Tacoma’s Minimum Wage Rules Finalized

Tacoma will host Public Information Sessions in Downtown Tacoma Public Library on Jan. 20 and 21 for finalized minimum wage rules.

After a public process that included four meetings to solicit community feedback, Tacoma’s minimum wage rules are now final and available HERE.  These rules will guide the implementation of Initiative Measure No. 1B, which was approved by Tacoma voters in November 2015.

Initiative Measure No. 1B called for the Tacoma minimum wage to increase to $10.35 per hour on Feb. 1, 2016 (the same effective date as the Paid Leave Ordinance passed in January 2015). The Tacoma minimum wage would increase to $11.15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2017 and to $12 per hour on Jan. 1, 2018.

There will be two public information sessions in the Downtown Tacoma Public Library (1102 Tacoma Ave. S, Olympic Room) for employers and other community members who wish to learn more about both minimum wage and paid leave:

Wednesday, Jan. 20
5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 21
2 – 3 p.m.

Information on both minimum wage and paid leave is also available by calling (253) 591-5306 or visiting HERE.

Tacoma Council Will Choose Click! Option

After last week's recommendations by the Tacoma Public Utilities Board, the Tacoma City Council will consider two proposals this Tuesday night for future action on Click!.

The two resolutions are distinct choices and have significant consequences for Tacoma Power ratepayers, Click! users and businesses.

As noted in the Chamber's correspondence to the Councilmembers below, the Chamber recommends the lease option for the best future course of action.  The Chamber was an initial supporter of establishing Click! as a means to bring broadband service to Tacoma.  As an industry-defined "second city," that was an unlikely outcome at that time. The subsequent existence of a competitive marketplace is frequently cited for lower rates locally.  But, the marketplace has changed.

With continuing financial losses, Tacoma Power ratepayers have subsidized Click!'s operational losses.  The "all in" option, which represents Tacoma's substantial development of Click!, represents a $38 million bill over 10 years to bring Click! up to desired standards of service.  Even the City's attorney has opined that the existing subsidy of Click! by Tacoma Power may contravene state law.

Additionally, local small, family-owned firms providing ISP in partnership with Click! are expected to be adversely impacted by the "all in" option.  These local firms also represent jobs and investment, as well as their history of partnership.

The operation and fate of Click! is a continuing conflict between the Tacoma Public Utilities Board and the Tacoma Council.  To resolve these continuing disagreements, resolve possible legal conflicts and simplify the oversight of Click!, the Chamber suggests that Click! be reorganized under the auspices of general government with direct oversight and responsibility by the City Council.

Reminding Tacoma of Campaign Promises before Tax Implementation

Before Tacoma Council action to implement the utility tax portion of the recently voter-approved Prop. 3 to Fix Tacoma's Roads, the Chamber reminded Councilmembers of promises to voters to apportion dollars among all types of road and transportation projects.

It is important that from the very beginning of this Tacoma roads package that promises be kept with voters and all the advocates for the needed and necessary transportation projects.

Tacoma Offers Training for Stormwater & ROW Design

The City of Tacoma is offering training on the 2016 City of Tacoma Stormwater Management Manual (SWMM) and the 2016 City of Tacoma Right-of-Way Design Manual (Design Manual).  Both manuals will become effective January 7, 2016.

This will be technical training geared toward the development and engineering community and those involved with design of projects both on private property and within the City right-of-way though the training are open and available to all members of public.

SWMM Training Dates:

• Thursday, December 17, 2015: 8:00am – 12:00pm
• Wednesday, January 6, 2016: 8:00am – 12:00pm

Design Manual Training Dates:

• Thursday, December 17, 2015: 1:00pm – 4:00pm
• Wednesday, January 6, 2016: 1:00pm – 4:00pm

All training will take place at the Central Treatment Plant – Building A on embedded map.

Parking is limited – carpool if possible.

Lunch will be provided for those RSVPing to attend both a morning and afternoon session on the same date. The City cannot accommodate all dietary restrictions and allergies but please respond in your RSVP if there are dietary restrictions and they will let you know if they can accommodate.

