PIERCE COUNTY LABOR COMMUNITY SERVICES AGENCY
The Problem
When childcare exceeds more than 7% of a household's total income, it is considered unaffordable*. For most working families, that cost easily approaches or exceeds 40% of household income.** In 2025, parents can expect to pay 40% more annually for daycare than they did a decade ago in Washington state, which outpaces the rampant rise of inflation by over 10%.***​
Cost is only one factor preventing the working families of Pierce County from accessing childcare and hobbling workforce development. Current levels of childcare availability meet a meager 14.8% of Pierce County residents. This gap becomes further strained among business sectors reliant on care before 6 am and after 6 pm, with less than 1% of the need for after hours care in Pierce County across all legislative districts.
​The demand for non-standard hours is highest among construction workers, first responders, health care, hospitality, and retail workers. And the shortage of off-hours care is limiting to career opportunities among systemically excluded workers and women.
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This critical shortfall of round the clock, reasonably priced childcare options for Pierce County residents creates a more dismal forecast when factoring in the reduction of childcare workers industry-wide. The childcare sector offers low pay, an overall lack of benefits, and low respect to a marginalized workforce comprised of 95% women, 50% bilingual staff, and 30% people of color. It simply fails to compete among an already marginalized group. Without intervention, childcare workers will continue to opt out of the field due to a lack of livable wages and stable hours, reducing availabilities further.
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* The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
** Average cost for one child in Pierce County ranges from $16,000 to $21,000 annually
*** “Child Care Costs up 40%. How Inflation Is Impacting Affordability of Daycare Across America” [2025]
The Solution
The Pierce County Labor Community Services Agency, the 501(c)(3) arm of the Pierce County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, is acquiring a former elementary school from Tacoma Public Schools. The facility, positioned with easy I-5 access, lies in a central Pierce County location in the 27th legislative district, hugging the border of the economically disadvantaged eastside of Tacoma.
After its transformative renovation, it will initially offer 200 new, non-standard-hour childcare slots at no-to-low cost, allowing parents to invest more deeply in their families. Over time, child care space can expand on the lower floor of the facility to further meet the needs of the community.
Training spaces for community partners and affiliates in this facility will support pathways for a next generation of childcare professionals—feeding an ongoing pool of available provider and childcare slots throughout the community. PCLCSA will offer a living wage with a training pathway to grow local childcare professionals and will partner with local nonprofits to offer business management education, innovative operational tools, and a peer network for advice and learning. PCLCSA will collaborate to with the City of Tacoma Mayor’s Office, organized labor, our workforce system, private enterprise, and foundations to fund this innovative and multilayered solution.
The Impact
PCLCSA’s childcare initiative is designed to generate long-lasting benefits to Pierce County, including:
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Over 200 new, non-standard hour childcare slots
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Low-cost childcare for union members in registered apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship readiness programs
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Flexible budgets and generational wealth-building for working families
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A ripple effect of investment in the local community
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Competitive wages, benefits, and career growth for childcare workers
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Co-location of training facilities to expand workforce development
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Support for the workforce performing $1.3 billion of locally-funded school construction bonds
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Room for future expansion to meet growing demand, such as drop-in childcare for on-call or unique dispatch situations
