Seattle City Council 1/25/21

Good afternoon, everyone.

The January 25th, 2021 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.01 p.m.

I'm Lorena Gonzalez, President of the Council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Lewis?

Present.

Council Member Morales?

Here.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Present.

Council Member Peterson?

Here.

Council Member Sawant?

Here.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Herbold.

Here.

Council Member Juarez.

Council President Gonzalez.

Here.

Eight present.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Okay, colleagues, we're gonna start off today's business with presentations.

Council members, as I mentioned this morning during council briefing, I do have a proclamation recognizing Louise Charon that I would like to have us present this morning and to open up the floor for comments before suspending the rules to allow our guests to accept the proclamation.

So colleagues, I'm honored to bring this proclamation forward today to recognize Louise Chernin.

As the proclamation notes that we circulated last week, Louise is a tremendous force of good and progressive advocacy and change in our city.

As a civil rights attorney, it makes me very excited to celebrate someone who has spent decades advancing civil rights for the LGBTQ community and women in Washington State, and of course, here in our own city.

Louise is a trailblazer and fierce champion for the causes that she believes in.

We are a better city, state, and county because of Louise.

I have really enjoyed working with Louise and have appreciated her thoughtful approach and appreciation to nuances of how we pursue progressive change and how we implement that progressive change for the betterment of our community.

We are fortunate to count Louise as a massive giant upon whose shoulders we stand on in the aftermath of her retirement.

We know that this is retirement and that Louise will, in the true spirit of who she is, will continue to be involved in our community and will continue to be a trailblazer and fierce champion as we have known her to be.

Personally, I just want to say thank you to the members of GSBA for reaching out to us.

It was a pleasure to work with Matt Landers and others on the board of GSBA on pulling together this very important proclamation to recognize January 31st as the official day of Louise Turnin.

And I also want to thank Louise for all of her work and GSBA's commitment to not just lifting up the voices of LGBTQ members in our community, but to really center race and social justice and equity, even within that construct.

I've been so tremendously impressed with many of the scholarship programs that not just focus on youth of color who identify as LGBTQ, but even within that population, going as far as helping undocumented immigrants as well to make sure that folks have a true opportunity to thrive and be successful and have opportunity in our community.

I am eternally grateful for the work of Louise, but I'm also really grateful for the work of GSBA and looking forward to presenting this proclamation to our guest here today who has shown up on behalf of Louise since this proclamation will be presented to her as a surprise at her party later on this week.

Colleagues, if there's no objection, I would like to suspend the rules in order to allow Mark Rosin to accept the proclamation on behalf of Louise Chernin and to provide some brief remarks.

Hearing no objection.

the council rules are suspended.

Mark, welcome to the City Council virtual meeting.

I'm going to go ahead and hand it over to you to allow you to provide some remarks to the City Council and to the viewing public.

Thanks for being with us today.

Well, thank you so much, President Gonzalez, for organizing this proclamation and honoring Louise Chernin, who really has been such a leader in making an impact in civil rights and economic justice for so many in our city.

She's been served decades of work for many organizations, but most importantly for us as 19 years of being our CEO and president.

As you said, we know we're not going to see the last of her.

She's going to be continuing out there making good trouble.

And we all look forward to her next chapter.

But this is a wonderful honor.

We thank you so much for acknowledging that service and for allowing me to accept the proclamation today.

Thank you, Mark, for those remarks and for that acknowledgement and being willing to be here virtually to accept the proclamation to deliver it to Louise.

Colleagues, before we move on to other items of business, I do want to open up the floor to my colleagues who might also have some comments that they want to have added to the record.

Any additional comments, colleagues?

Council Member Mosqueda, please.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

I really appreciate you bringing forward this proclamation, Madam President, in conjunction with our good friends at GSBA.

It probably goes without saying, but if there was the opportunity to be part of a large celebration for the incredible work of GSBA and Louise herself and the incredible leadership she's shown, I would be there.

And I come to that sort of celebration and partnership as a longtime labor advocate working for the AFL-CIO when I had the chance to first meet with Louise.

And we worked on minimum wage and sick leave statewide past initiative 1433 with GSBA support because we know that when workers have more money in their pocket and communities have The ability to earn more of a wage and take a day off when they're sick, that benefits our smallest businesses.

People spend it in their local establishments, and many of those local establishments are members of GSBA.

And Luis has been able to carry that message across the state with her incredible work, but specifically here, home in Seattle, where you all have an incredible leader who has shown what it looks like to lift up small business owners, women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community.

and really show how these small businesses are the fabric to what creates thriving local economies.

So you all are in great hands, I know, at GSBA, but just want to send a note of appreciation to Louise specifically for all the work that she's done over the years in partnership with diverse coalitions to really advance progressive legislation, initiatives, and causes.

And we're all better for it.

And thank you for bringing this forward, Madam President.

Of course.

Thank you so much, Council Member Mosqueda.

Any other comments?

All right.

Um, well, thank you so much, Mark, for being with us once again.

Thank you for the opportunity to honor Louise's tremendous work, which we, um, documented in the in the in the proclamation.

Um, we're so happy that she is, um, going to be celebrated this weekend.

And as Councilmember Mosqueda mentioned, I think you'd see many of us at that celebration.

But for the realities of the pandemic.

But we certainly wish you all the best and look forward to ongoing work together with GSBA under its new leadership on many of the issues that I know we share common cause on.

Thank you so much.

I know she will deeply be moved by this, so it's very nice.

Thanks, Mark, and our thanks to Matt as well for reaching out to us, and huge thanks to Vee Nguyen in my office who worked with folks over at GSBA to get this done.

Thank you so much, Mark.

Take care.

All right, colleagues, we're going to move on to other items of business on our agenda.

First up is approval of the minutes.

The minutes of the city council meeting of January 19, 2020 have been reviewed.

If there's no objection, the minutes will be signed.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are being signed.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes?

adoption of the referral calendar.

Colleagues, we do, as you heard this morning during council briefing, Council Member Salant mentioned that she had some amendments to the, or had an amendment to the introduction referral calendar.

So I'm gonna move for the adoption of the introduction referral calendar, then I'll need a second, and then we will take up Council Member Salant's amendments to the introduction referral calendar, okay?

All right, I move to adopt the introduction referral calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the introduction and referral calendar.

Council Member Salon, I'm gonna hand it over to you so that you can make your motion to amend the introduction and referral calendar.

I move to amend the introduction and referral calendar by introducing appointments 1783 and 1784, and by referring the appointments to the Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee.

The appointments are as follows.

Appointment of Sharon E. Crowley as member of Seattle Renters' Commission for a term to February 28, 2022. Appointment of Maya Garfinkel as member of Seattle Renters' Commission for a term to February 28, 2023. Thank you so much.

Is there a second?

Second.

Great, thank you so much.

Alrighty, so it has been moved and seconded to adopt the amendment.

Are there any additional comments on the amendment to the introduction and referral calendar?

Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the amendment?

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Peterson I. So what?

Yes.

Strauss yes.

Herbold yes.

Juarez President Gonzalez I. Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

The motion carries.

The introduction referral calendar is amended.

Are there any further comments on the amended introduction and referral calendar?

Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the amended introduction and referral calendar.

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Yes.

Peterson.

Yes.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

8 in favor, none opposed.

Thank you so much.

The motion carries.

The introduction referral calendar is adopted as amended.

Approval of the agenda.

If there's no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

Colleagues, at this time, we will open the remote public comment period for items on the City Council agenda, introduction referral calendar, and the Council's work program.

I want to thank everyone for their ongoing patience and cooperation as we continue to operate this remote public comment system.

It remains the strong intent of the City Council to have remote public comment regularly included on our meeting agendas.

However, as a reminder, the City Council reserves a right to end or eliminate these public comment periods at any point if we deem that the system is being abused or is no longer suitable for allowing our meetings to be conducted efficiently and effectively.

I'll moderate the public comment period in the following manner.

Public comment period today was scheduled to be 20 minutes.

I'm going to go ahead and seek to extend the public comment period for a total of 30 minutes at the top of the agenda, given the amount of speakers that we have signed up.