Training sessions are limited to 50 people.  RSVP with your requested date and training type.

Tacoma Voters Pass Prop 3 and Prop A for Street Repair and Improvements

Today, certified results show that Tacoma voters said yes to repairing Tacoma’s streets and passed Proposition 3 and Proposition A. 

These propositions will work together to repair and improve city streets through a number of methods including pothole repair, street resurfacing and building missing sidewalks. In addition, Proposition A provides additional funding for transportation projects outlined in the Six-Year Comprehensive Transportation Plan. 

“Tacoma voters have demonstrated that they want to be part of the solution. By approving Props 3 and A, they're saying yes to safe and better streets, civic pride and family-wage jobs,” said Mayor Marilyn Strickland.  “The poor condition of Tacoma’s roads have been decades in the making and we now have dedicated funds to repair and maintain them in a significant way."

To achieve funding goals, Proposition 3 (Resolution 39249) will raise funds through an increase in property and utility earnings tax while Proposition A (Resolution TBD010) will raise funds through an increase in sales tax.  All taxes associated with the propositions will expire after 10 years. Over this time frame, these propositions combined are projected to generate $175 million of new revenue. In addition, these measures would leverage an estimated $120 million in grants and matching funds and the City will commit an additional $30 million. The accumulation of all these sources would raise a total of $325 million for Tacoma’s streets.

“With the approval of Props A and 3, Tacoma voters have expressed that the time has come to invest in our city’s streets,” said City Manager T.C. Broadnax. “Over the next 10 years this work will be a major focus for the City and we are committed to keeping residents informed about how these funds will be used to address much needed streets and infrastructure improvements.”

For City staff, next steps include developing annual reports, web pages and using Tacoma Data to connect residents to efforts related to these propositions. The Transportation Benefit District is also required to report back to the City Council annually on projects funded by the district and the spending plan for the upcoming year.  The additional funding sources associated with these propositions will not go into effect until 2016 and the City will use the Six-Year Infrastructure Maintenance Plan, Six- Year Comprehensive Transportation Plan, Transportation Master Plan and the recent pavement condition survey as documents to guide investment in transportation infrastructure.  

VOTE TODAY

VOTE TODAY. Ballots due to drop off locations or voting centers HERE by 8:00 p.m. today, or postmarked today.

Resource for you:  Tacoma-Pierce Co. Vote for Business Guide HERE.

Vote YES to Fix Tacoma’s Roads, Vote YES on Propositions 3 and A

Repairing Tacoma’s roads has long been a top reported priority of Tacoma’s residents, elected officials, and businesses.  

While no tax increase would be an ideal situation, the Chamber has worked for years to evaluate funding and improvement options for Tacoma’s roads, and has endorsed both Proposition 3 and Proposition A. 

When combined, these Propositions responsibly and equitably spread the tax burden among all parties and include a 10-year sunset date on the package to ensure no money is being taken for granted.  

When added to matching grants and contributions, the total package would provide Tacoma with 325 million dollars to repair roads and improve a situation that has been unacceptably stagnant for far too long.

Vote YES on 3. Vote YES on A. Vote YES for Tacoma’s streets.

Chamber Endorses Initiative 1B

In this year’s general election, the outcome of Initiative 1 regarding the status of the minimum wage in Tacoma has the power to drastically impact businesses starting as soon as December 4^th of this year. 

If a raise in the minimum wage in Initiative 1 are approved by the voters, an unprecedented and risky minimum wage increase of either $15 or $12 will go into effect just four weeks following the election.

After careful consideration, the Chamber has endorsed voting for Initiative 1B, a plan that will phase in a minimum wage increase to $12 over the course of two years. This plan allows everyone to adjust to an increase in the minimum wage in a way that will both benefit workers and will not overwhelm businesses.

