Motion 2020-19 – Racial Bias and Discrimination Page 1 of 5
MOTION 2020-19:
A MOTION OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION
To direct the Executive Director to examine Port operations
and policies for sources of racial bias and discrimination and
to develop programs and policies eliminating inequity in all
aspects of the organization.
ADOPTED
OCTOBER 13, 2020
INTRODUCTION
The mission of the Port of Seattle is to promote economic opportunities and quality of life in the
region by advancing trade, travel, commerce, and job creation in an equitable, accountable, and
environmentally responsible manner. The Port of Seattle’s Century Agenda reaffirms our
commitment to creating opportunities and economic prosperity for all in the region by calling for
the Port to be a model for equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The Port of Seattle Commission demonstrated its commitment to non-discrimination with the
passage of Motion 2018-06, which called for the Port to develop and implement an equity pilot
program in 2018 that would support the development of a portwide equity policy directive. With
that guidance, the Port established the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OEDI) in 2019.
OEDI’s mission is to build capacity across the organization to address institutional oppression
and to transform Port policies, practices, and processes. In 2020, to support this effort, OEDI
presented their 2019-2020 strategic plan and the Commission established the Equity and
Workforce Development (EWFD) Standing Committee.
The Port has made progress and taken important steps to become a more equitable organization
and recognizes its shared responsibility and commitment to the fight against racism and
discrimination in our society. However, in recent months we have been reminded again about
the difficult reality of the deep roots of racism in our culture. The tragic deaths of our Black
brothers and sisters around the country have demonstrated that we need to recommit with a
sense of urgency moving forward our racial equity work and to center the need to uproot anti-
Black racism. The Port will continue to urgently reflect on and tackle structural racism and
discrimination faced by our employees and communities.
The Port’s commitment to non-discrimination and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) must be
supported by aligned policies and procedures throughout the institution. This motion takes
additional steps beyond what the OEDI Strategic Plan has set out to achieve by directing the Port
to align those policies and procedures which will result in the development of a comprehensive
policy. This will establish the Port, locally and nationally, as a leader in this work, illustrating our
commitment to act, learn, and progress as an organization that values and centers EDI,
accountability, and transparency.
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TEXT OF THE MOTION
The Port of Seattle Executive Director and the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion have
responded to the recent national uprisings in a very intentional and impactful way that enabled
portwide unity, healing and positive institutional change. This motion is intended to support that
work while elevating the work for greater transparency, public accountability, and ensuring
Commission engagement and oversight.
To support this work, starting January 2021 the Executive Director, or designee, shall, conduct
the following actions:
1. Support the efforts of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to convene our
employees and offer learnings and deeper analysis of anti-Black racism.
a. Support and uplift the Black Lives Matter call to action and engage employees in this
work.
2. Require racial equity and unconscious bias training for Commissioners, the Executive
Director, the Executive Leadership Team, supervisors, managers, and employees.
a. Create curriculum for trainings, tailoring as needed based on different audiences.
b. Report to the Commission on staff participation, feedback, and learnings from
trainings in October 2021.
3. Establish an internal Change Team with representatives from each division and
department within the Port to assess the current state of equity, diversity, and inclusion
for all teams.
a. Define the assessment through portwide engagement. The assessment will be
conducted by the Change Team, who are internal stakeholders that represent each
division at the Port, as well as representatives from the Development and Diversity
Council and employee resource groups (ERG).
b. Assessment as a baseline. The assessment shall be the basis for a landscape equity
analysis of each division. That analysis would provide a quantitative and qualitative
baseline for Key Performance Indicators and equity metrics that each team will focus
on for the year ahead.
c. The assessment shall be completed by October 30, 2021.
d. Beginning January 2022, each department or division will submit an annual report to
OEDI who will then provide a consolidated report to the Commission on progress
made toward equity goals on an annual basis.
4. In addition to the portwide assessment conducted by the Change Team, OEDI will
consider the policies and issues that have been identified by Port employees as the most
challenging barriers to fairly accessing resources and opportunities at the Port.
a. The assessment shall include a review of: (1) employee development, promotion and
compensation; (2) recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion of Black, Indigenous,
and people of color (BIPOC) portwide; (3) policies and practices impacting BIPOC
contractors and WMBEs, with a particular focus on firms owned by Black descendants
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of slaves; (4) contracting and procurement policies and practices impacting
community organizations’ and contractors’ access to Port resources; and (5) other
areas identified through OEDI employee engagement.
b. The assessment shall recommend a set of strategies and measurable outcomes that
will address identified barriers.
c. The assessment shall be completed by October 30, 2021.
d. The EWFD Committee shall use the assessments conducted by the Change Team and
OEDI to inform the development of an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy Directive
per Motion 2018-06.
