Seattle Forward

Supporting the Muslim Community, a Voice for Drivers, Labor Standards, and More

Yesterday was the last Full Council meeting of 2015 and it was jam packed: 52 agenda items, 3 ½ hours of deliberations.

We started with a resolution expressing our support for Seattle’s Muslim community in the wake of increasing anti-Muslim hate rhetoric and violence. The City of Seattle welcomes and affirms our Muslim residents, both native born and immigrant, and recognizes the enormous value they add to the cultural and economic life of this city. When we respond from fear, we respond from weakness. We all want our community to be safe, but fear does not lead to safety.

The Council then passed landmark legislation that allows drivers of for-hire vehicles to collectively join together and negotiate better working conditions, making Seattle the first city to take this step. We must continue to find ways to protect workers in the new gig economy where the traditional employer-employee relationship is less prevalent.

We approved a thick bill (146 pages) improving and standardizing the enforcement processes for our local labor standards. We debated nuances while updating the Council’s rules and procedures. We made a small change to our business licenses that allows us to more easily revoke these for unlawful businesses. We designated the P-I Globe as a landmark and we created a new Arts & Cultural District in the Central Area.

It was a full, productive meeting. It was also the final Full Council meeting of three of my colleagues, Nick Licata, Jean Godden, and Tom Rasmussen. Between the three of them, we are saying goodbye to 42 years of collective service on the Council. As we get excited about the incoming councilmembers, I will miss the wisdom, dedication, friendship, and passion for service of my exiting colleagues.

Beware: Wage Theft Criminal Law In Full Effect Now

Mayor Mike McGinn, Police Chief John Diaz, City Attorney Peter Holmes and I, along with representatives of Casa Latina and other community organizations, held a media event earlier today to announce that the full force of the City's police and prosecution resources would be used against unscrupulous employers who intentionally withhold wages from employees. 

Employees who believe they are victims of wage theft can report to Seattle police by calling 911, or they may call the Wage Theft Hotline at 206-816-5824.

The City Council adopted the new law last month after multiple cases of wage theft were reviewed by City staff over the past year.  Read more about wage theft here.

Wage Theft Law Takes Effect in Less Than 30 Days

Mayor Mike McGinn signed my wage theft ordinance last Thursday morning.  The City Council passed the law the previous week with a unanimous 9-0 vote after hearing testimony that wage theft—the intentional failure to pay employees their just wages—is more widespread in the city than thought.  The law takes effect 30 days after the Mayor's signature.  City prosecutors and police have pledged to vigorously prosecute wage theft, a crime of opportunity when unscrupulous employers believe they can get away with it. 

See my earlier posts on this issue here.

Wage Theft Bill Adopted 9-0

The Council passed an amendment to the City's theft law today to explicitely make wage theft a gross misdemeanor crime.  The final Council vote was 9-0. Here's a radio set-up piece that defines the problem.  My previous posts are here.  Online coverage of today's vote is here and here.

 

Protecting the Most Vulnerable Among Us

Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in the Council chambers, my committee will consider two very important issues, both directly impacting the most vulnerable people in our city.

Over a year ago, my office began receiving complaints about a practice called "wage theft," a predatory employment practice where unscrupulous employers either withhold paychecks or short pay employees.  The employees taken advantage of are usually poor, often don't speak much English, and sometimes are immigrants or refugees who are trying to reestablish themselves and their families.  Current legal protections for these workers are weak.  Civil remedies can drag on for months.  The employees are left to fend for themselves.

We will continue our discussion of this problem on Thursday, including our first review of changes I will be suggesting to our City's criminal laws that would explicitly make wage theft a gross misdemeanor crime.  You can watch our previous committee discussion of this issue here, including testimony from a victim of wage theft.

Also on Thursday, we will hear a presentation from the City Auditor's office about their review of geographic-concentrated crime and street disorder, including possible solutions based on what other cities have successfully done.  As we continue to struggle with City finances—we may face pretty steep cutbacks this summer—we must consider alternative police deployment strategies and other innovations that will maintain public safety with less resources.  This is a reality we can't avoid and it's going to take some critical and innovative thinking. (Highlights from the Auditor's report follow the jump.)