But I'll also be adjusting the amount of time allotted to each speaker to be one minute and 30 seconds as opposed to a total of two minutes.

So colleagues, if there is no objection, the public comment period will be extended to last a total of 30 minutes today.

hearing no objection, the public comment period is extended to last 30 minutes rather than 20 minutes.

So again, colleagues, this public comment period will last 30 minutes and each speaker will be given one minute and 30 seconds to speak.

I'll call on each speaker by name and in the order in which they registered on the council's website.

If a person has not yet registered to speak but would like to, that individual can go sign up before the end of public comment by going to the Council's website at Seattle.gov forward slash Council.

That's C-O-U-N-C-I-L.

The public comment link is also listed on today's agenda.

Once I call the speaker's name, staff will unmute the appropriate microphone and an automatic prompt if you have been unmuted will be the speaker's cue that it is their turn to speak.

And in order to be heard by us, the speaker must press star six before beginning to speak, but after they have heard the cue of you have been unmuted.

Please begin speaking by stating your name and the item you are addressing.

As a reminder, public comment should relate to an item on today's agenda, the introduction referral calendar, or the council's work program.

At about 10 seconds, speakers are going to hear a chime.

That chime means that you have exactly 10 seconds to begin wrapping up your public comment.

If speakers don't end their comments at the end of the allotted time period, the speaker's microphone will be muted to allow us to call on the next speaker.

Once you've completed your public comment, we ask that you please disconnect from the line.

And if you plan to continue following this meeting, you can do so via Seattle Channel or the listening options listed on the agenda.

I'm now going to open up the public comment period and we'll begin by calling the first three speakers on the list.

Again, for those of you who are waiting to address the council, please remember to press star six after you hear the prompt of you have been unmuted.

The first three speakers are Claire Ireland, followed by Faye Gunther, and then Taylor Farley.

Claire, welcome.

And Claire, if you're with us, you'll want to hit star six so we can hear you.

Yeah, I did it.

Hi, sorry.

We got you.

Okay.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Claire Ireland, and I'm speaking in favor of hazard pay for frontline grocery workers.

When I go to work, I regularly have to weigh the risk and reward of asking customers to keep my coworkers and I safe by keeping their masks on, or risk increasing tensions and having that customer blow up and yell at us.

It's mentally exhausting, but I don't have the luxury of staying home.

I have to continue to go to my lower paid job so that people in better financial situations can stay home and succeed.

Hourly workers deserve hazard pay because we end up being the ones responsible for enforcing safety standards.

The wellness checks that corporate instated at the beginning of the pandemic hardly ever happen, and support for management is minimal.

Our employers will say appreciation pay is no longer necessary because they are keeping us safe, but this is simply untrue.

I urge the council to pass hazard pay for grocery workers to show us that our contributions to our communities are truly valued.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Next up is Faye, followed by Taylor Farley.

Faye, welcome.

Good afternoon, members of the council.

My name is Faye Gunther, president of UFCW 21, representing thousands of grocery store workers in Seattle and across the Puget Sound.

I'm speaking in support of emergency hazard pay.

Grocery store workers have risked their lives for all of us.

They need hazard pay now.

As of this weekend, the variants of the highly contagious COVID has been detected in our state.

as we race against time to get vaccinated.

Everything is different now for a grocery store worker, at home, at work, and in the community.

At home, grocery store workers have been and continue to go to work every day, many with a deep fear in their heart that they will get sick, even die, or unthinkably bring COVID home to those that they love.

Every day before hugging a family member at home, grocery store workers across the Puget Sound must remove their potentially contaminated clothes and shower.

At work, grocery store workers are expected to do more than ever before.

More cleaning, hundreds of potentially dangerous interactions with people who may have the virus, more interactions with customers who are stressed out, isolated, and some hostile about wearing a mask.

The incidents of workers being spit on, screamed at, and physically assaulted are on the rise.

In the community, grocery stores are the hub.

Communities are struggling And the grocery store is the only place to get warm, wash hands, and use the facilities.

Grocery store workers are acting as the de facto social workers, mental health support, and a kind face to shake off isolation.

The sacrifices made by grocery store workers and their families is inspiring, heartwarming.

Thank you, President Gunther, for being with us.

Appreciate your testimony.

Next up, it's Taylor Farley, followed by Charlie Latham, and then Amy Fields.

Taylor, welcome.

Hello, council members.

Thank you.

I am Taylor Farley and I'm program manager and development manager at LGBTQ Allyship.

Allyship is here to support the grocery hazard pay ordinance.

The safety of our community is utmost important to us and the impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQ plus community has been greater on them rather than our heterosexual counterparts.

LGBTQ plus folks are more likely to have a weakened immune system, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and other chronic illnesses that make them more vulnerable.

Therefore, LGBTQ plus grocery workers are even more at risk for testing positive for COVID-19.

And the grocery workers are worried that they are coming in contact with COVID-19 because they are working on the front line with community every day.

They put themselves and their families at risk while companies are making a profit.

Workers love their jobs.

They did not sign up to be put in harm's way.

Grocery workers are essential.

They provide access to food for the rest of the population.

Hazard pay helps retain workers to keep stores running safely and to help feel supported as their health risks are greater in this line of work.

Hazard pay compensates grocery workers accordingly to the risk of the work.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much for calling in.

Next up is Charlie, followed by Amy Fields and then David Corliss.

Charlie, welcome.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, City Council.

My name is Charlie Lafamme.

I'm with the King County Labor Council.

We represent more than 150 of King County's unions.

Let me just be very clear.

We support hazard pay for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.

And so I thank you for bringing this issue forward.

And I really hope that we can count on your vote to pass this fair and necessary legislation.

Um, what are we like?

We're basically a year into the pandemic.

Um, all of us, our lives have changed in so many different ways, really in almost every way.

Look at how we're having this, uh, city council hearing virtually.

We've made these changes to protect our health.

and that of our family and of our community.

But essential workers, like those in the grocery stores, have not had the luxury of working from home and protecting themselves.

They've gone tirelessly for months, risking their lives to serve us.

And who has profited?

Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, Kroger, and others have made millions.

The CEOs are doing fantastic.

But the people who continue to take on the risk to serve us They're not getting anything.

So $4 per hour hazard pay, it's the right thing to do.

The companies can afford it.

And frankly, they should be happy to pay it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Charlie, for calling in.

Appreciate it.

Next up is Amy Fields, followed by David Corliss and then Catherine Holm.

Amy, welcome.

Hi, thank you.

My name's Amy Fields.

I'm addressing the subject of hazard pay.

I'm a grocery worker.

Honorable members of the Seattle City Council, Council Member Mosqueda, thank you for the opportunity today to speak out on this urgent life and death matter.

If you pass hazard pay for grocery workers, it would show that the city has deep respect for the workers who go to work every day to make sure our communities are fed and have access to their most basic needs.

We've witnessed the largest grocery employers get richer and richer during this pandemic.

Our appreciation pay was stopped after only a few months.

Employer profits have continued to skyrocket, but our employers are not rewarding the workers on the front line risking their lives every day when they go to work.

Please pass hazard pay for frontline grocery workers.

It would be an acknowledgement of the part we have played in creating their windfall profits.

It would be a vote of confidence in our hard work, and it would show us that you care.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you, Amy, for calling.

Next up is David Corliss, followed by Catherine Holm and then Shane Stouffer.

Good afternoon.

My name is David Corliss and I'm speaking in support of hazard pay.

I work at the Westwood Village QFC's pickup department, but in many ways I've been fortunate.

Both myself and my partner have been able to hold down work and meet our basic needs.

All of this would change though if I got sick.

My partner is a type one diabetic and she has been able to continue working only because she's been able to work remotely from our one bedroom apartment in Ravenna.

But if the virus were to enter our home, she would most likely need to be hospitalized for an extended period of time.

My paycheck would not be enough to cover our regular bills, let alone any costs for our medical treatment.

The burden of keeping us safe would fall on our extended community.

Adding hazard pay would bring my paycheck in line with the living wage in Seattle.

It would allow me to save for the worst-case scenario and would help to mitigate the communal costs that would result should I get sick.

QSC and Kroger tells us to love local.

