Let’s talk honestly about Olympia’s Prop 1 and its unintended consequences | Opinion

I’m a lifelong union member, raised in a family of union leaders. I’m proud of that heritage. I’ve fought for working people my entire career, through collective bargaining, community workforce agreements, and policies that ensure local tax dollars support local workers.

That’s why I respect the intent behind Olympia’s Proposition 1 (the Workers’ Bill of Rights) and the people who support it. But good intentions don’t automatically make good law. And in this case, the details matter.

Earlier this year, Olympia planned to study the impacts of Prop 1. But once the signatures qualified Prop 1 for the ballot, state law forced the city to cancel that research. From that moment, city staff and council members were restricted by state rules from offering any analysis that might appear “for” or “against.”

That means voters are being asked to approve a sweeping, 8,000-word labor ordinance with no official fiscal study, no implementation plan, and no amendments allowed once it passes. Council and staff have said they can’t discuss its details for fear of penalties. The city is making one of the biggest economic policy decisions in Olympia’s history blindfolded.

Prop 1 divides employers into “large,” “medium,” and “small.” Any organization with more than 500 total employees (including local chapters of national nonprofits such as the YMCA or Boys & Girls Club) would be treated as a large employer and required to raise wages immediately to $20 per hour and follow complex scheduling mandates.

Those rules will raise operating costs for childcare, youth programs and community services that already run on tight margins. When those costs go up, families will pay more. Olympia’s childcare costs are already among the highest in the state. Because many of these nonprofits operate regionally, the ripple effects won’t stop at Olympia’s borders, they’ll hit Lacey, Tumwater, and the entire county.

The Thurston Economic Development Council’s Center for Business Innovation analyzed Olympia’s labor market in 2024. It found that the minimum wage of $16.28 (it’s now $16.66) already equals 58% of the city’s median wage, one of the highest ratios in the nation.

When a community’s minimum wage rises above 60% of its median wage, research shows it creates structural employment risks, lost hours, job reductions and more automation. Raising Olympia’s minimum wage to $20 would push that ratio far beyond 60%, placing us among the highest globally.

The EDC warns that this could hit retail, hospitality, food service and nonprofit sectors hardest, industries still recovering from the pandemic. Teenagers, who make up about 28% of minimum-wage earners, are most likely to lose hours or jobs.

The EDC recommends a balanced wage tied to local data (around $16.80/hour) to lift incomes without destabilizing employment. Their conclusion is blunt: Olympia doesn’t have an income problem; it has a cost problem. Housing, childcare, and energy prices are what’s crushing families, and a sudden wage spike won’t fix that.

If Olympia enacts rules neighboring cities don’t share, jobs and investment will shift outside city limits. One local restaurant told the Chamber of Commerce this summer that it’s pausing plans to buy property in Olympia because of Prop 1 and is now looking in Lacey or Tumwater instead.

When that happens, Olympia loses not only the business but also the sales- and B&O-tax revenue.

Prop 1 would not apply to state, county, port, or tribal properties (or the businesses operating on them) because city ordinances can’t override higher jurisdictions. That means establishments on Port of Olympia property such as Anthony’s Homeport or the Farmers Market, could avoid the mandates while downtown restaurants would be bound by them. Olympia would compete with itself, one side of the street under strict new rules, the other exempt. Predictive scheduling might sound appealing, but for hospitals, utilities or weather-dependent businesses, rigid rules can create chaos. Emergencies, storm repairs and seasonal changes don’t respect a 14-day calendar.

When I ran a small pizza shop years ago, I learned employees valued flexibility, trading shifts and adjusting for family life more than fixed schedules. Prop 1 would remove that flexibility and penalize employers for accommodating real-life changes.

Prop 1 provides no funding for enforcement or administration. It also includes a private right of action, allowing anyone to sue employers directly, forcing them to prove their innocence even when no violation has occurred. Seattle’s experience with similar laws produced costly class-action lawsuits that drained money from wages and community investment. Most small businesses can’t afford that fight; they settle or shut down.

Olympia now contracts with the county for court services. If Prop 1 passes, it could flood those courts with civil actions and delay justice for every jurisdiction that relies on them.

Olympia’s mayor and most of the city council recently voted to oppose Proposition 1, citing its complexity, cost, and risk to small businesses and nonprofits. They’re not anti-worker, they’re pro-reality.

We can absolutely raise standards and improve pay, but we need to do it with clear, data-driven policy, not a one-size-fits-all ordinance that can’t be amended.

It’s easy to support something called a “Workers’ Bill of Rights.” But catchy names don’t guarantee good outcomes. The Patriot Act sounded noble too.

Olympia needs thoughtful, transparent policy that supports workers and sustains the jobs, nonprofits and small businesses that make our city thrive. Let’s have that conversation, respectfully, factually, and together.

Wayne Fournier is a Thurston County Commissioner, former mayor of Tenino and a longtime union member.

This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 10:27 AM.