While raising the minimum wage or not should be a straightforward question, the structure of this year’s ballot has the potential to confuse voters. Initiative 1 is broken into two parts. First, voters will be asked whether or not a minimum wage increase should take place at all. Second, voters will be asked, if a minimum wage increase were to take place, whether they would support Initiative 1, an increase of the minimum wage to $15 immediately, or Initiative 1B, an increase of the minimum wage to $12 over two years.

Even if voters wanted to oppose an increase in the minimum wage altogether and vote no on the first question and ignore the second question, a minimum wage increase will still take place if a majority vote “yes” on part one.  That is why it is imperative, even if voters oppose an increase in the minimum wage, they also vote “yes” on 1B to ensure that the most appropriate increase in minimum wage for Tacoma is enacted.

The Chamber encourages, that whether you vote “yes” or “no” on raising the minimum wage, vote 1B, the Tacoma sized solution.

Voters’ Guide for Business Now Available

The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce’s third Voters’ Guide for Business is now available online for all voters and businesses concerned with how candidates’ views align with the best business and economic interests of Tacoma.

The Voters’ Guide for Business includes the responses, or lack thereof, to a Chamber produced survey from candidates in 35 contested races throughout the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s service area.  The Guide also includes the Chamber’s position on ballot initiatives that will directly influence job growth, businesses, and the overall health of the economy in Pierce County.

This year’s election is filled with candidates and initiatives that have the ability to influence issues regarding taxes, regulations, incentives, and the general business climate for years to come.  We encourage any voters concerned with the future of Tacoma’s economy to read and share our Guide, compare the candidates’ positions on important issues with your own preferences, and most importantly, keep them in mind while casting your ballot in the coming weeks.

Chamber Endorses City of Tacoma Roads Package (Prop. 3 & 4)

On August 27th, the Chamber Board of Directors voted to endorse Tacoma City Council's Propositions 3 and 4.  

The text of the resolution is below:

SUBJECT:    TACOMA PROPOSITION 3: Concerning a property tax levy rate increase and utility gross earnings tax increase to fund street improvements

                        AND

TACOMA TRANSPORTATION BENEFIT DISTRICT PROPOSITION 4: Concerning the imposition of a sales tax to fund street improvements

POLICY:       YES ON BOTH PROPOSITIONS 3 & 4

BACKGROUND: In 2013, the City of Tacoma placed a proposition to the voters to add an additional 2% to the existing utility gross earnings tax in order to fund street improvements.  The Chamber opposed the measure on several grounds.  Some of these included concerns about prioritization of existing dollars, task force/commission processes, and expecting a handful of businesses to pay the bulk of the taxes despite most of the improvements going towards residential roads.  A majority of voters agreed with the Chamber that this was not an appropriate tax.

Since 2013, the Chamber has worked with community stakeholders, including electeds and staff at the City of Tacoma, to evaluate alternative funding and improvement plans.  While no tax is an ideal scenario, the proposed package successful spreads the tax burden to all parties and users throughout the area while setting a 10-year sunset on the entire package.  The two propositions combine for $175M in new revenue.  When added to new matching funds from the general fund, existing street funding revenues and new grant matches, the total package is $425M.

City Funding Source	10 Year Revenues
New Sales Tax (+0.1%) (Prop 4)	$45 M
New Utility Gross Earnings Tax (+1.5%) (Prop 3)	$90 M
New Levy Lid Lift (+$0.2 per $1,000AV) (Prop 3)	$40 M
New Additional General Fund Support (Council Budget)	$30 M
Existing Revenues ($20 Tab, 2% UGET)	$100 M
City Funding	$305 M
Grant Matching Funds	$120 M
TOTAL FUNDING	$425 M

This funding would then be spent on residential streets (67%), arterials & freight access (18%), and walking and biking infrastructure (15%).  This work would pave 167 blocks of gravel streets, resurface 2,100 blocks of failed and poor streets, and provide sufficient maintenance for all excellent, good, and fair residential streets, totaling another 4,211 blocks. In addition it would provide funding for key freight mobility connection in the Port of Tacoma and multimodal facilities like an improved Schuster Parkway and Prairie Line Trail.