Restoring hazard pay will allow them to live up to that commitment.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Next up is Catherine Holm followed by Shane Stouffer and then Patrick King.

Catherine, welcome.

Good afternoon.

My name is Catherine Holm and I am the Government Affairs Director and legal counsel for the Washington Food Industry Association.

You heard from WFIA's CEO and president last week and I'm here to echo our association's message.

Please oppose Council Bill 119990. WFIA represents the independent grocery stores convenience stores and our suppliers throughout the state of Washington.

Our Seattle members are proud to serve their community.

However Seattle has made it very difficult to run a business here.

One of our members, the IGA on 3rd Avenue, had to shut down this year due to the hostile business climate.

WFIA members have a low profit margin of 1%, which is the lowest profit of any industry during COVID times.

COVID-19 has lowered the profit to about half a percent, depending on the store.

We are concerned about the following aspects of the bill.

The bill is effective for three years, which includes a significant portion of time after the pandemic is supposed to end.

The bill takes effect immediately.

and doesn't take into consideration the work we have to do to make sure everyone is paid the correct amount.

This bill does not include all essential workers solely targeting grocery workers which gives the message that the other essential workers are not important.

And my members in particular are local stores.

We are located here in the in the Pacific Northwest and are not traded on the stock market.

This could have far-reaching impacts which could include closing stores letting go employees and other hard decisions because of the amount of money the extra $4 will cost.

We want to continue to have the safety of our employee shepherds and delivery personnel to be our top priority, which includes getting our employees.

Thank you, Catherine, for taking the time to call in today.

Appreciate it.

Next up is Shane Stouffer, followed by Patrick King and then Sam Dancy.

Shane, welcome.

Good afternoon, council members.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today in favor of hazard pay for grocery workers.

My name is Shane Stopper, and just before Thanksgiving, my biggest fear of the pandemic came true.

I tested positive for COVID-19, as did my fiancé and my four children.

Thankfully, we all recovered, but it goes to show the risk and sacrifice I make by going to work every day.

The companies we work for are making windfall profits while doing the bare minimum to keep us safe.

There's been little to no contract tracing, and I truly believe that if I had been more well-informed, I may have been able to prevent my children from getting COVID.

The proposed hazard pay is a reasonable show of respect for grocery workers that will help us pay for childcare, pay for potential medical bills, and keep our families fed, as well as remind the grocery store CEOs that us on the front lines making the sacrifices are responsible for their profits.

please pass this ordinance to send a message that the city stands with the workers that keep our community running.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for calling in Shane.

Next up is Patrick King followed by Sam Dancy, then Taylor Gardner.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Patrick King.

I'm speaking in support of emergency hazard pay for frontline grocery workers.

I work night night crew grocery for QFC in Capitol Hill.

We've heard that grocery workers have experienced the pandemic differently from many others.

It's stunning, then, that the initial hazard-based packages provided by grocery companies had no foresight as to the ongoing nature of the pandemic.

They wanted to put it aside when every public health expert said otherwise.

When we had a confirmed case in our store recently, we had to push management to conduct contact tracing.

It was alarming.

They seemed willfully ignorant of the fact that COVID-19 spreads asymptomatically or basic safety protocols.

There are also ongoing issues with store capacity.

I know for a fact that it's not being kept at 25%.

I want to end with a question.

Who do we prioritize in our society in times of crisis, in the face of a catastrophe for the working class?

The employers who have seen record profits, or the essential low-wage workers still living paycheck to paycheck, who have shown real social solidarity by holding down the wage job.

If passed, this ordinance would set an important progressive precedent for all essential workers.

We've already seen that the praise from our employers, that grocery workers are heroes, rings hollow.

We don't really care what you call us.

but we refuse to be treated as necessary sacrifices, which is why we are fighting for the tax repay ordinance and urge that you vote yes in support.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in, Patrick.

Okay, next up is going to be Sam Dancy, followed by Taylor Gardner, and then Colton Peterson.

Welcome.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Thank you, Councilwoman Mosqueda and members of the council for having me here to show my strong support and advancing hazardous pay for grocery workers.

My name is Sam Dancy.

I've been a grocery worker for approximately three decades in the same QFC in Westwood Village.

First and foremost, I want to thank this council for the countless number of things that you have done to enrich the lives of a lot of us everyday people.

It takes every day, all kinds of people, everyday people to make what life's about.

And it takes every kind of people to make the world go round.

I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly at work in my store.

Right now, we are facing one of the ugliest, scariest times I've ever seen.

But I also know that better is coming.

We received hazardous pay for approximately two months, and then also something called appreciation pay, which was $100, which we all appreciated.

The only problem is it was on the card, and some people's appreciation pay was compromised.

They also gave us $1,000 bonus miles for gas.

Well, not everybody drives.

So if you don't drive, then you can't utilize that.

OK, I know that there's a lot of co-workers that don't have the will to come and say something about this.

So I'm happy to have this platform to speak up and be half of them.

We have put ourselves in the front line since day one.

And we haven't complained.

We've come to work every day through our jobs to provide our communities the things that we need.

So we're just asking for hazardous pay.

My time is almost up, so thank you very much.

Thank you for calling in today.

Next up is Taylor, followed by Colton Peterson, and then Jonathan Blackwood.

Taylor, welcome.

Good afternoon, Chair Mosqueda and members of the Council.

Thanks for having me here to speak in favor of hazard pay for grocery workers.

My name is Taylor Gardner and I work at the QFC in Northgate.

I started working in the Starbucks at my store in March, right as the pandemic started.

My co-workers and I didn't know what to expect coming into work every day, and in many ways we still don't know.

We have seen managers get punched in the face for enforcing mask mandates.

One time it happened twice in a single day.

And it's probably happened to other stores too.

Social distancing is always an issue.

The risk for our exposure to harm is big and we don't make enough money to feel secure if anything were to happen to us.

We are humans.

We need security.

Compassion.

Love.

To me the question is do we choose to start showing compassion support and love to our working class.

We will show up to work no matter what as we have always done.

As gestures of grace to our communities and as an act of service for the greater good.

Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth.

Vote how you want.

You know what the right choice is.

Thank you for calling in today and sharing your story.

Next up is Colton Peterson, followed by Jonathan Blackwood, and then Holly Chisa.

Colton, welcome.

Good afternoon, council members.

Thank you for hearing my testimony in support of hazard pay for grocery workers.

My name is Colton Peterson.

I've been working for PCC since March of 2020, right before things spiraled out of control.

I am in charge of the cutting, wrapping, ordering, and display of all artisan cheeses at my store.

My job's unique, and I enjoy it a lot.

As much as I love coming to work, I'd be lying if I said that the risks didn't scare me.

My partners had lung issues in the past, and the thought of bringing this virus home to her is frightening.

When I took this job in March, I had no idea that every day I'd go to work, I'd be putting her at risk.

One of our core workers recently contracted COVID-19 in December.

It was a scary time at our store.

Thankfully, no one else was infected.

I know what it's like to be in a situation where lives are already at risk as I've previously served in the air force.

I didn't think working in the grocery industry, I would have to endure the same kind of dangerous situation.

Please vote in support of hazard pay.

Thousands of grocery workers just like me are faced with the same risk day in and day out.

We need hazard pay.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Next up is Jonathan Blackwood, followed by Holly Chisa and then Brittany Bollet.

Jonathan, welcome.

Jonathan, just make sure you hit star six so we can hear you.

Looks like we're having difficulty connecting with Jonathan.

Let's go ahead and move down the list to Holly Chisa.

We'll come back up to Jonathan in a moment, but let's go ahead and hear from Holly next.

Holly, welcome.

Good afternoon, members of the council.

I am Holly Chisa on behalf of the Northwest Grocery Association.

Appreciate the chance to comment today.

The ordinance before you does unfortunately intervene by dictating wages to be paid to grocery workers by the city instead of as a discussion between grocery management and its employees.

The higher temporary wage increase will only apply to some retail workers within the city, but not all retailers.

The ordinance does not cover other businesses also expected to remain open during the pandemic, like drugstores, like Walgreens and Rite Aid, or the public employees checking our open businesses to make sure that we're compliant with safety protocol.

