Association of Washington Business

09/11/2026

What a beautiful tribute.

09/11/2026

The manufacturing spirit is alive and well at Envision Career Academy in Lacey, which for the fourth year in a row has printed the apparel for our Manufacturing Week bus tour. AWB visited the school and as always we were impressed and inspired by the way this innovative school helps its students learn, grow and thrive with an entrepreneurial spirit.

As we cross the state for Manufacturing Week, we'll be giving out the hoodies with our logo, thanks to the students at Envision Career Academy!

Thanks to our stop sponsor, STCU and their Here for Good Foundation. We appreciate your support of the tour and the students at Envision.

09/10/2026

Meeting Washington’s rising energy demands is critical to supporting economic growth and keeping energy reliable and affordable.

At the AWB Policy Summit, attendees will hear from public and private utility leaders about what it will take to meet Washington’s growing energy needs.

Thank you to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for sponsoring this breakout session!

A few last-chance tickets are available for the Policy Summit, Sept. 15-17 in Spokane. Learn more and register. https://www.awb.org/event/2026-policy-summit/

09/09/2026

Rising costs for small businesses drive up the prices of goods and services Washington consumers rely on.

A new Washington Roundtable report digs into what’s driving those cost increases, drawing on in-depth interviews and five to 10 years of financial data from six Washington small businesses. It found:

💰 Labor-related costs add about 43% on top of base wages.

📈 Seattle-area inflation is running a full percentage point above the national rate.

📋 Licensing, permitting and regulatory compliance add hidden costs.

📉 Washington’s tax competitiveness ranking has fallen from 33rd to 45th in six years.

“The state has increased taxes every year for the last five years in one way, shape or form. And every one of those has to be either absorbed by the business or passed along to the consumers,” said a Washington winery owner.

Read the report to learn more:https://www.waroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/WRT_CODB_Report.pdf

09/08/2026

Washington is facing another multibillion-dollar budget deficit, while the newly enacted income tax faces both a ballot repeal effort and legal challenges.

At the AWB Policy Summit next week, AWB tax and fiscal lead Max Martin will join budget experts from the Washington Research Council and Washington Policy Center to break down the budget outlook, the latest on the income tax and what employers should watch heading into 2027.

Thank you Meta for sponsoring this session!

There’s still time to join business leaders and policymakers from across Washington in Spokane, Sept. 15-17. Learn more and register for the AWB Policy Summit. https://www.awb.org/event/2026-policy-summit/

09/05/2026

Just ten days until Policy Summit kicks off! We can't wait to meet with business and political leaders from across the state -- and hear from national leaders like Gen. James Mattis -- in Spokane. We'll have free professional headshots available and we'll also have drawings for some great giveaways, like Alaska Airlines tickets and Yeti goodies.

Tickets are still available for a limited time to the 2026 AWB Policy Summit, presented by AT&T.

Register today: https://whova.com/portal/registration/GtNtTxcO1PTKzH0GzL0v/

09/04/2026

We're pumped about the Apple Cup! AWB's proud Huskies and Cougars wore their colors today as we cheer on this storied cross-state rivalry.

To all Cougars, Huskies and everyone across Washington state -- have a safe, happy and enjoyable Labor Day & Apple Cup weekend.

09/04/2026

Grab your morning espresso and pull up a chair for a fast-paced, high-impact briefing on the future of workplace AI to kick off the 2026 Policy Summit. This casual fireside chat is geared toward giving business leaders and state policymakers a practical look at how enterprise AI is shifting from predictive analytics to generative and agentic systems.

Your guide for the discussion will be Barbara Cosgrove, Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer at Workday.

This insightful session will be the first of many during the 2026 AWB Policy Summit, presented by AT&T, in Spokane from Sept. 15-17.

Info and tickets: https://www.awb.org/event/2026-policy-summit/

09/03/2026

As we look back on 10 years of Manufacturing Week bus tours, we remember the second year of our cross-state tour, in 2018. That year we visited 47 stops, the most ever for a year in a single bus, and took our bus up logging roads to the top of a mountain. What a great time to visit manufacturers across Washington and confirm that !

It was also the first year that we put together a Manufacturing Week tour book, which you can still read about every stop that memorable year: https://joom.ag/4Yna

Travel along with AWB and state leaders on a 2,000-mile, seven-day tour of more than 50 manufacturers and shop floors as AWB celebrates the made-in-Washington spirit with its second-annual Manufacturing Week bus tour.

09/03/2026

🍂 Fall internship season is underway!

AWB is thrilled to welcome Kehla Jefferson Champion as an events & program coordinator intern. Kehla is jumping right into a busy fall, helping bring to life some of AWB’s biggest events — the Policy Summit, Manufacturing Week bus tour and Evening of Excellence.

Born and raised in Olympia, Kehla is a first-year student at South Puget Sound Community College studying office administration, with plans to pursue a career in planning, program coordination, or nonprofit- and community-focused work.

“I really enjoy creating and organizing events, bringing people together, and working behind the scenes to make things come together,” she said.

Looking for an intern? The Washington Workforce Portal connects employers with students seeking work-based learning opportunities. Post an opportunity today at www.washingtonworkforceportal.org.