The residents of Tacoma have consistently ranked the condition of the streets as a number one priority, but despite several options on the ballot, have to choose to increase taxes to pay for the street repairs.  It is unclear the level of support these measures will need to be successful at the ballot box.

While the Chamber supports these proposals to improve streets throughout Tacoma, we will continue to encourage the City to look for additional efficiencies in general operations.  With an annual general fund budget of $200M, saving just 1% would allow an additional $20M to be spent on roads over 10-years.  To this end, we hope that this City will continue to focus on job creation in the private sector by hiring private contractors to complete the work rather than increasing internal staff.

IMPLEMENTATION:  With approval of a policy, the Chamber will utilize is communications tools for advocacy.

Select Better Choices in the Primary

Dear Chamber Member,

Time is drawing near for the deadline to return your ballot for the August 4 primary election. 

This year, many local offices and key issues are on the ballot, including seats on the Tacoma City Council, Pierce County Charter Review Commission, Port of Tacoma Commissioner and school board positions throughout the region. There are also votes for the 30^th Legislative District and the Pierce County general administration building.

CITY OF TACOMA

This election cycle, we have the rare opportunity to create and ensure the security of a prosperous and healthy city. Tacoma often sets the tone for our region when it comes to local policies, which is why the Tacoma-Pierce County Business Alliance, a political organization of local businesses, some of which are Chamber members, has solely focused on these races.

For this year's primary, the Tacoma-Pierce County Business Alliance has endorsed the following candidates for the Tacoma City Council primary:

·         District 1: John Hines, Tara Doyle-Enneking

·         District 3: Keith Blocker, Kris Blondin, Valentine Smith

During the Business Alliance’s interview process, the above candidates all demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the quality of life and economic opportunities in Tacoma, particularly when it came to the issues that are important to Tacomans:

1.      Bring and keep jobs in Tacoma by installing sound economic policy, ensuring the creation of a reasonable minimum wage proposal, and working alongside business instead of against them.

2.      Fix Tacoma roads and infrastructure to help move people and goods around the city faster.

3.      Foster economic growth and sustainability by helping grow local businesses and encouraging the creation of economic policy customized to the needs of Tacoma.

These elections matter, and you can support the goals listed above by supporting the candidates endorsed by the Tacoma-Pierce County Business Alliance. Your support can be manifested in two ways: First, by personally supporting the above candidates during the primary election. Second, by donating HERE to the Business Alliance. Donations allow the Business Alliance to strategically back candidates and issues important to Tacoma in these key races.

PIERCE COUNTY CHARTER REVIEW

Pierce County voters have the once a decade responsibility to elect freeholders to the Pierce County Charter Review Commission. The Charter Review Commission is made up of 21 elected members, with three candidates elected in each of Pierce County’s seven councilmanic districts.

The Charter Review Commission creates amendments and replacements to the County Charter, which serves as the Constitution for the County. Their recommendations will go directly to the voters without vetting by the County Council or the County Executive.

The primary serves as the only vetting process for the general election candidates. The Chamber encourages everyone to research and vote for the candidates that best serve the community and its interests. 

We encourage you to keep the above issues in mind as you fill out your ballot—our region’s continued competitiveness depends on them. Remember, you must return or mail your ballot by Tuesday, August 4.

Best Wishes,

Tom Pierson
President & CEO
Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber

City of Tacoma Offers Tax Amnesty Program

Registered and unregistered businesses in Tacoma can – from June 1, 2015 – June 30, 2015 – apply for this one-time program.

It waives penalties and interest on local City of Tacoma business tax and license fees that were due April 30, 2015 or prior, to include:
• Business and Occupation Taxes
• Private Utility Taxes (Telephone, Cellular, Cable, Solid Waste, Natural Gas, Electricity)
• Admissions Taxes
• Gambling Taxes
• Annual Business License Fees
• Regulatory License Fees
• Unreported Liabilities (excluding those that are a part of a bankruptcy proceeding where payment of business taxes or license fees would violate federal bankruptcy laws and civil penalties that have been sent to the City’s collection agency)

The program also waives 50 percent of civil penalties (excluding civil penalties that have been sent to the City’s collection agency).

