Resolution in Opposition to Anti-Loitering Legislation in Seattle. 

August 21, 2024

WHEREAS, since the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent national anti-racist uprising, MLK Labor has affirmed its commitment to an anti-racist labor movement, and to working in alignment with the BIPOC Community and African American Leadership to divest from current law enforcement structure and policy and invest instead in non-violent, non-coercive, unarmed civilian jobs supporting community services, health, public welfare, parks & recreation, and housing and community development and that layoffs of these jobs be avoided at all costs;

WHEREAS, Seattle City Council’s proposed creation of Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) zones, criminalization of prostitution loitering, creation of a Stay Out of Area Prostitution (SOAP) Zone, and  the Council’s newly approved contract with South Correctional Entity (SCORE) to jail more people for misdemeanor offenses will disproportionately impact people of people of color, LGBTQI2s+ people, people already experiencing the violence of poverty, and other marginalized communities;

WHEREAS, SCORE, SODA and SOAP directly impact freedom of movement, public accommodation, equitable access to resources, and due process by way of restricting people who have been accused of drug or prostitution offenses from certain areas of the city;

WHEREAS, Incarceration of marginalized people has proven ineffective in solving the problems poverty, injustice, oppression, and public safety;

WHEREAS, Unionized social services, homeless service, and human services workers employed by nonprofit agencies who use evidence based strategies like harm-reduction, housing first, and permanent supportive housing are chronically under-paid for their labor and increasing for ineffective, carceral interventions like SOAP, SODA, & SCORE risks diverting funding away from these workers, especially when the city of Seattle is facing an approximately $250 million general fund budget deficit in 2025;

WHEREAS, the Martin Luther King County Labor Council delegates include union members and labor leaders from housing, mental health, shelter, outreach, and other community and social service organizations;

WHEREAS, Reductions in funding to vital community resources have led to layoffs this year in Seattle’s non-profit sector serving the communities targeted by these ordinances;

WHEREAS, it is the Labor Council’s mission to further the cause of social justice throughout our community which is inclusive of the fight for affordable housing, equitable education, community spaces, and access to mental, medical and dental care.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that MLK Labor will oppose SODA, SOAP, the prostitution loitering ordinances and share the Labor Movement’s opposition with all 9 councilmembers, Mayor Harrell, and all MLK Labor Affiliates.