Item Number:      7a_motion 
Meeting Date:   October 13,2020 

1                                                   MOTION 2020-19: 
2                                 A MOTION OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION 
3 
4                           To direct the Executive Director to examine Port operations
5                           and policies for sources of racial bias and discrimination and
6                           to develop programs and policies eliminating inequity in all
7                           aspects of the organization. 
8 
9 
10                                                   PROPOSED 
11                                               OCTOBER 13, 2020 
12 
13                                                 INTRODUCTION 
14    The mission of the Port of Seattle is to promote economic opportunities and quality of life in the
15    region by advancing trade, travel, commerce, and job creation in an equitable, accountable, and
16    environmentally responsible manner. The Port of Seattle's Century Agenda reaffirms our
17    commitment to creating opportunities and economic prosperity for all in the region by calling for
18    the Port to be a model for equity, diversity, and inclusion. 
19 
20    The Port  of Seattle Commission demonstrated its commitment to non-discrimination with the
21    passage of Motion 2018-06, which called for the Port to develop and implement an equity pilot
22    program in 2018 that would support the development of a portwide equity policy directive. With
23    that guidance, the Port established the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI) in 2019.
24    OEDI's mission is  to build capacity across the organization to address institutional oppression
25    and to transform Port policies, practices, and processes. In 2020, to support this effort,  OEDI
26    presented their 2019-2020 strategic plan and the Commission established the Equity and
27    Workforce Development (EWFD) Standing Committee. 
28 
29    The Port has made progress and taken important steps to become a more equitable organization
30    and recognizes its shared responsibility and commitment to the fight against racism and
31    discrimination in our society. However, in recent months we have been reminded again about 
32    the difficult reality of the deep roots of racism in our culture. The tragic deaths of our black
33    brothers and sisters around the country have demonstrated that we need to recommit with a
34    sense of urgency moving forward our racial equity work and to center the need to uproot anti-
35    black racism. The Port will continue to urgently reflect on and tackle structural racism and
36    discrimination faced by our employees and communities. 
37 
38    The Port's commitment to non-discrimination and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) must be
39    supported by aligned policies and procedures throughout the institution. This motion takes
40    additional steps beyond what the OEDI Strategic Plan has set out to achieve by directing the Port
41    to align those policies and procedures which will result in the development of a comprehensive
42    policy. This will establish the Port, locally and nationally, as a leader in this work, illustrating our
43    commitment to act, learn, and progress as an organization that values and centers EDI,
44    accountability, and transparency. 

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45                                              TEXT OF THE MOTION 
46    The Port of Seattle Executive Director and the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion have 
47    responded to the recent national uprisings in a very intentional and impactful way that enabled
48    portwide unity, healing and positive institutional change. This motion is intended to support that
49    work while elevating the work for greater transparency, public accountability, and ensuring
50    Commission engagement and oversight. 
51 
52    To support this work, starting January 2021 the Executive Director, or designee, shall, conduct
53    the following actions: 
54 
55        1.  Support the efforts of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to convene our
56            employees and offer learnings and deeper analysis of anti-black racism. 
57            a.  Support and uplift the Black Lives Matter call to action and engage employees in this
58                work. 
59 
60        2.  Require racial equity and unconscious bias training for Commissioners, the Executive
61            Director, the Executive Leadership Team, supervisors, managers, and employees. 
62            a.  Create curriculum for trainings, tailoring as needed based on different audiences. 
63            b.  Report to  the Commission on staff participation,feedback,  and learnings  from
64                trainings in October 2021. 
65 
66        3.  Establish  an  internal  Change  Team  with  representatives  from  each  division  and
67            department within the Port to assess the current state of equity, diversity, and inclusion 
68            for all teams. 
69            a.   Define the assessment through portwide engagement.   The assessment will be
70                conducted by the Change Team, who are internal stakeholders that represent each
71                division at the Port, as well as representatives from the Development and Diversity
72                Council and employee resource groups (ERG).
73            b.  Assessment as a baseline. The assessment shall be the basis for a landscape equity
74                analysis of each division. That analysis would provide a quantitative and qualitative
75                baseline for Key Performance Indicators and equity metrics that each team will focus
76                on for the year ahead. 
77            c.  The assessment shall be completed by October 30, 2021. 
78            d.  Beginning January 2022, each department or division will submit an annual report to
79                OEDI who will then provide a consolidated report to the Commission on progress
80                made toward equity goals on an annual basis. 
81 
82        4.  In addition to the portwide assessment conducted by the Change Team, OEDI will
83            consider the policies and issues that have been identified by Port employees as the most
84            challenging barriers to fairly accessing resources and opportunities at the Port. 
85            a.  The assessment shall include a review of: (1) employee development, promotion and
86                compensation; (2) recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion of black, indigenous,
87                and people of color (BIPOC) portwide; (3) policies and practices impacting BIPOC
88                contractors and WMBEs, with a particular focus on firms owned by black descendants 