The payment deadline is July 31, 2015.

Unregistered Businesses

For unregistered businesses, the “look-back” period is limited to four years in addition to the current year. By June 30, 2015, they must submit a completed Application for Registration and Business or Rental Business License. By July 31, 2015, they must pay all unreported tax and license fees due for 2011 through 2015 and 50 percent of any civil penalties due on their account. They must also submit any supplemental information required for regulatory licenses. Lastly, they must waive their right to seek a refund or challenge the amount of taxes paid under the program.

Registered Businesses

By July 31, 2015, registered businesses must pay all tax and license fees due, as well as 50 percent of any civil penalties due. They must also submit any supplemental information required for regulatory licenses and file and pay all tax returns on time during the amnesty period. This includes tax returns due May 31, 2015, June 30, 2015 and July 31, 2015. Lastly, they must waive their right to seek a refund or challenge the amount of taxes paid under the program.

More information is available at PayMyTacomaTax.org. Phone calls can be directed to 311 within Tacoma or (253) 591-5200 from anywhere else. Emails can be directed to TacomaAmnesty@cityoftacoma.org

Mayor Hears Chamber & Community, Appoints Minimum Wage Task Force

In the category of surprising, yet encouraging, a day after the Chamber sent a letter to the Mayor highlighting the need for a community task force to discuss the minimum wage, the Mayor led the City Council to establish just such a task force. 


The Chamber's letter clearly touched a nerve and brought to the fore a rumbling that could be heard throughout Tacoma - the 15 Now proposal is just too extreme for Tacoma. 


Because of the tight timeline for the Council to act if it wants to put something on the ballot, the Mayor asked councilmembers to provide names for the task force in just 3 days.


The names are now out with appointments made last Tuesday at that night's council meeting.  The people tasked with hashing out the minimum wage issue in Tacoma are:


• Kelly Chambers, owner of Visiting Angels
• Sarah Cherin, political and public policy director for United Food and Commercial Union 21
• Gregory Christopher, pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church & head of the Tacoma chapter of the NAACP
• Odette D’Aniello, owner of Celebrity Cake Studio
• Michelle Douglas, executive director for the Rainbow Center
• Liz Dunbar, executive director for Tacoma Community House
• Eric Hahn, vice president for General Plastics & a member of the Workforce Central board
• Dennis Farrow, owner of Advanced Technology Construction
• Reggie Frederick, owner of Chalet Bowl
• Jason Kinlow, owner of A Taste of Philly
• Elizabeth Lewis, a minimum-wage worker at Staff Pro & 15Now Supporter
• Ali Modarres, director of the Urban Studies at University of Washington Tacoma
• Abranna Romero Rocha, a student at Lincoln High School & 15Now Supporter
• David Strong, executive director for AIDS Housing Association of Tacoma & pastor at Greater Christ Community Church
• Brenda Wiest, legislative affairs coordinator for Teamsters 117


• Russ Heaton (alternate), owner of Doyle’s Public House• Robert Taylor (alternate), member field director for Service Employees International Union 1199


The list clearly contains more non-profit entities than anything else which should make the conversation interesting as it may focus more on how to help the least fortunate rather than how to punish people for running businesses.


We hope all members will carefully consider what the best solution for Tacoma is rather than trying to represent a narrow constituency group.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/05/12/3788115/tacoma-mayor-to-name-minimum-wage.html#storylink=cpy

Tacoma Council Adopts Mandatory Paid Leave

On Tuesday, January 27th, after a marathon council meeting lasting nearly six hours and including 35 pages of amendments, Tacoma’s City Council passed (8-1) an ordinance requiring all businesses operating within the City to provide a minimum of 3 days of paid time off to employees beginning February 1^st, 2016.  

