AN ORDINANCE relating to employment in Seattle; amending Sections 100.025 and Section 5 of Ordinance 126274 to establish a new date for ending hazard pay requirements and automatically repealing the ordinance.
The Report of the Finance and Housing Committee Agenda Item seven Council Bill 120119 An Ordinance relating to Employment in Seattle amending sections 100.02025 and Section five of Ordinance 126274 to establish a new date for ending hazard pay requirements and automatically repealing the ordinance. The committee recommends the bill pass. Thank you so much, because we're our state. You are the chair of this committee. Someone to hand it over to you to provide the committee report. You very much council president colleagues, as you'll note on agenda item number seven, there is a substitute version noted on our agenda. I would like to move Council Bill 1 to 0 119 by substituting version two, which is link on today's agenda for version 1a6. Okay. It's been moved and seconded to adopt proposed substitute version two of Countable 120119. Would you like to address the substitute? Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, as you'll remember at the beginning of this year, in 2021, one of our first acts as a council was to move and pass the legislation I sponsored to pass emergency legislation to provide hazard pay for grocery workers, requiring grocery stores to pay employees an additional $4 an hour to compensate them for the risks to their health and safety and the health and safety of their families, especially before any vaccines were available at the beginning of the pandemic. Many industries were able to go remote to reduced hours to reduce exposure and more. But essential workers, especially in grocery stores who helped to feed the families and to keep families safe, had no choice but to report to work. Many of these grocery workers called in to testify about the health and safety risks that they were facing, including facing unmasked customers, extra cleaning and frequency needed to clean surfaces throughout grocery stores . These stories included examples of customers coughing or arguing about masks and more. We didn't just hear about this during public comment. We also had a panel to provide data and study after study to look at opportunities to protect grocery store workers. One study one study from Boston found that 20% of grocery store workers tested positive for COVID 19, despite 91% of those employees wearing a face mask. The positive rate of infection among grocery store workers was five times as likely for those who interacted with customers on the floor of grocery stores than those who did not. And while hazard pay cannot fix all of those situations, it certainly was one measure that this council wanted to make sure to advance to provide a small boost to workers who are taking these extra risks. We pride ourselves in Seattle being labor leaders on labor standards. And it wasn't just us who recognized these risks at the time of the bill's passage. Cities up and down the West Coast had passed or were beginning to announce legislative efforts to require hazard pay for grocery store workers. This included in California, Berkeley, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, West Hollywood, Oakland, once a video, and Los Angeles County when Seattle City Council passed that we were also an impetus for cities in this region and our county to pass hazard pay as well. This legislation was always temporary before vaccinations could be widely available and before other safety measures could be secured and discussed with employers. This legislation was not intended to be permanent wage replacement, which of course I support and have been advocating for and will continue to work with members of CWA 21 and other workers who are on the front line to secure higher wages for our workforce, especially in low wage industries. In our passage of the hazard pay. We noted our intent was to consider modifying or eliminating the hazard pay requirements after four months of implementation and review, current health and safety and economic risks for frontline workers for the COVID emergency to help us with these considerations. On June 15, we had a panel discussion of representatives from grocery workers, the grocery industry representatives, as well as public health. Interim Director Worsham was present with us in that meeting. We celebrated the progress that we made since COVID 19 pandemic started. We had celebrated and acknowledged the work that had gone into making sure that vaccines were more available since the passage of hazard pay. And we also acknowledged some of the real racial disparities in vaccine rates and the need for ongoing measures, including improved protocols, PPE, access, clear mask guidelines and more. During the panel, as well as after, we got a good response from grocery store workers that they would continue to work with us on addressing those solutions. And that includes grocery store employers and employees who were interested in longer term solutions to addressing these disparities. During the panel, we also heard about partnerships with King County Public Health to host grocery store worker vaccination clinics. And I had the honor of volunteering at one of those clinics early on in the pandemic, when vaccines first became available and grocery store workers had access to those vaccinations based on emerging public health data. We held that. We held that the final passage of the amendment to repeal the grocery store worker and hazard pay