Friday, October 2, 2026
The City of Olympia is set to restart its workers’ affordability and protections initiative after the effort was paused during the Proposition 1 campaign last year.
The Olympia City Council will receive an update on a revised, multi-phased process at a 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, July 14.
According to a staff report, the city council committed in 2026 to continue research and a community dialogue on workers’ affordability and protections following the defeat of Proposition 1 in the November 2025 election. The findings from the process will help determine whether the council pursues future action.
The discussion began in 2024, when the Olympia Finance Committee considered issues related to minimum wage, predictive scheduling and workplace safety.
Many individuals said the process was moving too quickly and people most affected would not have sufficient opportunity to participate. In response, the council directed staff to slow the effort and limit work in 2025 to scoping and research.
The process was paused in mid-2025 after a citizen-led initiative, Proposition 1, qualified for the November ballot. The measure, promoted by supporters as a “Worker’s Bill of Rights,” proposed increasing Olympia’s minimum wage while requiring predictive scheduling practices and enhanced workplace safety protections.
Voters rejected the measure. However, the city council directed staff to resume research and public engagement on affordability and protections.
Assistant City Manager Stacey Ray is scheduled to present a revised approach that divides the project into phases.
The first phase, running from July through September, focuses on defining issues through research, data gathering and stakeholder listening sessions.
A city council study session in September calls for council members to review preliminary findings, refine the project’s scope, and determine how the next phase of community engagement should proceed.
The second phase, scheduled from October through December, includes additional research and stakeholder listening sessions. Staff would then return to the council in the first quarter of 2027 to consider potential next steps.
According to the staff report, the phased approach is intended to address earlier concerns about the pace of the process while providing sufficient time for public participation on what city officials describe as a complex and high-profile issue.
The report notes workers’ affordability remains a significant concern in the Olympia area. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a single adult with no children in the Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater region needs to earn $26.12 per hour working full time to meet basic living expenses.
The report also cites United Way’s ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) research, which found financial hardship disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous and People of Color in Washington.
City staff estimate the first phase of research and stakeholder engagement would cost approximately $20,000, which would be covered through the City Manager’s Office professional services budget.
Funding for later phases would be determined after the city council provides additional direction.
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longtimeresident
First, I would like to see apartment rental charges broken down so the amount of property tax being paid by renters in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater is transparent. In a previous article the Olympian mentioned that 50% of the residents of Olympia are renters (I assume both in apartments and rental homes). Then how about the average cost of utilities. Maybe both of these expenses are fast driving up the cost of renting in our area. As a result, if any of the cities ask for a property tax increase they are going to get a resounding "NO". The emphasis on wages needs to coupled with good information about two of the costs that I have mentioned above. Only then will we be able to tell if greed is part of the equation.
Monday, July 13 Report this
HappyOlympian
Boooo, the folks employed doing the work on this are ripping taxpayers off. We voted this pile of bunk down. This just like when we killed the RFA and then the city still tried to find a way to create the entity on the side hoping no one would find out. Too many vampires employed by city of Olympia.
Monday, July 13 Report this
KentReister
While the proposition failed in November 2025, it didn't fail by very much. 47.81% YES to 52.19% NO. I think that shows that there are a lot of Olympians that are interested in this.
Tuesday, July 14 Report this
BettyVerdammt
HappyOlympian, is this the same Stacey Ray who chaired a police accountability committee, then later divorced after having an affair with the police chief? Maybe she will bring the same integrity to a workers’ affordability and protections initiative? Or maybe there are too many vampires in the city manager's office?
Tuesday, July 14 Report this
Southsoundguy
Some democracy...
Tuesday, July 14 Report this
CobraCommander
Southsoundguy suddenly cares about democracy
Thursday, July 16 Report this