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89                of  slaves; (4)   contracting  and  procurement  policies  and  practices  impacting
90                community organizations' and contractors' access to Port resources; and (5) other
91                areas identified through OEDI employee engagement. 
92            b.  The assessment shall recommend a set of strategies and measurable outcomes that
93                will address identified barriers. 
94            c.  The assessment shall be completed by October 30, 2021. 
95            d.  The EWFD Committee shall use the assessments conducted by the Change Team and
96                OEDI to inform the development of an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy Directive 
97                per Motion 2018-06. 
98 
99        5.  Create a Community Advisory Board to ensure the Port is accountable to the public in the
100            integration of equity principles into the Port's work. The Community Advisory Board shall, 
101            among other clear deliverables to be developed by OEDI: 
102            a.  Using the Equity Index, work with OEDI to inform the use of Port resources and
103                investments. 
104            b.  Inform the assessment process and provide policy recommendations to the Port on
105                addressing inequities. 
106            c.  Advise Port leadership (Port Commission and Leadership) on implementation of
107                internal and external Port equity efforts. 
108 
109 
110                                    STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION 
111    Systemic oppression and institutionalized racism have existed in our country since its founding.
112    Events on a national level propelled by the outrage of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis
113    police  one of the most recent murders in a long history of unjust taking of black lives in our
114    country  and locally actions taken against those protesting against racism and inequality have
115    highlighted the long ignored structural bias and institutional discrimination that is present but
116    not visible to all in our institution. Throughout American history, black, indigenous, people of
117    color and immigrants have led the struggle for equity and social justice. From voting rights to civil
118    rights to LGBTQ rights, BIPOC and immigrant communities have fought for generations to
119    strengthen our nation and perfect our democracy. This moment builds upon the immeasurable
120    sacrifice and contributions of those communities while recognizing that we all benefit from the
121    eradication of social injustice.
122 
123    Bias and oppression are embedded in our society, systems, and our organization. By failing to
124    acknowledge inequities, we play a role in perpetuating them. We can and must do better. It is
125    time for the Port of Seattle to look introspectively and do its part in tackling these systemic
126    inequities. To achieve equitable outcomes for all our communities, we must be accountable for
127    equitable policies that ensure racial, social, environmental, and economic justice are achieved in
128    principles, strategies, practices, and projects. One of the most important steps in becoming a
129    more equitable organization is to provide more opportunities and possibilities for communities
130    to provide input into programmatic, policy, and investment decisions. 
131 

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132    OEDI created an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion strategic plan that includes a robust combination
133    of long-term, short-term, transactional, and transformational strategies. To create this plan, OEDI
134    held a series of six roundtable discussions in 2019 and 2020 with representatives from over 65
135    organizations. OEDI captured input from more than 800 Port staff. 
136 
137    The  Port  of  Seattle  Executive  Director  and  the  OEDI  have  begun  to  implement  the
138    recommendations as outlined in the EDI 2019-2020 Strategic Plan by employing a framework
139    developed by the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)  Normalize, Organize, and
140    Operationalize: 
141        1.  Normalize: Foster discussions about race and equity at the Port by having leadership,
142            management, and all staff model behavior, hosting learning events, and setting the tone
143            for leadership and employee dialogues. 
144        2.  Organize: Build infrastructure and capacity to implement equity practices by creating
145            policy and completing an equity planning process. This process will include establishing
146            definitions, vision and values and creating staff capacity, and strengthening relationships
147            with community partners. 
148        3.  Operationalize: Develop all the elements that allow equity principles to be fully integrated
149            into  day-to-day  operations  including  budgeting  with  an  equity  lens,  creating
150            accountability mechanisms, and ensuring engagement by both Port staff and the public. 
151    This approach has positioned the Port to effectively respond to the recent national uprisings in a
152    very intentional and impactful way that enabled portwide unity, healing and positive institutional
153    change, and underscored the significant progress made toward becoming a more equitable and
154    inclusive organization. 
155 
156    The direction of this motion builds upon the EDI Strategic Plan, the 2018 Equity Motion, and input
157    by Port staff, including the Port's Development and Diversity Council, Employee Resource
158    Groups, and external stakeholders. Additionally, ERGs, the Development and Diversity Council,
159    and employee caucusing groups have been instrumental in providing input and working to build
160    a culture of inclusion throughout the Port. 
161 
162    This motion acknowledges that the fight against racism and oppression is a horizontal issue and
163    should be taken into account in all areas of our policies and practices. This motion also recalls
164    that all employees and community members must  be entitled to protection from these
165    inequities, both as individuals and as a group, including positive measures for the promotion and
166    the full and equal enjoyment of their rights and benefits. 
167 
168    Despite our current economic, health, and racial justice crises, the Port maintains its commitment 
169    to  identifying  and  dismantling  structural  barriers  to  ensure  that  historically  oppressed
170    communities, particularly communities of color, have access to the resources they need to thrive.
171    Together, we will get through these trying times; a nd if we center the needs of those most

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172    impacted by these crises, we will emerge with a deeper understanding of why our social justice
173    efforts are so critical and with stronger conviction to keep them driving forward. 



















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