COEF Current Recipients
The goal of the COEF is for OLS to build capacity among, and partnership with, community-based organizations who can increase workers’ knowledge of Seattle labor standards rights through methods that are community centered, culturally relevant and accessible, and language specific. Partners also provide intake, counseling, complaint resolution, and referral services.
In particular, the Community Outreach and Education Fund focuses on workers who are at high risk for labor standards violations. While all workers are at risk, data shows that low-wage workers experience the highest rates of workplace violations. The workers that are most likely to occupy low-wage jobs and experience workplace violations include female workers, workers of color, immigrant and refugee workers, LGBTQ workers, workers with disabilities, veterans and youth workers. This is why the Department seeks partnerships that support culturally-relevant, accessible, and language-specific outreach, education, and support services.
Through a competitive selection process, the Office of Labor Standards contracted out $2,690,000 to 11 organizations for 24-month contracts from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028. A portion of funding received by several organizations was made possible by the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs to supplement their labor standards outreach and education with outreach and education regarding immigration. Organizations had the opportunity to propose strategies for outreach and education to workers in specific areas:
- Arts and Entertainment Workers: Focus on workers in the arts and entertainment industries. Work will include outreach and education on the Independent Contractor Protections Ordinance, Paid Sick and Safe Time, Minimum Wage, Wage Theft, Fair Chance Employment, and Commuter Benefits.
- Broad Based Labor Standards: Broad focus on workers in multiple industries. Work will include outreach and education on most Seattle labor standards.
- Domestic Workers: Focus on workers that provide domestic work including: childcare (nanny services), housecleaning, gardening, cooking, home care, and house management. Work will include outreach and education on the Domestic Worker Ordinance, Paid Sick and Safe Time, Minimum Wage, Wage Theft, Fair Chance Employment, Commuter Benefits, and Independent Contractor Protections.
- Retail and Restaurant Workers: Focus on workers that work in retail and restaurant industries. Work will include outreach and education on Paid Sick and Safe Time, Minimum Wage, Wage Theft, Fair Chance Employment, Commuter Benefits, Independent Contractor Protections, Secure Scheduling, and Cannabis Employee Job Retention.
2026-2028 Recipients
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance – Seattle Chapter
- 2026-2028 Award: $206,000
- Service Strategy: Broad Based Labor Standards
- Industries of Focus: Hospitality, healthcare, retail, grocery, education, aerospace engineering, and office and professional settings.
- Communities of Focus: Immigrants and refugees including East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Filipino, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Latinx, Black, and mixed-race communities.
Brother’s United in Leadership and Development (BUILD 206)
- 2026-2028 Award: $100,000.00
- Service Strategy: Arts and Entertainment
- Industries of Focus:
- Communities of Focus: Black or African American communities, including American Descendants of Slavery. Black LGBTQIA+ artists and cultural workers.
- 2026-2028 Award: $132,000
- Service Strategies: Broad Based Labor Standards, Domestic Work
- Industries of Focus: Domestic work and day labor
- Communities of Focus: Immigrants and refugees who primarily speak Spanish. Mixed race or Mestizo communities (who are mixed Indigenous and Spanish from throughout Latin America). Afro-Latino/Black or Afro-CaribIndigenous including Garifuna communities.
Chinese Information and Service Center
- 2026-2028 Award: $229,870
- Service Strategy: Broad Based Labor Standards
- Industries of Focus: Restaurants, retail stores, grocery stores, delivery services, hotels, childcare facilities, construction, nail salons, massage parlors, and garment factories.
- Communities of Focus: Chinese and Vietnamese workers and immigrants and refugees.
- 2026-2028 Award: $265,000
- Service Strategy: Broad Based Labor Standards
- Industries of Focus: Restaurants, construction, hotels, domestic work, and independent contracting.
- Communities of Focus: Low-income Latino workers including Mestizo, Afro-Latino, Indigenous and Asian heritages, immigrants and refugee workers, and limited English speakers.
- 2026-2028 Award: $777,130
- Service Strategies: Broad Based Labor Standards, Domestic Work, Retail & Restaurant
- Industries of Focus: Domestic work, restaurants (front- and back-of-house), and retail
- Communities of Focus: Immigrants, LGBTQIA+ workers, Black workers, and workers with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
Greater Seattle Business Association Collaborative
- 2026-2028 Award: $160,000
- Service Strategy: Retail & Restaurant
- Industries of Focus: Restaurant and retail including servers, line cooks, dishwashers, cashiers, baristas, stock clerks, and other frontline service.
- Communities of Focus: LGBTQ+ workers, women and gender-expansive folks, young workers, workers of color, and immigrants and refugee communities.
- Collaborative Partners:
- CoReate Connections Inc.
- 2026-2028 Award: $240,000
- Service Strategy: Broad Based Labor Standards
- Industries of Focus: Healthcare, transportation, construction, janitorial, security, childcare, and domestic work.
- Communities of Focus: Ethiopian communities (Oromo, Amhara, Tigray), Somali, Sudanese, Kenyan, Egyptian, Afar, Arab, and other East African communities.
New Americans Alliance for Policy and Research
- 2026-2028 Award: $180,000
- Service Strategy: Broad Based Labor Standards
- Industries of Focus: Childcare, food services, hospitality, landscaping, bakeries, and similar low-wage work.
- Communities of Focus: Low-wage refugee and immigrant workers, including youth, from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia.
United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
- 2026-2028 Award: $200,000
- Service Strategy: Broad Based Labor Standards
- Industries of Focus: Retail, food service, sanitation, and other positions which do not require college degrees.
- Communities of Focus: Seattle's urban Native population.
- 2026-2028 Award: $200,000
- Service Strategy: Broad Based Labor Standards
- Industries of Focus: Restaurant and food service, janitorial and cleaning services, construction, day labor, domestic work, retail, warehouse and distribution, landscaping, and hospitality.
- Communities of Focus: Spanish-speaking immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and other Latin American countries who primarily identify as Latino/Latina/Latine and represent a spectrum of immigration statuses. Communities with varying levels of English proficiency and Spanish as their primary or only language. Additionally, populations of indigenous language speakers, including Mixteco and other Mesoamerican languages.