Grocery stores have invested significantly in equipment and protocols to protect our workers and our shoppers.

as well as we have provided extra pay and benefits for grocery employees.

Our local grocers are facing a host of new expenses from PPE, cleaning, and other measures like implementing online systems and curbsides to continue the high safety protocols expected during the pandemic by the county health department and by the state.

Workers within Seattle currently benefit from the highest base wage rate of any worker in the state.

For the employers whom I represent, our grocery employees earn higher than the base rate, even at the entry level, and a rushed vote on these proposals is premature, and we urge you to not advance this today.

Thank you.

Holly, thank you for calling in.

Looks like colleagues, Jonathan Blackwood is no longer present.

If he does call back in, we'll make sure to make space for Jonathan to address the council.

Next up is Brittany Bollet, followed by Joe Kunzler, and then Sarah Charron.

Brittany, welcome.

Good afternoon, Council.

My name is Brittany Bush-Bolay, and I am calling as a resident of District 7 to express my personal support for this hazard pay increase and for the workers who are asking for it.

These workers literally put themselves in harm's way every single day so that we can have food on our tables, in addition to having to deal with the emotional and physical and financial stress of the pandemic on a personal level.

And the very least that we can do as a community is to make sure that they are at least somewhat adequately compensated.

Further, with grocery profits rising dramatically, fairness demands that the frontline workers who enable these profits receive their fair share.

So thank you in advance for passing this important legislation.

Thank you for calling in, Brittany.

Next up is Joe Kunzler, followed by Sarah Charron, and then we will hear from Elena Perez.

Joe, welcome.

Well, thank you, Council President.

It's always a privilege and honor to speak to the world famous Seattle City Council.

I do support the grocery wage increase, but I am calling today about the matter that will, about the comments made this morning on council briefing.

I condemn without qualification any and all threat sent to council members, including Council Member Siwan, I also understand that Council Member Mosqueda once said, quote, we know that when we get elected, we sign it for being the target of public comment.

We want people to come and share their expressions of interest in their policy, their frustrations with what they'd like to see change in the city.

This is all absolutely covered within First Amendment rights.

We didn't sign it for it was to be the targets of, it should be a target of sexual violence and the targets for harassment and intimidation language, end quote.

I strongly encourage the San Jose City Council to instruct your Sound Transit Board representative for Thursday to support the board rules and keep Sound Transit meetings online for more accessibility, but also keep out a certain Alex so we can have civility.

in at least some attempt at stability, because I really hope that that's an issue for the city council and in all of the meetings, not just the city council, but for the reports.

I hear a beep, it's not my turn to wrap up.

Thank you for your service, Council President.

I will endorse you for Council President.

Thank you.

Thank you, Joe, for calling in today.

Next up is Sarah Charron and then Elena Perez.

Sarah, welcome.

Good afternoon, President Gonzalez and members of the Council.

My name is Sarah.

I'm Executive Vice President of UFCW 21. You know, many times the Seattle City Council has shown visionary leadership.

I think about 2011, when we were one of the first jurisdictions to pass paid sick leave, helped to spark a national movement.

I even worked with Council Staffer Herbold and Council Staffer Peterson at that time, both who are in front of me today.

at twenty fourteen minimum wage law and and the creation of operative labor standard scheduling i could go on all of these victories were not just victories for workers their victories for non-union workers for families for communities for neighborhoods for businesses also be blog help build the foundation for where we are today i hear some people think what about the rush you know we were able to be how do you enforce that we created uh...

uh...

not the labor standards who know how to enforce labor laws How do you determine the size of the, you know, the business?

We have laws that have been passed that have asked these questions, and we figure that out.

So there's been a lot of great groundwork that has been laid that allows us to pass this with such urgency, because people are, the essential workers are counting on us to pass this with urgency.

You know, just to note, this hazardous work, this new variant is spreading.

Public health is telling folks to double-mask.

to limit the time you spend in grocery stores to 15 minutes, simply not an option for folks who work there.

Again, Seattle is taking a big step, and we thank you for standing up for essential workers, and we look forward to passage today, and thanks for your support.

Thank you, Sarah, for calling in and for reminding us of all of the important work that we've done together in order to lift up workers and create a stronger economy.

Really appreciate it.

Okay, our last speaker signed up for today is Elena Perez.

Elena, please, welcome.

Thank you, last but not least.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Elena Perez with Puget Sound Sage here in solidarity with grocery workers to ask you to please pass the emergency hazard pay legislation.

We are approaching a grim one year mark of when COVID hit home here in Seattle.

And we are still in the midst of this crisis with COVID continuing to spread and disproportionately kill people of color.

A devastating article in yesterday's Seattle Times showed that Latinos in Washington State suffer four times the death rate from COVID than white Washingtonians.

One reason for this disparity is that Latinos, along with other workers of color, are overrepresented in low-wage essential jobs.

Big grocery employers have a unique responsibility in responding to this.

First, they have raked in millions of dollars of unexpected profits during this pandemic.

And secondly, because grocery stores are unfortunately often the last stop that sick people make between seeing the doctor or getting tested for COVID and heading home to quarantine.

Ideally, folks feeling symptoms, whether it be the flu or COVID or a common cold, stayed away from public spaces.

But we all know that doesn't always happen.

Even the most cautious of us might still make that quick essential run into a grocery store to pick up medicine, food, or supplies.

Grocery workers have earned this hazard pay.

It doesn't lessen the risks they face, but it acknowledges it and it offers them the resources they need to cope with the additional burdens they and their families face.

Please vote yes.

Thank you.

Thank you, Elena, for taking the time to call in today.

We do not have any other members of the public who are both signed up and showing up as present on my list.

So we're going to go ahead and close out the period of public comment.

Thank you, colleagues, for allowing for a little extra time this morning to make sure that we got through everyone on the list, which we didn't, in fact, do this afternoon.

So let's go ahead and begin on other items of business on our agenda.

First up is payment of the bills.

Will the clerk please read the title into the record?

Council Bill 11991, appropriate amendment pays out in claims for the week of January 11th, 2021 through January 15th, 2021 and order in payment thereof.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to pass Council Bill 119991. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded that the bill pass.

Are there any comments?

Hearing no comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Lewis?

Aye.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

DeWant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Okay, report of the Transportation and Utilities Committee.

Will the clerk please read item one into the record?

I reported the Transportation and Utilities Committee agenda item one, Council Bill 119980 relating to the City Light Department authorizing the acceptance of the statutory warranty deed for the Glacier View Ranch property in Skagit County, Washington.

Placing said land under the jurisdiction of the City Light Department and ratifying confirming certain prior acts.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Council Member Peterson, you are chair of the committee and I'm going to hand it over to you to provide the committee report.

Thank you, Council President.

As with all of the legislation before us this afternoon from the Transportation and Utilities Committee, this council bill passed unanimously.

This council bill authorizes the head of Seattle City Light to accept a statutory warranty deed for the Glacier View Ranch property in Skagit County, Washington for wildlife habitat mitigation purposes.

Seattle City Light received a long-term license from the federal government for the Skagit hydroelectric project.

In one of the settlement agreements incorporated into that license, City Light agreed to purchase wildlife mitigation lands.

The Glacier View Ranch is located on the Skagit River a few miles upstream of Rockport.

It contains a salmon stream and will be managed to conserve and improve habitat.

Again, it was passed unanimously by our committee.

Thank you, Council Member Peterson for that report.

Are there any additional comments on the bill?

Hearing no additional comments on the bill, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of Council Bill 119-980.

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Yes.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Items two and three.

Will the clerk please read items two and three into the record?

Agenda Items 2 and 3, Appointments 1720 and 1721, Appointments of Anne Ayer and John Putz as members, City Light Review Panel for term to September 30th, 2022. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Council Member Peterson, you're the chair of the committee, and I'm going to hand it over to you to give the committee's report.

Thank you, Council President.

The City Light Review Panel provides support to our electric utility on its strategic plans and utility rate proposals prior to action by the City Council.

Both of these appointments before us today for the City Light Review Panel are well qualified, and our Transportation Utilities Committee unanimously recommends approval.