5. Create a Community Advisory Board to ensure the Port is accountable to the public in the
integration of equity principles into the Port’s work. The Community Advisory Board shall,
among other clear deliverables to be developed by OEDI:
a. Using the Equity Index, work with OEDI to inform the use of Port resources and
investments.
b. Inform the assessment process and provide policy recommendations to the Port on
addressing inequities.
c. Advise Port leadership (Port Commission and Leadership) on implementation of
internal and external Port equity efforts.
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION
Systemic oppression and institutionalized racism have existed in our country since its founding.
Events on a national level propelled by the outrage of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis
police – one of the most recent murders in a long history of unjust taking of Black lives in our
country – and locally actions taken against those protesting against racism and inequality have
highlighted the long ignored structural bias and institutional discrimination that is present but
not visible to all in our institution. Throughout American history, Black, Indigenous, people of
color and immigrants have led the struggle for equity and social justice. From voting rights to civil
rights to LGBTQ rights, BIPOC and immigrant communities have fought for generations to
strengthen our nation and perfect our democracy. This moment builds upon the immeasurable
sacrifice and contributions of those communities while recognizing that we all benefit from the
eradication of social injustice.
Bias and oppression are embedded in our society, systems, and our organization. By failing to
acknowledge inequities, we play a role in perpetuating them. We can and must do better. It is
time for the Port of Seattle to look introspectively and do its part in tackling these systemic
inequities. To achieve equitable outcomes for all our communities, we must be accountable for
equitable policies that ensure racial, social, environmental, and economic justice are achieved in
principles, strategies, practices, and projects. One of the most important steps in becoming a
more equitable organization is to provide more opportunities and possibilities for communities
to provide input into programmatic, policy, and investment decisions.
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OEDI created an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion strategic plan that includes a robust combination
of long-term, short-term, transactional, and transformational strategies. To create this plan, OEDI
held a series of six roundtable discussions in 2019 and 2020 with representatives from over 65
organizations. OEDI captured input from more than 800 Port staff.
The Port of Seattle Executive Director and the OEDI have begun to implement the
recommendations as outlined in the EDI 2019-2020 Strategic Plan by employing a framework
developed by the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) – Normalize, Organize, and
Operationalize:
1. Normalize: Foster discussions about race and equity at the Port by having leadership,
management, and all staff model behavior, hosting learning events, and setting the tone
for leadership and employee dialogues.
2. Organize: Build infrastructure and capacity to implement equity practices by creating
policy and completing an equity planning process. This process will include establishing
definitions, vision and values and creating staff capacity, and strengthening relationships
with community partners.
3. Operationalize: Develop all the elements that allow equity principles to be fully integrated
into day-to-day operations including budgeting with an equity lens, creating
accountability mechanisms, and ensuring engagement by both Port staff and the public.
This approach has positioned the Port to effectively respond to the recent national uprisings in a
very intentional and impactful way that enabled portwide unity, healing and positive institutional
change, and underscored the significant progress made toward becoming a more equitable and
inclusive organization.
The direction of this motion builds upon the EDI Strategic Plan, the 2018 Equity Motion, and input
by Port staff, including the Port’s Development and Diversity Council, Employee Resource
Groups, and external stakeholders. Additionally, ERGs, the Development and Diversity Council,
and employee caucusing groups have been instrumental in providing input and working to build
a culture of inclusion throughout the Port.
This motion acknowledges that the fight against racism and oppression is a horizontal issue and
should be taken into account in all areas of our policies and practices. This motion also recalls
that all employees and community members must be entitled to protection from these
inequities, both as individuals and as a group, including positive measures for the promotion and
the full and equal enjoyment of their rights and benefits.
Despite our current economic, health, and racial justice crises, the Port maintains its commitment
to identifying and dismantling structural barriers to ensure that historically oppressed
communities, particularly communities of color, have access to the resources they need to thrive.
Together, we will get through these trying times; and if we center the needs of those most
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impacted by these crises, we will emerge with a deeper understanding of why our social justice
efforts are so critical and with stronger conviction to keep them driving forward.
