Written by PEL Lab Leader Deric Gruen
The last few years have been a rollercoaster for people who work in Washington State. From COVID to work-from-home and back-to-work policies. From escalating prices to relief checks. From the resurgence of unions and worker power to deportations and layoffs. In the midst of this, “essential workers” became a thing–a term lumping together workers in utilities and transportation, food production, some retail and trades, healthcare, and childcare. Some governments took notice and developed novel approaches to better compensate essential workers for their invaluable labor. For example, one-time payments of about $500 went out to 12,000 local child care workers following COVID. Efforts like these not only support workers directly, but also shift our thinking about how we value different types of work.
Fortunately, experiments to boost wages have not stopped. Locally in King County, the 2021 Best Starts for Kids Levy proposed a workforce demonstration project to provide wage supplements to child care workers. This investment, now called The Best Starts for Kids Child Care Wage Boost Pilot, puts $24 million into direct payments to child care workers. The Best Starts for Kids Wage Boost Pilot launched earlier this year and invests $8,320 annually into each eligible full-time worker and aims to reach 1,400 childcare workers through the end of the pilot in late 2027.
Of course everyone wants their work to be valued. That value can be reflected in many ways, but most often it’s about compensation, critical to anyone putting together a livelihood.
Last year, in the People’s Economy Lab’s adaptation of the popular education course Economics of Emancipation (coming back this winter!), we looked at the concepts of “use value” vs. “exchange value.” In brief, “exchange value” refers to something’s worth as a commodity for trade, usually its price. “Use value” is the concrete benefit it provides. A million-dollar two-bedroom house and a half-million dollar two-bedroom house may provide a similar use value, namely shelter. However, the exchange value may differ based on where the house is located, the age of the house, the materials used to build the house, etc.
So, what does this look like for a worker? Work is valued much like any other commodity on the market. Its price–our wages–are mostly determined by how much money can be made off our work–its exchange value. Professional athletes, like recently retired Sue Bird for example, are useful for making money, and thus can trade their labor for a lot. But as much as I appreciate her skills, Sue Bird, or Kevin Durant for that matter, aren’t highly valued for meeting truly essential needs, like food and water, housing, and childcare. Unfortunately, because exchange values rule the day, very useful jobs providing essential needs are often compensated with low wages, because they’re not tied to high profits.
Programs like the Best Starts Child Care Wage Boost Pilot recognize and compensate for the use value of essential services like childcare.
The King County Wage Boost Pilot started making payments in 2025 and will continue into late 2027. Through the program, a full-time worker receives $2,080 per month. This is paid directly to all eligible workers at 133 selected facilities. Currently 854 workers are enrolled. To date, $4.6 million dollars have been paid directly to enrolled workers. The program aims to boost childcare worker retention and worker well-being, and improve childcare facility stability. It’s not only a direct intervention in valuing workers; it’s also a pilot project, and researchers will be reporting back on the impacts throughout the study.
The COVID-19 crisis opened a policy window for solutions like wage boosts, but it wouldn’t have happened without workers collaborating with the government to develop solutions to their own needs. In particular the Imagine Institute, formed by care workers in SEIU 925, is the design and implementation lead. Feedback is generally supportive of the pilot but there are some concerns about unintentional consequences that could result from the pilot. For example, childcare facility leadership express concerns about competition and unfair experiences between workers at facilities who have the Wage Boost and those that don’t, as well as the sustainability of the wage boosts after the initial pilot.
The wage boost is an actionable example of a larger movement for a “care economy” that emphasizes care in all its forms as a sustaining source of livelihoods. The concept of care-driven economies has long been a cornerstone of advocates for solidarity, well-being, and sustainable economies. Governments and unions have often played key roles.
Where would we be without the people and systems who care for our children and elders, our disabled community members, and for all of us in times of sickness, injury, and grief? And yet, many of these workers are not paid a thriving wage. Ultimately, we need to shift how we value this work as a society. Government programs like the Best Starts Child Care Wage Boost Pilot are one important step toward fully valuing care work–the essential labor that keeps society going.
Interested in learning more?
Join King County for a community presentation on learnings from the 2025 Best Starts for Kids Childcare Workforce Survey on Thursday, November 6th from 1:30-2:45pm.
