City of Seattle Mayor Edward B. Murray December 14, 2015 Seattle City Council 600 Fourth Avenue, 2"d Floor Seattle, WA 98104 Dear Councilmembers, During recent debates concerning Council Bill 118499, I have been clear that I support the right of workers to organize to create a fair and just workplace. But i remain concerned that this ordinance, to which amendments continue to appear today, includes several flaws. Most notably, City costs of administering the collective bargaining process remain unknown and the Council has placed the burden of significant rulemaking on City staff. At a high level, my concerns arise because the Bill defers a number of important determinations in the collective bargaining process to rule-making by the FAS Director. Examples include the process of determining a ?qualifying driver? (drivers that qualify to collectively bargain) without providing a mechanism to access previously unshared driver data; and the process by which the FAS Director would have the nuanced responsibility to certify whether any bargained agreements meet goals identified in the legislation. Such rule?making would determine how this process functions in real-time. I have serious concerns that such key questions have not been resolved prior to potential passage of this Bill. Additionally, the cost of regulation will be significant and should be the re5ponsibility of those being regulated and not a general government expense. The Bill fails to adequately examine the true costs of these regulations, which causes me grave concern about the use of our City resources. Because Seattle is the first jurisdiction to adopt such a model, there will also be significant costs associated with defending this Bill in the courts, as well as the potential for significant delay in benefits to workers. I request you further amend the bill to address these concerns. Sincerely, Mayor Edward B. Office of the -- Seattle City Hall, Floor Tel {206) 684-4000 600 Fourth Avenue Fax: (206] 684-5360 9.0. Box 94749 Seattle, Washington 981244 749 were .