Early versions of an ordinance brought forward by paid leave proponents suggested businesses be responsible for providing employees with up to 14 days of paid time off.  The Chamber made it clear that new mandates will make it harder for businesses to meet their employees’ actual needs rather than those thought up by others.  Furthermore, if the Council is truly focused on employees, it must minimize expensive tracking and regulatory burdens to ensure limited funds are actually spent on providing benefits rather than administration.

Thankfully, enough of the Council heard these concerns to streamline the tracking and incorporate flexibility.  The 3-day ordinance passed by Council also allows for employers and employees with unique needs options like on-call pay programs, shift swapping, minimum hours worked, and front loaded benefits.

While this phase of the paid leave discussion has wrapped up, we are preparing for the next round.  Unusual for Tacoma, the Council has decided to implement a rule making process after passing the Ordinance meaning there are numerous questions about the details.  Once these rules are published, we will be hosting sessions to get businesses up to speed.  At a minimum, all businesses should plan on reviewing their personnel policies and handbooks to ensure they meet the allowable usage requirements in the ordinance.

Previously, the Chamber has shared status updates on this issue.  We will continue to provide updates as we can.

Final Reading on Mandatory Paid Leave

The Chamber has been actively working on the Tacoma City Council's Mandatory Paid Leave Ordinance (link). Now the Council has placed a draft ordinance on their agenda for final reading on Tuesday, January 27th at 5PM. The proposal requires all businesses operating that are located in or doing business in the City of Tacoma to provide 3 days of paid time off to every employee. However with the final reading tomorrow night, they could amend the ordinance in any way. Some Councilmembers are actively working to more than double this requirement to 7 days of paid leave and make it more difficult to track hours and prevent abuse. Join with other business leaders and share with your Councilmembers how this ordinance, and particularly these proposed amendments, will impact your business. Sign up for public comment to express how this will affect you. Click the following link for procedures to speak at the City Council Meeting (link).   The meeting will be held at Tacoma City Council Chambers, 747 Market Street, First Floor, Tacoma, WA 98402 on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.  If you can't attend, please contact your councilmembers directly. Their emails and phone numbers are at: http://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_council

Minimum Required Paid Leave Moves Toward Adoption 1/27 @ 5PM

Before the end of 2014, we highlighted some of the work Tacoma City Council was doing on a paid leave ordinance, including a copy of the ordinance (link).

As it currently stands, the ordinance would require all businesses operating within the City limits to offer 24 hours of paid leave to each employee each year with some rollover.

Some Councilmembers are actively working to more than double this to 56 hours of paid leave as well as making it more difficult to track hours and prevent abuse.

Now is the time to share with your Councilmembers how this ordinance, and particularly these proposed amendments, will impact your business.

Please join us on Tuesday, January 27th @ 5PM at the Tacoma City Council meeting for public comment on this ordinance.

If you'd like more information on how to participate in the meeting or provide comments, please contact David Schroedel, the Chamber's Metropolitan Development Director, at 253.682.1723 or davids@tacomachamber.org

Updated Tacoma Required Minimum Paid Leave Ordinance Available

Last week we posted a reminder that the Tacoma City Council would be considering whether or not to require businesses operating within city limits to provide a minimum amount of paid leave to all employees.  Well, it took a marathon Tacoma City Council Meeting (3 hours & 59 minutes exactly), where the Council heard from about 40 members of the public on the issue of paid leave.  The vast majority of the speakers supported Mayor Strickland's move forward on this ordinance, but nearly everyone was interested in some modification of the proposal.  Suggestions ranged from making the program voluntary to increasing the mandate to more than 2 weeks of paid time off.

When it came time for councilmembers to share their thoughts, they too had widely differing opinions on the issue.  In the end, there seemed to be consensus among councilmembers that a required paid leave policy for businesses is better suited to state or federal government implementation, thus minimizing issues of borders, competitive disadvantages between cities, and vastly differing rules within a region.

