Item 7. Good Work Austin Proposal_ Addressing Unmet Needs for Goal 3 Strategies — original pdf

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Addressing Unmet Needs for Goal 3 Strategies in the Austin-Travis County Food Plan Good Work Austin (GWA) is committed to advancing the strategies outlined under Goal 3 of the Austin-Travis County Food Plan: Improving farm worker and food worker livelihoods by ensuring a safety net, defining career pathways, expanding training opportunities, and strengthening opportunities for advancement across the local food system. This proposal outlines the unmet needs required to address these strategies and the resources needed to achieve meaningful progress in FY 2025-2026. Strategy 3.1: Define the criteria for a livable wage in the food service industry to enhance the participation of restaurants and other food businesses in incentive programs using frameworks such as One Fair Wage, MIT Living Wage Calculator, or United Way's ALICE. Unmet Needs: 1. Staffing: $13,000 to fund GWA staff to utilize their evaluation expertise and data management tools to develop and adapt a livable wage framework specific to the local food system, leveraging models like One Fair Wage, Chicago’s One Fair Wage ordinance, and the MIT Living Wage Calculator. Impact: These efforts will directly benefit the over 65,000 food workers in Travis County by making it easier for businesses to begin the path to increasing wages and ensuring fair compensation practices. Phase 1 (2025-2026): 1. Research and Framework Development (30 hours): Study and adapt existing models like One Fair Wage, Chicago’s One Fair Wage ordinance, and the MIT Living Wage Calculator to the local food system. 2. Business Engagement, Data Collection and Analysis (70 hours): Engage with 50 local food businesses (with an emphasis on small businesses), and city and community partners, through meetings, interviews, and workshops to gather feedback. Gather and analyze regional data on cost of living and wages to inform the framework. 3. Documentation and Reporting (30 hours): Compile findings, feedback, and the finalized framework into a report for stakeholders. Total Estimated Hours: 130 hours. Phase 2: Implement adoption through targeted campaigns and resources for businesses to adopt living wage criteria. Provide consultation (a part of strategy 3.6) to support businesses to adopt liveable wage models and education for consumers. Strategy 3.2: Conduct a regular survey to assess needs, work environment, and career outlook to inform programs and policies affecting food and farm workers. Unmet Needs: 1. Staffing: $23,000 to fund GWA staff to utilize their evaluation expertise and data management tools to research and develop, implement, and report findings of a survey to assess needs, work environment, and career outlook to inform programs and policies affecting food and farm workers. 2. Community Engagement: $1,000 in incentives (e.g., $25 gift cards) to increase survey participation among underrepresented workers. Impact: Regular surveys will identify and address systemic issues, enhancing worker satisfaction, retention and safety, and identification of needed resources for the 65,000 food workers across the local food industry. Phase 1 (2025-2026): 1. Focus Group Facilitation (50 hours): ○ Organize and conduct focus groups with diverse stakeholders, including food and farm workers, to co-design culturally appropriate and relevant survey questions. Work in collaboration with community organizations such as Farm Share and Sustainable Food Center to recruit farm workers. 2. Survey Framework Research & Development (40 hours): ○ Identify key information to collect, the purpose of each question, and how results will be used and shared with the community. Use national frameworks such as the Chicagoʼs Tipped Worker Report 2023 to inform design. 3. Stakeholder Engagement (60 hours): ○ Collaborate with food business owners, restaurant operators, and workers to ensure participation through mechanisms like in-person outreach, multilingual communications, or digital platforms. 4. Survey Deployment Plan (50 hours): ○ Finalize survey format, privacy protocols, and an implementation plan to ensure data aggregation preserves respondent anonymity. 5. Preliminary Reporting (30 hours): ○ Share initial findings or the survey framework with participants to build trust and demonstrate how their input will be used. Total Estimated Hours for Phase 1: 230 hours Phase 2: Establish annual trends, update and deploy annual or biennially survey, and integrate findings into advocacy and training programs. Strategy 3.3: Create a commission or working group of the Austin/Travis County Food Policy Board focused on food and farm worker rights and livelihoods that will champion issues related to benefits and unfair labor practices. Unmet Needs: 1. Staffing: $10,000 to support Good Work Austin’s staff research activities for the commission's development. Impact: The Food Worker Rights Commission will empower 65,000 food workers by addressing gaps in protections like wage theft, unsafe conditions, and wrongful termination while improving workplace equity. It will serve as a bridge between workers, businesses, and policymakers, ensuring sustainable solutions and amplifying worker voices across Travis County. Phase 1 (2025-2026): Research and Planning: 1. Conduct a Landscape Analysis (25 hours): Review existing worker rights commissions in comparable cities (e.g., Los Angeles, New York, Seattle) to understand best practices and governance models. 2. Identify Gaps in Worker Protections (20 hours): Analyze Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations, unfair labor practices, worker safety concerns (e.g., heat-related risks), wage theft, and wrongful termination through stakeholder interviews and document review. 3. Engage Stakeholders (20 hours): Organize surveys or focus groups with food workers, business owners, and policymakers to gather input on priorities for the commission. 4. Develop a Feasibility Report (25 hours): Outline the potential structure, scope, and resource needs for the commission. 