SEATTLE OFFICE OF LABOR STANDARDS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS COMMUNITY OUTREACH & EDUCATION FUND
Application Deadline: Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, 3:00pm
The Community Outreach and Education Fund provides funding to community organizations to increase workers’ awareness and understanding of rights provided by Seattle’s labor standards. OLS seeks to partner with community to facilitate outreach and education, provide individualized services to workers in Seattle, and develop collaborative approaches to enforcement.
While all workers are at risk for workplace violations, data shows that low-wage workers experience the highest rates of workplace violations. Demographic populations most likely to occupy low-wage jobs and experience workplace violations include:
- Black workers
- Indigenous workers and workers from tribal communities
- Latino workers
- Workers of color
- Immigrant and refugee workers
- LGBTQ+ workers
- Women workers
- Workers with disabilities
- Veterans
- Young workers
The Fund seeks to establish and grow collaborative relationships with community-based organizations to achieve the following: Increase workers’ knowledge and understanding of the rights provided by Seattle’s labor standards through methods that are:
- community centered,
- culturally relevant,
- accessible, and
- language specific.
- Expand workers’ access to resources to enforce labor standards and ensure their rights are protected.
- Build capacity among community organizations to provide labor standards services and information to a diverse range of workers.
Increase workers’ knowledge and understanding of the rights provided by
Seattle’s labor standards through methods that are:
- community centered,
- culturally relevant,
- accessible, and
- language specific.
- Expand workers’ access to resources to enforce labor standards and ensure their
- rights are protected.
Build capacity among community organizations to provide labor standards
services and information to a diverse range of workers.
5.1.1 Background on Fund and Focus Populations
The Community Outreach and Education Fund provides funding to community organizations to increase workers’ awareness and understanding of rights provided by Seattle’s labor standards. OLS seeks to partner with community to facilitate outreach and education, provide individualized services to workers in Seattle, and develop collaborative approaches to enforcement. While all workers are at risk for workplace violations, data shows that low-wage workers experience the highest rates of workplace violations. Demographic populations most likely to occupy low-wage jobs and experience workplace violations include:
5.1.2 Approach
The Fund seeks to establish and grow collaborative relationships with community-based
organizations to achieve the following:
5.2 Service Strategies
The Seattle Office of Labor Standards seeks proposals for innovative and engaging outreach and education strategies to help low-wage workers fully understand their rights and provide supportive resources to assist workers in formal and informal channels to resolve their claims under the law.
New in this RFP cycle: The growing number of Seattle Labor Standards has drastically expanded the number of workers covered by these protections. To ensure all covered workers are receiving assistance, OLS has created different service strategy options. These service strategies are intended to create more specialization of services for different communities of workers within Seattle. OLS seeks to fund multiple service strategies and contract with a varied group of consultant organizations to serve diverse communities and geographic areas of Seattle. Applicants may apply for more than one service strategy. (For example, an organization may have a deep connection with both domestic workers and hotel workers. That organization may submit two different service strategy proposals that address their outreach and organizing work with each community.)
All service strategies shall be responsible for conducting outreach and education related to:
• Minimum Wage
• Wage Theft
• Paid Sick and Safe Time
• Fair Chance Employment
• Commuter Benefits Ordinance
• Independent Contractor Protections
1. Broad-Based Labor Standards:
Provides broad-based outreach and education that covers all 15 current Seattle Labor Standards and, if passed, the App-Based Workers Deactivation Ordinance.
Consultant agrees to negotiate with OLS over the impact of additional labor standards enacted during this funding cycle to the existing scope of work.
2. Retail & Restaurant Workers:
Provides focused outreach and education to workers within the retail and food service sectors.
In addition to the 6 labor standards above, this service strategy will provide detailed training and assistance regarding the Seattle Secure Scheduling Ordinance for covered workers as well as the Cannabis Employee Job Retention Ordinance for covered workers.
Consultants will also be responsible for outreach and education related to labor standards enacted during the course of this funding cycle if the new ordinance(s) directly
affects the service strategy focus population. E.g., a new retail or restaurant specific ordinance. Consultant shall negotiate with OLS over the impact to the existing scope of work.
3. Hotel Workers:
Provides focused outreach and education to workers within the hotel and ancillary hospitality services sectors.
In addition to the 6 labor standards above, this service strategy will provide detailed training and assistance regarding the Seattle Hotel Employees and Ancillary
Employees suite of Labor Standards.
Consultants will also be responsible for outreach and education related to labor standards enacted during the course of this funding cycle if the new ordinance(s) directly affects the service strategy focus population. E.g., a new hotel specific ordinance. Consultant shall negotiate with OLS over the impact to the existing scope of work.
4. Domestic Workers:
Provides focused outreach and education to domestic workers.
In addition to the 6 labor standards above, this service strategy will provide detailed training and assistance regarding the Seattle Domestic Workers Ordinance for covered workers.
Consultants will also be responsible for outreach and education related to labor standards enacted during the course of this funding cycle if the new ordinance(s) directly
affects the service strategy focus population. E.g., a new domestic worker specific ordinance. Consultant shall negotiate with OLS over the impact to the existing scope of work.
5. App Based (Gig) workers
Provides focused outreach and education to app-based workers.
In addition to the 6 labor standards above, this service strategy will provide detailed training and assistance regarding our new App-Based Worker PSST, App-Based
Worker Minimum Compensation, and, if signed into law, the App-Based Worker Deactivation Ordinance.
Consultants will also be responsible for outreach and education related to labor standards enacted during the course of this funding cycle if the new ordinance(s) directly affects the service strategy focus population. E.g., a appbased worker specific ordinance. Consultant shall negotiate with OLS over the impact to the existing scope of work.
6. Construction & Trade Workers:
Provides focused outreach and education to construction trades workers.
Provides detailed training and assistance to relevant worker populations regarding labor standards protections for construction industry, including the six labor standards listed above.
Consultants will also be responsible for outreach and education related to labor standards enacted during this funding cycle if the new ordinance(s) directly affects the service strategy focus population. E.g., a new construction or trades specific ordinance. Consultant shall negotiate with OLS over the impact to the existing scope of work.
7. Art & Entertainment Workers:
Provides focused outreach to workers within the arts and entertainment industry sectors.
Provides detailed training and assistance to relevant worker populations regarding labor standards protections for the arts and entertainment industry sectors, including the six labor standards listed above.
Consultants will also be responsible for outreach and education related to labor standards enacted during the course of this funding cycle if the new ordinance(s) directly affects the service strategy focus population. E.g., a new arts or entertainment sector specific ordinance. Consultant shall negotiate with OLS over the impact to the existing scope of work.
