King County Council Wage Equity Testimony Script

 Intro

Good Morning Councilmembers,

 My name is [name], and I am the [position title] at [agency name].

 I am here today to speak in favor of the recommendations contained in the University of Washington School of Social Work wage equity report. Low wages are preventing [agency name] from being able to fulfill our mission.

 [insert a story here from your program that speaks to the challenges of providing quality community services. Talk about low staffing and high turnover due to low wages and the impact that has on your ability to provide services. This section should contain 120-140 words, or 6-8 sentences.}

Example 1: Neighborhood House:

“In the fall of 2019, Neighborhood House had 27 vacancies; the start of school had to be postponed twice because we didn’t have qualified staff.  Wage inequity is perpetuating a long-term staffing crisis that has lasting impacts on our children’s future.

 To give just one example, we enrolled a 3-year-old child with an undiagnosed developmental and speech delay into our preschool.  The team worked all year to gain the trust of her mother, who eventually agreed to screening with the school district.  Unfortunately, that child’s teacher left the sector for better pay. The child started the following school year with new teachers, and ended up leaving our program within the first few weeks.”

 Example 2: Compass Housing Alliance:

“Compass Housing Alliance is struggling to meet the needs of unhoused people because we are struggling to meet the needs of our staff. We have more than one staff member who works full-time and still qualifies to live in our housing facilities. Our case managers are frequently asked to work back-to-back 24-hour shifts just to keep our doors open. Our staff often must take a second job just to make ends meet.

 These extreme working conditions influenced the decision not to renew our contract with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. Last year, we were activated for overnight or 24-hour shelter more than 50 times in the 4th quarter. We cannot sustain that level of wear and tear on our already overstretched staff. This represents a loss of more than half the city’s emergency winter shelter capacity from last year.”

 Outro

 Low wages for human service workers are impacting everyone who calls King County home. This wage gap needs to be closed for King County to be a safe, welcoming place for individuals, businesses, and families. The recommendations in this report offer a path forward in building a safe, sustainable community where everyone has an opportunity to survive and thrive. Thank you for your time.