5. Discuss with City Officials (10 hours): Engage with the Office of the City Clerk to explore establishing a new commission or working group. Estimated Hours for Phase 1: 100 hours. Phase 2: Use research findings to formally establish the commission and begin initial operations. Strategy 3.4: Support livable wages for food workers through incentives such as rebates, tax incentives, and wage supplements for food system employers who pay a livable wage. Unmet Needs: 1. Staffing: $15,000 to support Good Work Austin’s staff research and stakeholder feedback analysis to recommend rebates, tax incentives, and wage supplements for food system employers who pay a livable wage. Impact: Identifying incentives will guide policies that encourage businesses to adopt livable wage practices through practical, evidence-based solutions. Engaging business owners and analyzing effective models from other cities will strengthen the local food economy and improve worker livelihoods for 65,000 workers. Phase 1 (2025-2026): Research and Stakeholder Engagement 1. Research Existing Incentives (40 hours): Conduct a landscape analysis of rebates, tax incentives, and wage supplements in cities such as Atlanta, Nashville, Denver, Chicago, and Seattle that encourage businesses to pay livable wages. Research living wage ladders and additional pooled services. 2. Engage Business Owners (50 hours): Organize focus groups or surveys with local food business owners to gather feedback on the feasibility and appeal of these incentives, as well as reporting requirements. 3. Compile Findings and Develop Recommendations (40 hours): Analyze research and feedback to create a comprehensive report with actionable recommendations tailored to the Austin context. 4. Share Findings (20 hours): Present findings and recommendations to stakeholders, including the community, the City of Austin Office of Sustainability, and Economic Development departments. Total Hours for Phase 1: 150 hours. Phase 2: Collaborate with city departments to pilot selected incentive programs. Develop employer reporting requirements and benchmarks to verify entitled wages are paid in full. Strategy 3.5: Establish additional support for Austin/Travis County's workforce and small business development organizations to strengthen employment and career advancement opportunities and support worker organizing across the food system. Unmet Needs: 1. Funding: $80,000 to expand Healthy Workplaces and Culinary Workforce Training, Good Work Austin career training programs, tailored to food system roles. Funding would cover program materials and staff time. 2. Physical Space: Access to training kitchens and classrooms for skill-building. Impact: Training opportunities will create career advancement for workers, reducing turnover, filling labor gaps, and boosting the local economy. By supporting worker organizing and strengthening small businesses, this work can create a more just and equitable food system where everyone thrives. Unmet Needs: ● Funding: $80,000 for staffing and program materials to expand career training programs tailored to food system roles, with a focus on: ○ Healthy Workplaces: Supporting worker and small business organizing initiatives, providing professional development for workers and owners on ethical business practices (e.g., fair wages, safe working conditions, harassment prevention, DEI) ○ Culinary Workforce Training: Expand program to support low-income individuals with barriers to employment in acquiring culinary skills and securing meaningful employment with a living wage provider. Phase 1 (2025-2026): Phase 2: 1. Healthy Workplaces: Train 250 workers and provide support to 50 small businesses. 2. Culinary Workforce Training: Train two cohorts and equip 24 participants with culinary and life skills to help them to find meaningful employment and increased income. Consider other advancement/job sustainability needs: benefits, insurance, safety net, wages paid in full. Strategy 3.6: Recognize and support businesses in the food industry that pay livable wages, support worker ownership, promote fair labor practices, and offer career pathways to their employees. Unmet Needs: 1. Funding: $150,000 to cover $50,000 in staffing and $100,000 in grants that will be distributed to businesses. Impact: By recognizing and supporting high-road businesses, it will contribute to incentivizing locally owned businesses to adopt equitable business practices. Phase 1 (2025-2026): 1. Create Grading Criteria (80 hours): Develop a clear grading and evaluation framework to assess food and beverage businesses on their ability to meet the criteria of paying livable wages, supporting worker ownership, promoting fair labor practices, and offering career pathways. 2. Identify Businesses (125 hours): In alignment with strategy 3.1, utilize the Good Work Austin member network to identify food and beverage businesses that meet or are working toward meeting the established criteria. Target businesses that prioritize equity and diversity. 3. Public Awareness (120 hours): Develop and implement a media campaign (e.g., social media, local press) and awards to raise awareness of these high-road businesses and encourage consumer support. 4. High-Road Support (175 hours): Provide business consulting and grants to food businesses seeking to adopt or improve upon these high-road practices. GWA will source additional support and resources from partners to amplify efforts to support businesses. Total Estimated Hours: 500 hours. Phase 2: Focus on expanding support for businesses. Strategy 3.7: Increase ownership opportunities for food workers and farm workers through education and access to capital to start cooperatives and other businesses. 1. Funding: Request is included above in strategy 3.5 to fund Healthy Workplaces training. Impact: Enhanced organizing will empower workers, fostering equitable practices across the food industry. Unmet Needs: Phase 1 (2025-2026): 1. Healthy Workplaces: Train 250 workers and provide support to 50 small businesses, providing professional development through Healthy Workplaces education on how to start cooperatives and other food businesses. Phase 2: Identify access to capital for food workers to start cooperatives and other food businesses. Summary To meet these needs, GWA requests a total of $292,000 in funding for FY 2025-2026 to implement Goal 3 strategies effectively. The proposed initiatives will directly improve livelihoods for food workers and create a more equitable and sustainable food system in Austin/Travis County. These investments will have long-term impacts on the local food economy, worker satisfaction, and community resilience.