Phased workers' affordability review moves forward in Olympia

The Olympia City Council directed staff to move forward with a phased process to study workers’ affordability and workplace protections over the next several months.  

During a meeting on Tuesday, July 14, the council endorsed Assistant City Manager Stacey Ray’s proposed two-phased approach.

Ray said staff revisited the scope of the research to better fit the phased process and divide it into two parts.  

The first phase will include initial research to better understand the experiences of low-wage workers and provide an overview of the issue. 

A September study session will then help the council determine what additional questions it wants to explore, allowing staff to better define the second phase of research.  

While council members supported moving ahead, they emphasized the need to balance the urgency of addressing affordability issues with community engagement and staff capacity.  

The work began in 2024 when the council started discussing issues, such as minimum wage, predictive scheduling and workplace safety, to address concerns about the rising cost of living and job safety for lower wage workers.  

After receiving significant public input on a draft process in late 2024, the council directed staff to slow the effort and revisit the research in 2025.

The work was later paused after a citizen-led initiative, Proposition 1, was placed on the November ballot. Following the proposition's defeat, the council asked staff to bring the topic back in 2026.  

Ray said the proposal is intended to accomplish three goals: 

• Understand the research and data surrounding low-wage workers in Olympia and policies adopted by other cities. 

• Help the council determine which affordability and workplace safety issues it wants to address. 

• Develop potential policy options.  

• Under the proposal, staff would conduct listening sessions with groups, including low-wage workers, labor organizations, nonprofit organizations and businesses of varying sizes before presenting initial research findings during a September study session.  

A second phase would refine the scope based on direction from the city council, with possible policy recommendations targeted for the first quarter of 2027.  

Several council members supported the streamlined approach, but urged staff to ensure a wide range of workers are represented.  

Council member Robert Vanderpool said workers experiencing affordability challenges should be at the center of the review.  

“They are the subject matter experts when it comes to affordability policies,” Vanderpool said. “They may not know what the policy is, but they know the experience because they live it.” 

Although labor policy has traditionally been the responsibility of state and federal governments, Vanderpool said Olympia has often taken on issues beyond the traditional role of local government.  

“We have a climate plan, we have climate staff. We have a housing plan, and we have housing staff. We have equity planning and equity staff. Why not labor? Why not affordability?” he said.  

Vanderpool also suggested creating a dedicated city position focused on labor policy and affordability, saying the issue is "too large for a one-and-done process.” 

Council member Dani Madrone supported the two-phase approach because it will allow the council to review the initial research before deciding how to proceed.  

She urged staff to conduct sector-specific outreach, including grocery, health care and child care.  

Madrone also requested staff to establish clear definitions for small, medium and large employers rather than relying on definitions used in the failed Workers’ Bill of Rights initiative (Proposition 1).  

She hopes the discussions consider the needs of workers, employers and the broader community, rather than becoming a “zero-sum game.” 

Council member Paul Berendt urged staff to seek input from nonunion workers, particularly people employed by nonprofit organizations, health care providers and senior workers. 

He said many seniors without public pensions continue working in low-wage jobs to survive and should be included in the city’s research.  

Under the proposed timeline, staff will return to the council in September with initial research findings and recommendations on stakeholder engagement before advancing to a second phase that could lead to policy options in early 2027.