Having all positions filled is especially important as the Seattle City Light Enterprise prepares its strategic plan and rate ordinance for our consideration later this year.

Because Seattle is a high-cost city and every household and business need to pay utilities, I'm eager to see our utilities strive to keep rates as low and affordable as possible.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Peterson, for that report.

Are there any additional comments on these appointments?

Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of appointments 1720 and 1721. Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Yes.

Peterson.

Yes.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

President Gonzalez.

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and the appointments are confirmed.

Items four through six.

Will the clerk please read agenda items four through six into the record.

Agenda items four through six appointments 1722 through 1724 appointments and reappointment of Sandro R. Pani, Emily Walton Percival and Andrew P. Martin as a member of Seattle Transit Advisory Board for term to August 2nd, 2022. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed

Thank you, Madam Clerk, Councilor Peterson.

Once again, these are appointments coming from your committee and so I'm going to hand it over to you to provide the committee report.

Thank you, Council President.

I'll speak to all the transportation-related appointments right now just for efficiency and to provide a big picture for everybody.

So today we have nine, even though we'll be voting separately on each board.

So today we have nine appointments to transportation-related advisory boards, specifically three for transit, three for bikes, two for pedestrians, and one for school traffic safety.

As we know, each mode of transportation has its own separate master plan, so we have these separate advisory boards.

Over Zoom, members of the Transportation Committee were able to meet and ask questions of all the new appointees.

I believe the applicants, they came across as well qualified, deeply interested in these important transportation issues.

They also indicated open-minded and balanced views of transportation to help us break down the different silos of each mode and see the bigger picture of an interconnected transportation network that can keep us mobile while we strive to protect our environment.

The committee unanimously recommended all nine of these appointments, both new appointments and reappointments.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Peterson for that report, for all of these appointments, really appreciate it.

As it relates to these three appointments, are there any additional comments?

Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of appointments 1722 through 1724.

Lewis?

Aye.

Morales?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Hayes in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and the appointments are confirmed.

Items seven through nine.

Will the clerk please read items seven through nine into the record?

Item seven through nine appointments, 1725 through 1726. Reappointments of Kashina Groves, Meredith Hall and Patrick W. Taylor as members, Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board for term to August 31st, 2022. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk for that.

Colleagues, Council Member Peterson already provided the report for these particular appointments.

Are there any additional comments on these appointments?

Hearing no additional comments on the appointments, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of appointments 1725 through 1727.

Lewis?

Aye.

Morales?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Eight in favor and unopposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and the appointments are confirmed.

Items 10 and 11. Will the clerk please read items 10 and 11 into the record?

Agenda items 10 and 11, appointments 1728 and 1729, appointments of Jennifer Lehman and Emily A. Manetti as members of Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board for term to March 31st, 2022. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Again, Council Member Peterson has already provided the report on these particular appointments, but are there any additional comments on the appointments?

Hearing no additional comments on the appointments, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of appointments 1728 through 1729?

Lewis?

Aye.

Morales?

Morales?

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Sawant?

Yes.

I want to take a look at Carol's email.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Seven in favor, none opposed.

No.

Yes, I don't know what's happening.

Thank you.

Eight in favor.

None opposed.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I appreciate that for looping back.

Madam clerk.

The motion carries and the appointments are confirmed.

Item 12 will the court please read item 12 into the record.

Agenda item 12, appointment 1730, appointment of Peaches Thomas as a member of Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee for term to March 31st, 2023. The committee recommends this appointment be confirmed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Again, colleague Council Member Peterson has already provided remarks on this appointment as part of his committee report.

But are there any additional comments on the proposed appointment?

Hearing no additional comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of appointment 1730?

Lewis.

Aye.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Yes.

Peterson.

Yes.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

President Gonzales.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you so much.

The motion carries in the appointment The appointment is confirmed.

Items 13 through 18. Will the court please read items 13 through 18 into the record?

Agenda items 13 through 18, appointments 1749 through 1751, and 1764 through 1766. Appointment of Nicole Joy Espy as member of Community Technology Advisory Board for term to December 31st, 2021. Appointments and reappointments of Femi Adebayo, Leah Shin, Renee J. Peters, Brandon Lindsay, and Lizana Magaza as members of Community Technology Advisory Board for term to December 31st, 2022. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Thank you so much, Madam Clerk.

Again, the report has already been provided on these.

Oh, actually, I'm sorry.

They have not because those were transportation related.

This is not transportation related.

So Council Member Peterson, I'm gonna hand it over to you so you can give the committee report on these non-transportation related advisory board appointments.

Thank you, Council President.

Yes, today we have six appointments to the Community Technology Advisory Board.

All of these appointments were unanimously approved by the Transportation and Utilities Committee, which also covers technology issues such as our efforts to achieve Internet for all.

The mission of this board is to gather community input and make recommendations to the Mayor and City Council on information and communications technology.

Their mission includes encouraging and promoting affordable and equitable access to technology, which is vital for education, jobs, civic engagement and much more.

We look forward to working with these new members and reappointments to achieve Internet for all.

Thank you, Council Member Peterson.

Are there any additional comments on these appointments?

Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of the appointments?

Lewis.

Aye.

Sorry, aye.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

Peterson?

Yes.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and the appointments are confirmed.

Moving now to the Finance and Housing Committee report.

Will the clerk please read the short title of item 19 into the record?

I report to the Finance and Housing Committee agenda item 19, Council Bill 119990 relating to employment in Seattle, establishing labor standards requirements for additional compensation for grocery employees working in Seattle.

The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Thank you, Madam Clerk, for reading that into the record.

Council Member Rosgata, you are the chair of the committee and also the prime sponsor of Council Bill 119990. And I'm going to hand it over to you to provide the committee's report.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

Before I begin my remarks, Madam President, would it be appropriate for me to move the substitute first with your I will try to wing it.

I don't have that text right in front of me, but we are amazing clerks.

I'm also noticing that I do not actually have that in my script, so I apologize.

Otherwise, I would have helped facilitate that.

Why don't we do this?

Why don't you speak to the base bill?

and the substitute version.

And while you are doing that, I will ask that the clerks send you and I the appropriate procedural language so that we can get this in front of us procedurally.

So I think it's okay for you to speak to the substitute and to the underlying bill.

And we'll then go through the procedural motions of the substitute.

And I'd just ask the clerk to send us that language while you're doing so.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

It takes a team effort here.

I appreciate all of our colleagues for your indulgence with us.

This has been a very remarkable last few weeks, as we have heard from frontline stories, from workers themselves in grocery stores, stocking shelves, people that are checking out our goods at the check stand, those who have been working 24-7, week in and week out, after the announcement of COVID.

They have not had the chance to work from home like many of us have.

Those of us on the Zoom, the vast majority of us have been able to work from home and be able to follow the state's stay healthy and stay home ordinance.

This is what we need to do in order to help reduce the spread of COVID.

But those individuals who are working in our grocery stores, who are stocking the shelves, who are making sure that we have enough toilet paper and paper towels and enough produce to take home to our families, they have been going in to work every single day, and we appreciate them.

In fact, employers initially appreciated them offering hazard pay, hero pay.

They have in many cases stepped up at the beginning to call them the true heroes on the front line.

But quickly, that hero pay went away, but the hazard hasn't gone away.

In fact, as we heard from folks today in our public testimony, the hazard is only increasing.

The more contagious and deadly strand of covid is community here in Seattle across this country.

We a country, we are struggli everything we can to get as possible, but we don' widely into our communit are going into grocery st who have their mask below their nose or below their chin, who are reaching across grocery store workers to reach for that zucchini, are putting grocery store workers' lives and health at risk.

They put themselves in hazard way every day.

They deserve hazard pay today.

Colleagues, it's my honor to be able to work with all of you to bring forward another piece of legislation, as we have done over the last year, to truly try to protect those on the front line and recognize the incredible danger that our community is in, the incredible danger our frontline workers are in.

who are helping to keep our community safe, healthy, and fed.

And right now, that pay and protection needs to be offered to grocery store workers here in the city of Seattle.

