Resolution on the MLK Worker Innovation Center

March 20, 2025

WHEREAS, MLK Labor, Martin Luther King Jr. County Central Labor Council, through its Seattle Presidents’ Organizing Initiative (Seattle POI) program, has successfully developed an innovative workforce development initiative aimed at enhancing access to employment opportunities for all workers in the region.

WHEREAS, This program has effectively secured grant funding from various sources, including federal, county, and city funding streams, demonstrating its viability and positive impact on the community.

WHEREAS, The introduction of UnionHiringHall.org has empowered MLK Labor to advocate for improved job opportunities specifically for BIPOC residents, as well as for refugees and immigrant communities, fostering economic stability and growth.

WHEREAS, UnionHiringHall.org has over 1,000 registered users, over 50 participatory unions, representing workers at over 130 unionized employers, and provided services to over 4,500 job seekers in the lifetime of the program, educating workers at 15 events over the past year.

WHEREAS, The impending 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Labor Standards Agreement procured in anticipation thereof, have created an opportunity for MLK Labor and Seattle POI to partner with The Workers Lab to create UnTemp.org, a union labor led dispatch platform for temporary work in the professional event sector and beyond.

WHEREAS, The current 501(c)(5) Labor, Agriculture, or Horticultural Organization tax status designation of MLK Labor limits the ability to access foundation grants and other philanthropic funding streams, which are crucial, especially at this moment, for maintaining and expanding our initiatives and reaching our full potential.

WHEREAS, It is evident that we have only begun to tap into the vast opportunities available through our workforce development programs, which hold the promise of significantly benefiting our community, our unions, and their members.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That MLK Labor and Seattle POI incubate the MLK Worker Innovation Center, an MLK-adjacent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding our opportunities in the workforce development space.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That MLK Labor make the inaugural funding contribution to MLK Worker Innovation Center of $1,000, and lend support to the fundraising campaign aimed at supporting the establishment of the nonprofit and the initial programs associated with UnionHiringHall.org and the new union labor led dispatch platform, UnTemp.org.