Old Tacoma elementary school to become new childcare center, workforce hub
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- Pierce County labor groups acquired a former Tacoma school for childcare and training.
- The center will offer low-cost, non-standard hour childcare for working families.
- State and local funding, plus union support, will aid in renovation and operation.
A building that once housed Willard Elementary School and Early Learning Center in Southside Tacoma will become a new childcare and workforce development hub after Washington state contributed $5 million to its acquisition earlier this month.
The Pierce County Central Labor Council AFL-CIO and its nonprofit arm, the Pierce County Labor Community Services Agency (PCLCSA), acquired the building at 3201 S. D St. on May 1 from Tacoma Public Schools, staff told The News Tribune on Friday.
When renovations are complete, the former school will become a childcare center for about 200 youth (likely infants to 11 year olds) as well as a space to host workforce-development classes, training sessions and conferences, in addition to the office of the Local 252 Labor Union, said Nathe Lawver, the secretary-treasurer for AFL-CIO and president of PCLCSA.
Childcare costs are the number one issue for working families in Tacoma and Pierce County, Lawver said. Pierce County families spend an average of $16,000 to $21,000 per child on childcare costs each year, which often exceeds 40% of a household’s income, he said.
It’s even harder for working families and single parents to find childcare that accommodates work schedules outside of the typical 9-5, including early mornings, evenings and weekends, “when less than 1% of childcare needs are met county-wide,” according to AFL-CIO. The demand for non-standard hours is highest among construction workers, first responders, hospitality and retail workers, it said.
The childcare workforce itself (which overwhelmingly employs women and people of color) also faces low wages and burnout, which contributes to declining availability nationwide and only worsens the problem, the labor council said in a news release.
Lawver said he couldn’t share a timeline on when the building would officially open or when parents could apply for childcare as there are a number of improvements that need to be done, including installing a sprinkler system, adding bathrooms, taking down and adding several walls and creating a secure childcare area. Those renovations will be done with union labor, he said.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards helped secure a $10,000 grant from the U.S. Conference of Mayors to support planning for the initiative and Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-District 27) was instrumental in securing $5 million for the project from the Washington state capital budget, Lawver said. The labor council also used funds from a building it sold in 1978 to put a down payment on this site, he said.
The goal was “to have a non-standard hour childcare center focused initially on members that are in the building and construction trades,” Lawver said. He wants to help those working in the medical sector in the future.
“We’re not going to fix child care for everybody, but we sure as heck can make a model that helps alleviate some of those challenges in Pierce County,” Lawver said. “Every child that is part of this child care center frees up a spot in the community for another family at another center.”
Lawver said the council wants to offer childcare at “no-to-low cost” and is working on a model with a goal that parents would spend no more than 7% of their household’s total income on childcare. Initial cost estimates suggest it would cost an average of $1,600 a month for childcare per student, but the labor council is looking for subsidies to offset that cost in addition to helping leverage collective-bargaining agreements to include childcare support, he said.
“How can we come together as a labor community to fund a trust to help buy down those costs?” Lawver said. “Because ultimately, the employer needs our labor. Full stop. And if we as a community say we want families to be able to go to work, we want families to be able to thrive, let’s find a way to make this affordable and create childcare jobs that also are affordable.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