I'm incredibly honored to be able to do this with the support of our council colleagues from the Housing and Finance Committee, who unanimously passed out Council Bill 119990. This is a piece of legislation, as we heard during committee briefing today, from those who worked on the front lines to say that they signed up to work in grocery stores because they wanted to.

Many of them love doing their job.

Many of them still earning minimum wage, like going to work.

They like helping people.

But right now, in the middle of this pandemic, they're right next to customers shopping, coughing, unmasked, standing next to them.

And every day they're asking, am I bringing something home to my family?

Have I caught something myself?

You heard the public testimony of workers who have been trained to now come home and take off the clothes that they wore to work, just like we have had to teach and train farm workers to take off their clothing for fear that they are going to be contaminating pesticides and transmitting those pesticides to their family members.

This is the type of situation that workers in the city of Seattle are currently dealing with, and they do not have hazard pay right now.

It should be no surprise that grocery workers face extremely high risk of exposure to coronavirus and along with it, the mental and psychological impacts that come with that potential exposure.

In fact, as I noted last week and earlier this morning, one study of grocery workers in Boston found that 20% of those workers tested positive despite high use of masks.

That's about a five times higher rate of exposure to COVID and contracting COVID than those who aren't working on grocery store floors, for example, exposed to various customers daily.

And as you heard from Sarah Charron from USCW 21 and others who testified today, with the more recent advice telling people to get in and out of grocery stores within 15 minutes, there is no possible way that a grocery store worker who has a six hour shift can only be exposed in that environment for 15 minutes.

It is a hazardous situation and we also need those workers.

We need to be able to rely on them for the supply of food to our communities to make sure that our most vulnerable who can't go online and grocery shop like I do.

I pick up my QFC grocery deliveries because I have the ability to go online.

So many people don't have access to the internet like that and some in our elderly community and those who are vulnerable health conditions, they're not able to go and buy online.

And we need to make sure that everybody in those stores, from the workers themselves to the folks who are shopping, have the ability to be recognized for the incredibly hard work that they do because those workers are providing the most urgent and needed resources, services and goods to our most vulnerable community members.

I'm really excited about the opportunity to work with you and Council President Gonzalez.

I think I'll save some of my comments about the urgency of now, the why grocery stores now, and the importance of protecting these grocery workers in this moment in part of my closing comments.

But with that, Council colleagues, we are again showing what it means to both care for those on the front line and those who they care for.

This is about the health and well-being of grocery store workers, obviously, but it's about the population's health as well, because we need to make sure that our entire system is well-functioning and hazard pay is one element to make sure we're recognizing the way that these grocery store workers are part of our response in this moment as we all search for solutions to the pandemic.

Without that solution yet in hand, we have to step up and honor the work that these grocery store workers do with hazard pay today.

Thank you, Council Member Mosqueda.

And I sent you a quick message.

I think the substitute you were referring to was the substitute that the committee considered on Friday, which we voted out of committee and that was subject to suspension of the rules.

So unless there's another substitute that we're not aware of since Friday, we don't need to do any more procedural votes in full council today.

Excellent.

Thank you, Council President.

Okay.

Great, just a little pardon to the viewing public for a little bit of a procedural snafu, but I think we were able to figure it out while Council Member Mosqueda was providing the committee's report.

And we are good to go.

The substituted version of the bill that the committee considered on Friday is what is before the full council today for our consideration.

So there are no other amendments or substitutions that I am aware of.

So we're gonna go ahead a continued debate on Council Bill 11990. Are there any additional comments on the bill as described by Council Member Mosqueda?

Okay, Council Member Sawant, and then Council Member Morales, and then I think I saw Council Member Peterson, and then Council Member Peterson.

Council Member Sawant, and then Council Member Lewis.

I'm gonna try to remember all of this.

Go ahead, Council Member Sawant.

Thank you.

I'm proud to support and co-sponsor this legislation.

It will bring much-needed relief to thousands of grocery workers in Seattle.

Congratulations to members of UFCW 21 and the labor movement who have organized, advocated for, and put forward this demand for COVID hazard pay.

As we've heard from the union, grocery workers don't have an option of working from home.

They are inside the stores for many hours a day, every day, around people who may have COVID.

They've suffered high exposure rates to COVID.

Many have gotten sick and many have died.

The grocery workers deserve this extra pay, as do all frontline workers.

Thank you to everyone who has written to my office and provided public testimony today.

Unfortunately, we've seen in other industries and businesses that are less unionized or not unionized, like Amazon and the gig economy, workers who deserve similar COVID hazard pay being denied pay or being given some pay, not nearly enough, and then having it unilaterally taken away from them by billionaire bosses.

It shows the difference of being organized in a union.

I urge all frontline workers who are following this legislation to know that it takes organizing to win things like hazard pay.

We never win as workers because of the kindness of the bosses or the political establishment.

We win when we are organized.

Most grocery workers in the Seattle area belong to UFCW.

So, collectively, they have a measure of power that is absent entirely when workers are struggling as individuals.

That is why I urge all my fellow workers who are in jobs that are not unionized to form unions and fight for your rights collectively.

It won't be easy.

It is absolutely difficult.

The history of the labor movement shows how organizing for a union in a workplace is against all odds and it requires tremendous solidarity, courage and self-sacrifice.

My council office and my organization Socialist Alternative stand at the ready to support you and work alongside you and your unions in your efforts so that we can win hazard pay and beyond for all workers struggling under the dual weight of COVID and the capitalist recession.

I'm proud also to support the Amazon workers in Alabama, the Amazon warehouse workers, who have organized and now have their union election coming up over the massive resistance of the company.

They face a very tough battle ahead, and we must support them.

In fact, we've already seen how shamefully the corporation is saying that they should have an in-person vote, knowing that this could depress turnout during COVID.

I recognize that under this legislation that the council will be voting on today, hazard pay will be evaluated again in a few months.

I hope that when this happens, the pay will be made permanent, and I stand with all UFCW members in fighting for this.

The companies can certainly afford it.

As UFCW 21 leader Joe Mizrahi noted last week, grocery chains have seen some of the largest profit windfalls in the pandemic, while workers have faced new hazards every day.

Brother Joe Mizrahi notes that Costco's profit is up 19% to $3.4 billion.

Profits at Kroger, which owns QFC and Fred Meyer, have doubled to $9.7 billion.

Profits at Albertsons, which owns Safeway, are now over $1 billion, a 270% increase.

Also, I would note that we need to keep strengthening union organizing even at smaller grocery companies like PCC where we see that under the tremendous pressure that small businesses and cooperatives come under in the system of capitalism they are increasingly facing pressures to get corporatized we know PCC just hired a new CEO last month who is a former vice president of Kroger so we have to continue getting organized continue fighting back building a fighting labor movement to win the gains that workers need.

I congratulate the UFCW members again for their work and the leadership in pushing this legislation and congratulate the UFCW elected leaders as well.

Look forward to voting for it and look forward to joining with other frontline workers who are organizing to make similar demands.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Solant for those comments.

Next in the queue is Council Member Morales.

And then we will hear from Council Member Peterson and then Council Member Lewis.

Council Member Morales.

Thank you.

As I mentioned in briefing this morning, I will enthusiastically support this and have asked to co-sponsor this bill.

I think it's really important that it acknowledges that those who are putting themselves on the front lines every day should be compensated for the work that they're doing.

Our ability to feed our families relies on grocery workers showing up every day to stock shelves and set up produce displays and check us out.

But now they're also sanitizing carts and reorganizing the bulk goods and more frequently cleaning surfaces.

And they really are in uncontrolled environments and interacting with the public for most, if not all, of their shift.

So I want to thank the good folks at UFCW 21 for advocating for these workers and for ensuring that they're paid.

or the extra work they're doing while they keep our communities fed and help keep us healthy.

So I look forward to supporting legislation.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Morales.

Council Member Peterson.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you again, Council Member Mosqueda, for bringing this forward.

After reviewing, after rapidly reviewing and researching this proposed ordinance to have larger grocery stores boost the pay of their frontline workers during the pandemic, I've decided to support it.

I consulted with both labor and employers.

I do want to acknowledge that I think this legislation moved fast.

To hear the legislation at a Friday committee and then adopt it on a Monday can make it difficult for some to review it thoroughly.

