After you sign in PRO, you can use our form to emails committee members to schedule this bill for a vote and pass it out of committee. Thanks to your work last year, we passed the bill out of its first committee with almost unanimous and bipartisan support. This year, if we pass HB 1903 out of Appropriations, we will send our bill to a vote by the full House of Representatives! After you sign in PRO, use our quick action form to email committee members to vote YES on 1903: https://lnkd.in/gUBiXzyK By taking two minutes to take these two actions, you can help us bring much needed relief to households who are seeing a significant increase in their energy bills. 🧡❤️💚💛 Thank you in advance for taking action, and please share this post to other concerned people in your network! DUWAMISH RIVER COMMUNITY COALITION WASHINGTON STATE COALITION OF AFRICAN COMMUNITY LEADERS Statewide Poverty Action Network NW Energy Coalition Spark Northwest El Centro de la Raza Asians for Collective Liberation in Spokane Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle

As the 2026 legislative session session continues, we want to share this resource for people who are living with the impacts of climate injustices, but might not have the language to capture the complex connections that are at play when we talk about climate justice. To help with this communication challenge, here is a Front and Centered two-pager that nicely summarizes a series of community listening sessions. An Unfair Share: Climate Change Hits Some Harder Than Others Read more: https://lnkd.in/gYhgrXsp As the two-pager highlights, we must address the reasons behind why people are vulnerable to climate change impacts, along with their unique chance of being exposed to said impacts. Climate justice addresses the harmful impacts of the ongoing climate crisis by protecting our planet and our people in two ways: 🌍 Advocating for slowing down climate change (mitigation) 🌱Protecting frontline communities most affected by the impacts of climate change (adaptation) Frontline communities—communities of color, Indigenous peoples, immigrants, refugees, and low-income folks—are the least responsible for climate change and yet they: 🪸Shoulder most of the harm that comes from climate chaos 🤕Shoulder most of the burden associated with these new policies The approach to climate justice in our 2-pager is generous and inclusive! Whether you care about food security, transportation, workplace safety, or affordable housing, there is room for everyone at the table to address climate injustices. The larger report and project was possible thanks to the collaboration of multiple University of Washington departments with Front and Centered’s team. Shout-out to our collaborators Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington, UW DEOHS Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at University of Washington, Seattle Foundation, and Urban@UW ! Read the report: https://lnkd.in/gYhgrXsp Let us know if you find this framework of climate impacts and justice helpful! #WAleg #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateJustice

Our third week of the 2026 legislative session is almost through and we have hit the ground running! We were thrilled to host a diverse crowd on our Legislative Briefing call including community members, members of multiple state agencies,and community organization leaders. We want to extend our sincerest thanks to our guest speakers who worked with us on the legislative agenda briefing; Rep. Sharlett Mena and representatives from Statewide Poverty Action Network, Puget Sound Sage, DUWAMISH RIVER COMMUNITY COALITION, and WASHINGTON STATE COALITION OF AFRICAN COMMUNITY LEADERS. Your leadership continues to shape a more just and sustainable Washington. Our main focuses for our 2026 legislative briefing call were: 💪 Strengthening Social Safety Nets by preserving our beneficial social programs and fairly balancing our tax code. ⚡ Addressing Energy Affordability for Low-Income Washingtonians by passing House Bill 1903—Statewide Monthly Bill Assistance Program. 💸 Protecting Climate Revenue and Environmental Justice Funding by ensuring 35% of Climate Commitment Act funds directly benefit Vulnerable Populations and Overburdened Communities. 🏭 Furthering the Cumulative Risk Burden (CURB) Pollution Campaign by getting House Bill 1303/Senate Bill 5380 passed to add an environmental justice component to the State Environmental Policy Act review process to project permits. Our focus for this legislative session is a great example why we at Front and Centered use the Just Transition framework in planning for our collective futures. When we—our members, supporters, and communities—come together and imagine a future where our basic needs are met, we know that those needs can be met using equitable and sustainable methods. Beyond that, when our communities are more safe, secure, and supported, we can more deeply engage in longer-term planning. Missed our call? You can find a call recording, slide deck, and the full agenda in english or spanish at our website: https://lnkd.in/gy2Bd6FE #WAleg #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateJustice

It's finally here—installment number two of our #WinterReading series! 🤩 Get oriented on what truly #CleanEnergy is and learn about some of the latest #FalseSolutions to climate change that are floating about in clean energy policy spaces. "The real solutions frontline communities truly need do not present us with false choices. When #EnvironmentalJustice principles and community leadership are at the core of decisions made regarding clean energy, there is potential for positive local impacts and technological advances in energy generation that are necessary to achieve a carbon-free energy future." Read more: https://lnkd.in/g73pkbg7