requirement from July until now. Or they. Indefinitely is the language that we use for when a bill will not be brought up within a 60 day period. Although I am bringing this amendment forward today, I want to be clear about a few things. Number one, we will consider hazard pay again for grocery store workers and other workers if needed, on any new public health data that continues to make itself available. Number two, this hazard pay legislation is not a substitute for long term pay and benefits for workers. Those are conversations we will continue to engage in and encourage between the employer and worker and worker representatives. Number three, this legislation would not have been possible without the direct advocacy of S.W. 21 and grocery store workers calling me and asking for us to do this over the holiday break, which we quickly worked with those workers and all of you on council to pass the hazard pay requirements and work to implement it as soon as possible. This also wouldn't have been possible without the willingness of grocery store employers to advise us on administrative functions and without the collaboration of public health. Seattle, King County and the Mayor's Office. Finally, thanks to the deep engagement that we did with the UAW 21 and the grocers. I am proud that hazard pay has sparked a conversation between them around longer term wins and policy improvements. These will yield a longer lasting and higher level of investment in worker safety and respect beyond this temporary ordinance. This will continue to have beneficial impacts for those grocery store workers. Through the conversations that employers and worker representatives are engaged in. I will also note that of all the California jurisdictions that I noted when they passed their hazard pay legislation earlier this year, those California cities only kept their hazard pay in effect for 120 days. So already in the city of Seattle, we have hazard pay that has lasted twice as long as these California jurisdictions. A full year has been into a full year will be in effect given that the implementation date of this legislation in front of us will not be in effect until January. I am proud that Seattle workers have gone gotten this hazard pay for so much longer than these other cities and jurisdictions. And I'd like to thank all of you for your swift action and your support to pass this at the beginning of the year. And I'd like to continue to lift up the work that is going to have lasting impacts from the conversations that you have S.W. 21 and the grocers are having sparked by the need for additional safety, training and investments and workers that all of us can be proud of at this point. After talking with Public Health Seattle King County. We know that the best way to continue to prevent COVID, especially preventing crime, is to vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate and keep those masks on. I'm proud that Seattle workers have been able to keep this hazard pay for the full year. This was temporary in nature. And I am I am thankful that there is going to be a lasting benefit from these conversations beyond just the hazard pay that will result in improved protections and safety going forward. I want to thank such a fruit from my office who's been working on this legislation for the last year. Cory Annable from central staff was always at the ready to help provide additional information and legislative updates and her constant updates with public health as we work to make sure that there was a data informed discussion as we consider any update project to the legislation in front of us. Thank you, colleagues. And with that, I would encourage your support today as we look at longer term benefits that the employers and the workers will continue to work on to protect employees and the public. Councilmember Mosqueda are there any additional comments on the proposed substitutes? Councilmember Peterson, Please. Thank you. Council President I just wanted to thank Councilman Mesquita and CW for their commitment to workers and public health and for following through on this, not letting it. It was never meant to be permanent. But but we really I know a lot of people appreciate that there was a commitment to continue to look at indicators, continue to look at trends, and then decide when was an appropriate time and to appreciate this being brought forward and voted on today. Thanks you. Thank you, Councilmember Peterson. Any additional comments on a proposed substitute? The hearing, none will the Court please for the role on the adoption of the proposed substitute version two of Council Bill 120119. Again, we are voting on the substitute version of the bill before we vote on the bill as amended. Lewis. MORALES Yes. No. Sarah, I am. Peterson I. Strauss Yes. Herbold Yes. Whereas I council President Gonzalez I aid in favor and oppose. The so much the motion carries a substitute is adopted and the amended bill is now before the council. Are there any further comments on Agenda Item seven? Council Bill 120119 as amended to be hearing no additional comments. Will the FERC please call the role and the passage of amended Council Bill 120119. Agenda Item seven. Lewis. Yes. Morales. Yes. Mosquera. I. Petersen. I. Strauss. Yes. Herbold. Yes. Whereas I. Council President Gonzalez. I aid in favor and unopposed. The bill passes as amended and the church will sign it. Will the please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? Will the Court please read the short title of item eight into the record?