At the same time, I recognize we are in the midst of a public health and economic emergency and therefore would not want to further delay the temporary pay boost these workers should be receiving for the hazards they're facing until both shots of the vaccine are administered to everyone.

So I'll be voting yes today.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Peterson for those remarks.

Council Member Lewis.

Thank you, Madam President.

Very excited to be voting for this legislation today and happy to be a co-sponsor.

I just want to take a moment to lift up the great organizing work that UFCW has done to really get us to this point today.

Like I said during briefing, I have seen the checkers in my local grocery store proudly wearing the swag for this campaign, proudly calling in, sending emails.

And that solidarity, that organizing makes a huge difference.

We may be the policy makers, but it's that organizing that helps get this policy over the finish line.

So I wanna first just thank all of the work UFCW and our other brothers and sisters in the labor movement have done to bring us to this point.

I also just want to recognize Councilmember Herbold and the work that we did last year on similar legislation for workers in the app-based economy.

You know, I say we're app-based workers, and I say app-based workers instead of gig workers because, you know, these aren't gigs.

These are livelihoods, and these aren't It's not a gig economy, it's the economy.

I mean, it's how we deliver goods and services now in this technological age, and it's important that as technology changes, living standards keep up with that work.

To that extent, it is a very logical policy to pursue, that we extend the same hazard pay considerations to the folks that are working in our supermarkets on the front lines and providing this essential service day in, day out, interacting with members of the public and going home to their families, having exposed themselves to potential hazards and being in a position to have that additional support in recognition of their service and their sacrifice.

So I am happy to vote for this today, and I look forward to being able to get this relief out there.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis.

Are there any additional comments on the bill?

Council Member Herbold, please.

Thank you.

Just very quickly, I really appreciate the comments of all of my colleagues, and I appreciate, I want to thank Council Member Peterson for his weighing the need to act quickly as relates to this bill, while also recognizing that acting quickly is not always ideal, but in this case, when we are actually passing hazard pay that is enacted through an emergency ordinance, it's necessary.

I appreciate Councilmember Mosqueda's leadership in this area over the last several years and also in responding to COVID-related workforce impacts.

I appreciate working with Councilmember Lewis on the hazard pay legislation for food-based or app-based food delivery drivers.

I wish we could require hazard pay for all of our essential workers, and I'm really grateful to the work that essential workers are doing, putting themselves in harm's way, particularly as it relates, and as we are expressing with this legislation, making sure that families and individuals are able to feed themselves and their families.

And just, you know, really want, again, back the fact that this is an area of our economy that has seen windfall profits during COVID because of the importance of this part of the market in the shift.

in consumer practices, an average of, I believe, nearly $17 billion in profits in the first quarters of this year as compared to last year, according to Brookings.

This hazard pay recognizes the essential nature of this work.

It helps retain employees to keep stores running safely.

And again, provides essential food chain workers with extra compensation that can allow them to afford child care, deal with the physical and emotional health risks of the work, stay sheltered, or find housing options that can limit risk to family members and more.

Different from other kinds of businesses, many of which were previously closed by order of the governor, grocery workers are the absolute essential workers whose companies have again, profited handsomely from the shift in consumerism during this very difficult time in our globes dealing and our nation's economy dealing with COVID-19.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold, for those comments.

Are there any additional comments on the bill from any of my other colleagues?

I'll say a few words really quickly.

I'm going to start off with a note of gratitude to, of course, the Chair of our Finance and Housing Committee, Council Member Mosqueda, for being the champion and the prime sponsor of this legislation.

I know that you and your Chief of Staff, Sejal Parikh, did a lot of work in preparation to advancing this legislation.

I hope that you will have an opportunity to talk about some of that advanced preliminary work that predated the introduction and referral of the legislation and our debate in committee today to really show folks that there was some thoughtful deliberation behind the ordinance and crafting the policy that I think was critical to influencing the substitute bill that we considered and approved and recommended that the full council approve.

in the Finance and Housing Committee this last Friday.

So thank you, Chair Mosqueda, and to your team members for the hard work that I know that you all put into this legislation, together with our Council Central staff policy analyst, Karina Bull, who is no stranger to the work of labor standards, particularly in this era of the pandemic.

So deeply appreciative for her work as well.

I also want to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for the leadership and members of UFCW Local 21. They have been screaming from the highest points of any tower they could find.

talking about the extremely dangerous conditions that their members and other non-represented folks experience every day going into their job that is at a grocery store.

It is absolutely important to acknowledge that they have spent much time organizing workers in this space, that they have done a tremendous job in making sure that we as policymakers are hearing directly from impacted workers, from their members who've been exposed to COVID in grocery stores and have survived and are able to be in the fortunate circumstance of even sharing their story with us because they made it through the infection is remarkable.

And I just really am deeply appreciative for their ongoing commitment to making sure that they're centering their members in in making sure that policymakers understand why the policy choices we are making are so critically important.

That's why I'm really also appreciative that Councilmember Peterson made the remarks that he made with regard to weighing the need to pass this with a sense of urgency versus pursuing a longer deliberative process.

We have in this last year considered many pieces of legislation very, very quickly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, everything from direct cash assistance to modification of land use rules to additional labor standards and practices related to other categories of workers.

And so I think that this is still a period of time where we're experiencing a lot of need and a lot of urgency to act quickly to make sure that we are being flexible and nimble and meeting the needs of a critical workforce in our cities.

So really, really am appreciative of the opportunity to be able to consider this legislation and to be listed as a co-sponsor of it.

I also know that we have spent a lot of time talking about the windfall corporate profits that have been made by many of the grocers in this period of time.

And it is absolutely true that consumerism has really shifted in a way that has funneled consumption of food towards every single grocery store that is available in the city.

That's because our restaurants are closed for the most part.

It's because our bars are closed for the most part.

It's because the places that would ordinarily be frequented by people outside of the grocery context no longer exist in some instances.

And so grocery stores are the place where almost everyone, if not everyone in our community goes to.

That means more volume.

and higher exposure.

And many of the studies that we have seen that talk about the risk of exposure, talk about the risk of exposure from the customer perspective, from the consumer perspective.

And in one report that I recall seeing last year, it talked about how the risk of exposure to COVID by merely being inside of a grocery store for a limited period of time was 80% higher than in any other setting, whether it be a restaurant, outdoor dining, in an outdoor park.

That is an astronomical risk from a consumer perspective.

Now imagine what that number would be.

if we were looking at the exposure to risk, the risk to exposure of COVID from the worker perspective, from the grocery worker, grocery store worker perspective, it would be astronomically large.

It is astronomically large.

So I think this is an absolute public health response.

It is absolutely needed.

And again, we're not in a position where we can just shut down our grocery stores.

They are the only thing left in our communities where people can go and find food in the absence of a different economic model that is safe and available to people.

So we need to acknowledge that there is hazard in working in this environment and that workers need to be compensated in order to feel that their work is respected and that their role in this response to COVID is seen and dignified.

And I am so proud to be able to stand with Council Member Mosqueda, with all of you colleagues, and most importantly, with the members of UFCW Local 21 and all other grocery store workers in making sure that we take a strong stand here and say yes to hazard pay and making sure that we continue to advance these policies that will really make a huge, a significant difference for people if they do find themselves in a unfortunate situation of being exposed or in just the basic mode of trying to figure out how to make ends meet while also trying to stay safe.

So that being said, I'm going to go ahead and conclude my remarks and see if anyone else has any remarks.

And if not, we are going to hand it over to the Prime Sponsor, Council Member Mosqueda, for closing remarks.

All right, hearing none, Council Member Mosqueda, you have the last word.

Take us home.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

Council colleagues, thanks again for your comments today, your incredible deliberation of this important topic, and as Council Member Lewis and Herbold noted, the way in which you all have stepped up to provide much needed relief and support to frontline workers throughout this pandemic.

This is one additional piece of the puzzle as we serve to protect the public, the broader public health, and to make sure that those frontline workers are having their workplaces respected and that we are recognizing the hazard in which many of these frontline workers are facing every day.

