I-2117 Would Cost Washington 45,000 Jobs, Cost Economy $9 Billion
Building and Construction Trades, Transportation Jobs Most Impacted by I-2117
September 23, 2024 – A new study finds that if passed, Initiative 2117 would cost Washingtonians an estimated 45,000 high-wage jobs. The report also found that I-2117 would cost Washington state approximately $9.1 billion in economic output over eight years.
According to the report authored by Greenline Insights, the state’s construction workforce will be the most negatively impacted by I-2117, closely followed by jobs in the transportation, agriculture, fish, and forestry sectors.
If passed, I-2117 would cut billions in investments in transportation – slashing transit and putting road and bridge projects at risk – air quality, renewable energy, grid modernization, forest health and wildfire prevention, and fish habitat and salmon recovery.
“This is one more reason why Washington workers cannot afford the devastating impacts of Initiative 2117,” said Erin Frasier, Assistant Executive Secretary, Washington State Buildings and Construction Trades Council. “I-2117 would cost tens of thousands of high-wage jobs in building and construction trades. This deceptive initiative hurts workers and hurts our economy.”
“Initiative 2117 is a job killer. It’s a bad deal for workers,” said Billy Wallace, Political and Legislative Director, Washington and Northern Idaho District Council of Laborers. “Roads and bridges across Washington state are in desperate need of repair. I-2117 not only guts funding for that maintenance, it also slashes the tens of thousands of jobs needed to actually get the work done. These are family-wage jobs that provide health care and pensions, and they are critical for workers and a strong economy. This report proves how important it is to defeat Initiative 2117 this fall.”
The 45,000 jobs jeopardized by I-2117 offer, on average, $91,000 per year in compensation, nine percent higher than the state median, according to the report. I-2117 would hurt sectors across Washington’s economy, from agriculture, to public transit, to clean energy, to ferries and the maritime sector.
“Now is a time to be generating economic activity, not inhibiting it,” said Rachel Smith, President & CEO, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. “A healthy economy needs a strong workforce and a connected, safe, and reliable statewide transportation system. But Initiative 2117’s impact is all about cuts: Cuts to transportation, cuts to environmental protections, and cuts to high-skilled, high-wage jobs – jobs that our employers rely on. That’s why we, representing 2,500 employers, are urging people to vote no. I-2117 is a bad deal for Washington.”
“Initiative 2117 slashes investment in the kind of sustainable, high-quality jobs we need to power our workforce now and into the future,” said Cassie Bordelon, Executive Director, Climate Jobs WA. “I-2117 will devastate our ability to advance the clean energy economy and will hurt working people first and foremost. Climate Jobs WA calls on voters to reject I-2117 this fall.”
More information, including sector-specific impacts, and additional economic projections, is available in the report.
Over 490 organizations and Tribes oppose I-2117 and have endorsed the No on 2117 campaign, including firefighters, small businesses, Tribal Nations, doctors, nurses, and public health leaders, labor unions, environmental groups, and community organizations. You can view the full list of organizations opposing I-2117 here.