Both Mayor Strickland and Councilmember Mello had proposed amendments to the ordinance.  The amendments and votes were as follows [Councilmember Boe had to leave before the amendments could be voted on]:

1. Councilmember Mello: Requiring public hearing on rules proposed to implement ordinance [passed 8-0]
2. Councilmember Mello: Requiring businesses to rollover up to 56 hours of leave from year to year [failed 3-5; Ayes: Ibsen, Mello, Woodards]
3. Mayor Strickland: Giving businesses the option to front load hours rather than accruing based on hours worked [passed 8-0]
4. Mayor Strickland: Requiring businesses to rollover up to 24 hours of leave from year to year [passed 6-0; Ayes: Strickland, Campbell, Lonergan, Thoms, Walker, Woodards]
5. Mayor Strickland: Adding clarifying language that businesses have the option to provide more leave at their discretion [passed 8-0]
6. Mayor Strickland proposed an amendment for a premium pay option, but this was tabled since a hard copy of the amendment was not available.  It will likely return at final reading.

As we look at where this leaves the ordinance, they added flexibility for businesses to provide employees a lump sum of paid leave [good] but now require businesses to rollover hours, complicating the tracking [bad].  There are some other minor changes along the way, but the final reading will likely shake things up some more.  Final reading of the ordinance will be on January 27th at 5PM.  If you can't attend, we encourage you to share your thoughts with us and your councilmembers directly.  Councilmembers' emails and phone numbers can be found at: http://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_council

If you are interested in learning more about this ordinance, please contact our office at 253.627.2175.  The full text of the amended ordinance can be downloaded here.  

Tacoma Council Officially Considers Minimum Required Paid Leave

Last week we shared that the City of Tacoma would consider requiring all businesses to provide paid time off for employees (link).

Now the Council has placed a draft ordinance on their agenda for first reading tomorrow night.  This means any time after tomorrow they could adopt or amend it.  Tomorrow we hope to hear about any proposed changes, good or bad, and what councilmembers think of them.

The Chamber is sharing its concerns over tracking, employer protections, and one size fits all employees/employers solutions, but the council needs to hear from you & how this would impact your business.  Business leaders can sign up for public comment and express how this ordinance will affect you or simply join us in showing support of the business community. 

The meeting will be held in Tacoma City Council Chambers, 747 Market Street, First Floor, Tacoma, WA 98402 at 5:00 p.m.  If you can't attend, please contact your councilmembers directly.  Their emails and phone numbers are at: http://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_council

Tacoma Mandatory Paid Time Off

Last week, the Tacoma City Council announced it would take up the issue of requiring businesses to provide paid time off for all employees.  As reported by the The News Tribune, this paid time off would be available for employees to use for illness; family illness; public health closures; seeking legal assistance; personal or family domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking issues; or bereavement.

While there are still many questions surrounding how many of the details would work, the draft ordinance requires that all employers (except those with unions who waive the requirement) provide 24 hours a year of leave to employees working 960 hours or more.  This is significant progress from the earlier reports of proposals of up to 14 days per year, though the Chamber continues to have reservations about creating local labor laws on a city-by-city basis and the challenges in tracking between jurisdictions.

(For more on some of the challenges, please see our debate on Northwest Now on KBTC [Chamber President & CEO, Tom Pierson starts at 5:34].)

If you have thoughts on this proposal, please contact your councilmembers.  Their emails and phone numbers are at: http://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_council

Tacoma Council Scorecard for 3Q 2014

As a regional leader among Puget Sound business organizations, the Chamber seeks cooperation on economic and quality of life issues. Representing community businesses, we advocate for solutions, educate policy makers and leverage the collective interests of over 1,600 unified members.

Click on the image for a larger view
CLICK HERE for a pdf copy of the scorecard

Our scorecard examines actual votes – rather than testimony or rhetoric or behind the scenes work – on legislation, where the Chamber has articulated its position and engaged staff, elected officials, businesses and other stakeholders in the discussion.

While these votes do not tell the full story of the Chamber’s or elected officials' advocacy on the issue, they do highlight consistencies or inconsistencies between Chamber membership and civic leadership on the broad array of votes taken.

We recognize that votes taken are only one part of the picture of an engaged, business friendly City and encourage businesses to get to know their representatives beyond this scorecard.