We just secured a major victory.

I took GEO Group, a for-profit, private prison, to court for violating Washington’s Minimum Wage Act.

GEO makes millions of dollars every year running the ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. It pays detainees $1 a day or less to run a significant portion of the Center, including cleaning and cooking at the facilities.

Today a nine-person jury returned a unanimous verdict: We won. GEO must now pay their workers the minimum wage.

I am proud of the work my team did to achieve this outcome — this is a major victory for workers’ rights and basic human dignity.

It’s critical that we keep protecting Washingtonians from being taken advantage of. This win makes me a major target for powerful special interests who believe the rules don’t apply to them. Can I count on you to support me and my work?

They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting my Civil Rights team in court — all in an effort to avoid accountability and fairness.

Their actions harmed detainees and denied employment opportunities to workers in the Pierce County area.

After today’s victory, GEO will be held accountable to pay workers the minimum wage — and we will make sure they do.

Stay tuned for more details as the case moves forward to determine how many millions GEO must pay for their violations of state law.

Thank you for helping me hold powerful corporations accountable to the rule of law.

Bob