A roundup of this week’s news.
Tuesday, April 23
Mayor’s Office Removed All New Anti-Displacement Proposals from Draft “Anti-Displacement Framework”
Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office didn’t just edit denser housing out of an early staff draft of the city’s Comprehensive Plan for future growth in Seattle (as PubliCola reported last week). He also effectively vetoed an ambitious plan to combat displacement and replaced it with a list of laws that are already in effect, a comparison between the 2023 draft of the plan, which PubliCola obtained through a records request, and the version released in March reveals.
Thursday, April 25
Nelson Bill Would Eliminate Minimum Wage for “Gig” Drivers—and Slash Workers’ Rights
Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson’s proposed bill repealing minimum pay standards for delivery drivers would go much further than just rolling back gig workers’ minimum wage: It would prohibit workers from suing, remove protections against retaliation by companies like Uber and Doordash , and strip authority from the city to enforce its own labor laws.
At Press Conference, Majority of Burien Council Demands Sheriff Enforce Camping Ban They Overturned
In a press conference that appears to have violated the state Open Public Meetings Act, a majority of the Burien City Council demanded the King County Sheriff’s Office enforce a law barring people from sleeping or “camping” during daytime hours. The only problem: That law no longer exists, because the Burien City Council replaced it with the absolute ban that the sheriff is now challenging in court.
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Friday, April 26
Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore said she will introduce legislation reinstating an old law against “prostitution loitering,” which the city council repealed unanimously in 2020. The law prohibited sex workers, described in one section of the law as “known prostitutes,” from being in any public place with the intent to “commit prostitution.”
It’s Full Speed Ahead for Nelson’s Delivery Driver Wage Reduction Bill
Introducing her legislation to roll back gig delivery drivers’ wages and legal rights, the council president said she felt a “moral obligation” to move quickly on the bill because the delivery market has been decimated after the companies imposed a $5 fee on every order. Her legislation, notably, does not repeal this fee but trusts that the companies that imposed it will do so once the proposal passes.