The hazard pay ordinance in front of us that we are about to pass will compensate grocery store employees for the risk of working on the front lines in this global pandemic to make sure that we're improving the financial availability to be able to access resources, to stay safe and to stay healthy.

It encourages them to continue their vital work in our supply food chain.

And this, in exchange, supports the welfare and the health of our greater community that is depending on grocery store workers for safe and reliable access to food and services.

Making a choice between keeping a job and providing for a child, for example, should not be a situation that any worker is facing.

Making a choice between going to work and putting yourself in harm's way should not be something that any family should have to experience.

but this is the experience right now of grocery store workers in Seattle.

I mentioned an example a few weeks ago as we began to deliberate this piece of legislation, which really underscored for me the urgency of why we need to act now and act in the city of Seattle.

Over the holiday break, I was told about a story of a local grocery store worker.

She has a child and she works here in a grocery store in Seattle.

She made an impossible decision to be able to keep her job, which in order to keep her job, she needs childcare.

But because she couldn't afford any of the childcare in her local area, she's been driving to Lakewood, about 45 minutes away from here, dropping her child off and driving back to Seattle to do her shift at a local grocery store, driving back to pick up her kiddo and sleeping in their car.

Because she does not have the resources that she needed to be able to both afford childcare and to pay rent.

This is the situation that our frontline workers, our grocery store workers are being placed in, in addition to being in hazards way every day.

When I heard that story, there's so many issues that I know we have to address to address the underlying insecurity of that situation, but I knew that we could act.

We could act and provide hazard pay to recognize the hazard that this employee is in every day, and hopefully that additional compensation will help to make sure that it's not just child care that is being paid, but also greater stability and access to housing.

These are the situations in which we find our workers in Seattle facing.

And hazard pay is one additional component for how we're stepping up to helping to make sure that nobody's making these impossible decisions.

grocery store workers face serious risks of COVID infection and the least we can do is provide them with the protective gear, access to vaccines and the city council acting today helping to make sure that they're able to access hazard paying.

You heard the story from Maggie who testified during last week's hearing and again this morning where worker after worker testified about the hazard that they are facing every day.

One person said, I've come to work early every day crying already, already shaking with anxiety over having to deal with unmasked customers and the worry of contracting COVID.

One person said, I didn't sign up to sacrifice myself to keep my community fed during the worst public health crisis in a lifetime when I originally took this job.

But that's exactly what I'm being asked to do.

And being asked to do this at the same pay I was making when the greatest risk last year before this COVID that I faced in this job was crossing the parking lot at the end of my shift.

The tremendous risk that workers are facing, the hazard in which they encounter every day during COVID, and as my colleagues have mentioned, the additional work that they are taking on to help clean our grocery stores and make sure that there's sanitary services allowed at the self-checkout counter, in each of our aisles and making sure that they're providing excellent customer service needs to be rewarded.

Up and down the West Coast, cities, jurisdictions are not only following suit, some of them have already acted on the very type of legislation that we're considering today.

The city of Berkeley has already passed our legislation offering $5 an hour minimum wage additional enhancement for hazard pay.

The city of Long Beach is offering $4 hazard pay.

This current schedule is in front of us for the city of Los Angeles, which is taking this issue on tomorrow on January 26th with the potential vote on February 9th.

Los Angeles County, potential vote on the 26th of January as well.

Montebello this week on the 27th.

And Oakland and San Jose expected to act the first week of February.

And those cities, just like Seattle, are not doing this overnight.

Appreciate the council presidents, comments and I'll also reflect on the timeline here as well for the viewing public and for our colleagues and to reflect the incredible work that has gone into this legislation.

We began hearing about the wave of interest across the West Coast and in other parts of the country to enact hazard pay prior to the holiday break.

And I began by asking questions about what the data shows to try to get stories and a better understanding from frontline workers themselves.

We began the research with the Office of Labor Standards and our central staff immediately when we heard that there was the potential for potentially passing this in other cities and jurisdictions as well.

Again, I want to thank Karina Bull and her incredible work who responded over the holiday break to say this will be the first thing I get to when I get back to the office, working with United Food and commercial workers to have a better understanding from the qualitative stories that they had been receiving, in addition to the quantitative analysis that had been provided.

I mentioned the October 2020 Boston study that looked and found that grocery store workers in that study alone had encountered COVID rates five times higher than the general public.

These are the type of stories and the data and the analysis that went into the initial question about whether or not a policy should be pursued.

Early in January, we began working with the Office of Labor Standards, also in conversations with the mayor's office.

And I want to thank the mayor for their ongoing express support for this effort to take a look at what the strategy and policy discussion should be.

And we crafted this draft bill initially with feedback, not just with United Food and Commercial Workers and getting input from those.

who represent frontline workers, but also by making sure that we reached out to the grocers having conversations with Holly Chisa and also reaching out ultimately to the chamber to get feedback again.

not necessarily signaling support, but wanting to make sure that we got feedback so that we better understood how these policies could be applied.

That's the type of deliberative work that my office does.

We made sure to do it in this case as well and wanted to make sure that we acted with urgency as much as we also maintained our commitment to working with diverse stakeholders.

This type of conversation can't happen overnight, and it's so important that we get the details right.

So for everybody who's been providing feedback over the last three to five weeks, we appreciate your work with us, especially as you've recognized, council colleagues, that this is a matter of life or death.

This is a matter of how we are respecting people in their workplace and also making sure that they feel like they have the support that they need to be able to stay in these places of employment to help us as a broader population be able to make sure that we have access to food and essentials products at our grocery stores.

And we've acted with urgency here today.

I really appreciate all of the work that you all have done and the express support from my council colleagues for your co-sponsorship.

Again, Thank you to Samantha Grad, Sarah Sharon, Joe Mizrahi, and President Begunter for all of the work that they have done at UFCW 21 and the hundreds of grocery store workers who provided us with stories.

I believe we received 800 emails in support of this legislation over the last few weeks.

So thank you all for writing in.

I want to give a shout out to the chief of staff in my office who is the mastermind behind how we make sure to reach out and get stakeholder input and look at data-driven solutions for crises in front of us.

Thank you.

Thanks again to Jasmine and Jan from the office of labor standards and our communications team as well as the And of course, thank you to the grocery store workers.

We know that this is immediate relief, immediate recognition of the hazard that you are in, and immediate appreciation, expressed appreciation for the role that you are playing in helping to respond to the pandemic in front of us.

A small but very important piece of legislation today, and council colleagues, I'm hoping for better days.

That vaccine is on the horizon, but until then, thank you all for standing up and supporting the workers today by passing hazard pay legislation.

Thank you, Council Member Mosqueda, for those closing remarks.

We're gonna go ahead and consider debate closed now on this bill, and we're gonna go ahead and move to a roll call.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of Council Bill 119990. Madam Clerk, you might be on mute.

There might be some technical difficulties, so I'll jump in.

Council Member Lewis?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Yes.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Council Member Herbold?

I can't hear you, Council Member Herbold.

We're having technical difficulties.

That's weird.

I'm off of mute.

We can hear you now.

Say it again.

Thank you.

And Council President Gonzalez.

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you so much, Madam Clerk.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Congratulations once again, and congratulations to all of the members of local 21 and all of all of the frontline grocery store workers.

who are hustling every day in our city to make ends meet and to make sure that we continue to have access to the food we need to continue to survive during the pandemic.

I hope that this hazard pay goes a ways towards helping you survive this pandemic as well.

Thank you for all of your work.

Okay, colleagues, that does bring us to the end of the agenda.

Is there any further business to come before the council?

Hearing no further business to come before the council, this does conclude the items of business on today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled city council meeting is on Monday, February 1st, 2021, at 2 o'clock p.m.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful afternoon.

For those of you who might not be in West Seattle, I hope you are experiencing as much sunshine as we are here in West Seattle.

And I feel like I need to call on Councilmember Peterson so that the viewing public has the benefit of seeing Bernie Sanders sitting behind him.

which is going to be a highlight for me this week.

I'm not going to lie.

Colleagues, thank you so much for hanging in there with us and for another long meeting.

I want to thank you all for continuing your hard work in these trying times.

With that being said, colleagues, we are adjourned.

Thank you so much.

Bye.