In Pierce County, an organized body of labor unions is trying to tackle the problem of childcare for working families.
“In the last 10 years, every room that I've been in talking about workforce issues, childcare is top of the list,” said Nathe Lawver, the secretary-treasurer for the Pierce County Central Labor Council. “But for 10 years, no one's done anything about it.”
Only about 14% of child care needs are met in the county, according to a news release from Pierce County.
Child care can be harder for parents working in the trades, where hours often don't align with a typical 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. child care setting.
“I talked with a guy about a month and a half ago, and he was down on hard times looking for some help,” Lawver said. The man, who was a first-year laborer apprentice, hadn’t been able to take a job since October 2025.
He was also a single dad with three kids. Lawver said the man told him, “I can't find anywhere for my kids to go for child care, so I can't take these jobs.”
That meant he was struggling to get his apprenticeship hours to advance his career and provide a stable life for his family.
“I can't find anywhere for my kids to go for child care, so I can't take these jobs.”
It’s stories like these that led the Pierce County Labor Community Services Agency to purchase an old elementary school in Tacoma in late September.
The Willard School is a 25,000 sq.ft. building built in 1952, which housed an elementary school and then some of the district’s early learning programs until 2024.
Now, the Pierce County Labor Community Services Agency plans to renovate the building to house child care for around 175 kids.
The nonprofit plans to open up the first child care slots for parents in the building and construction trade apprenticeships.
“These hardworking members of our community get dispatched at different hours than a lot of people,” Lawver said. “We have registered apprentices that are being dispatched at 5:00 a.m., and they have to be on the job site then, and there's no place for them to take their kids.”
Eventually, the goal would be to expand the child care facility to care for children of workers in other jobs where hours are unconventional, such as emergency responders and healthcare professionals, said Alice Phillips, vice president of the Pierce County Labor Community Services Agency.
The facility will also be a pathway for those interested in working in child care. The labor council is planning to offer a registered apprenticeship program at the facility for people wanting to go into child care.
“We can't get people out to work because they can't afford child care. There isn't a child care [job] that's paying a living wage job so people move. It's all tied together.”Alice Phillips, Pierce County Labor Community Services Agency
Child care workers are often paid lower wages, which can cause recruitment and retention problems. Plus, the U.S. Department of Education announced that college program graduates who do not meet a certain income standard will lose eligibility for direct federal loans, including early childhood learning. Phillips said this adds barriers for people looking to get into this field.
“ We can't get people out to work because they can't afford child care. There isn't a child care [job] that's paying a living wage job so people move. It's all tied together,” Phillips said.
If everything goes according to schedule, the labor council plans to open the child care facility in early 2028. That will be after two phases of construction, which collectively will cost an estimated $3.5 million dollars.
The labor council has gotten some support from Pierce County, such as $300,000 to start the initial design and construction of the project. The council will be fundraising to raise the rest.
Read the audio transcript here.
