For Immediate Release
Contact Information
Cynthia Santana
Phone: 206-256-5219
Email: cynthia.santana@seattle.gov
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Seattle Office of Labor Standards Announces Request for Proposal for Two Year $3 Million Dollar Community Outreach and Education Fund
Expanded Funding Opportunities to Broaden Reach
Seattle, WA (August 15, 2023) – The Office of Labor Standards (OLS) announces the availability of $3 million dollars in funding to expand outreach, education, and technical assistance to Seattle workers about the City’s labor standards. OLS will award two-year contracts totaling $1.5 million dollars per year for 2024 and 2025 to fund local community organizations to assist low wage working communities with the highest rates of workplace violations, including BIPOC workers and immigrant and refugee workers. The 24-month contracting period begins in January 2024. The final amount is subject to the annual budgeting process.
To view the full Request for Proposal and application requirements, including optional presentation dates, visit the OLS website at https://www.seattle.gov/laborstandards/funding/coef-2024-2025-request-for-proposal.
For the first time, organizations will be able to select one or more service strategies to implement during the 2024-2025 funding cycle. These service strategies will provide more tailored services to industry sectors and focus on certain sector-specific labor standards including:
- Broad-Based Labor Standards
- Retail & Restaurant Workers
- Hotel Workers
- Domestic Workers
- App-Based (Gig) Workers
- Construction and Trades Workers Arts and Entertainment Workers
“Seattle is advancing some of the nation’s strongest worker protections in industries across the city – and ensuring workers know and understand their rights allows them to go even further. The Community Outreach and Education Fund connects workers with information they need about their rights in a timely, culturally, and linguistically appropriate manner,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “We are proud to have the ability to fund community organizations who can best reach these workers and provide a lifeline to successful outreach and education.”
Since the first Community Outreach and Education Fund (COEF) cycle in 2015, community-based organizations educated tens of thousands of workers and provided technical assistance, including intake and complaint resolution services, and deepened partnerships between community organizations and OLS.
“OLS is excited to offer new innovative strategies to reach more workers across diverse industries. OLS has grown from administering four labor standards when the COEF fund was created to administering 17 different labor standards. This growth in our mandate requires a change in approach for our next series of COEF partners. We count on trusted community organizations to ensure workers in Seattle are educated about their rights in the workplace,” said OLS Director Steven Marchese.
To learn more about the COEF fund and past recipients please visit the COEF webpage here.
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