Keep Washington Working Work Group — 2021 Annual Report, Report to the Legislature (January 2022)
Summary
The 2021 annual report from the Keep Washington Working work group, submitted to the Legislature pursuant to RCW 43.330.510 through the Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness of the Washington State Department of Commerce, dated January 2022. It states that the work group members are the authors and that Commerce staff provided editorial assistance. The report states that the Legislature passed SB 5497 in 2019 and lists challenges identified by the work group: lack of data, fear of government, changes in federal immigration policy, language access and fragmented services. An appendix on promising developments mentions HB 1168 and HB 1129.
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“Keep Washington Working Work Group — 2021 Annual Report, Report to the Legislature (January 2022).”
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2021 annual report from the Keep Washington Working work group
pursuant to RCW 43.330.510
January 2022
OFFICE OF ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT AND
COMPETITVENESS Report to the Legislature
Director Lisa Brown
V3.0
Acknowledgments
This report is a product of the Keep Washington Working Work Group, established by the Legislature and
supported by the Department of Commerce. Recommendations made in this report reflect research and
discussions conducted by work group members and partially facilitated by Commerce staff. These
recommendations are directed, as appropriate, to the Legislature, state agencies (including Commerce) and
other entities involved in advancing workforce development in immigrant and refugee communities in
Washington.
Washington State Department of Commerce
Malou Chavez and Tim Warden-Hertz, Northwest
Immigrant Rights Project
Washington State Department of Commerce
Sam Cho, Washington State Commission on Asian Office of Economic Development and
Pacific American Affairs Competitiveness
Bre Elsey, formerly with the Washington State Farm Chris Green
Bureau Assistant director
Alex Galarza, Northwest Justice Project Tammy Deets
Commerce specialist
Antonio Ginatta, Columbia Legal Services
Rick Anderson
Eric Gonzalez, ACLU Policy advisor
Julia Gorton, Washington Hospitality Association 1011 Plum St. SE
P.O. Box 42525
Karen Lewis, Washington State University Olympia, WA 98504-2525
Victoria Mena, Colectiva Legal del Pueblo (resigned www.commerce.wa.gov
from KWW in June 2021)
For people with disabilities, this report is available on
Monserrat Padilla, formerly with Washington request in other formats. To submit a request, please
Immigrant Solidarity Network call 360-725-4000 (TTY 360-586-0772)
Keelcy Perez-Wooly, Immigration Advocate
Sandra Rodarte, Latino Civic Alliance
Kristin Kershaw Snapp, Washington State Fruit Tree
Association
Rich Stolz, formerly with OneAmerica
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING
Table of Contents
Executive summary .............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Keep Washington Working recommendations ................................................................................................................. 4
Appendix A: Promising developments................................................................................................................................ 8
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING 1
Executive summary
Report contents
The Keep Washington Working work group members are the authors of this report. All content and
recommendations were developed by the work group. Commerce staff provided editorial assistance.
Background
In 2019, the Washington Legislature recognized the important contributions immigrants make to the state's
economic vitality. It passed SB 5497 to establish a policy supporting the role of immigrants in the state economy
and "ensuring the state of Washington remains a place where the rights and dignity of all residents are
maintained and protected in order to Keep Washington Working."
The bill also established the Keep Washington Working work group. Housed at the Department of Commerce,
the work group includes representatives from community-based immigrant-serving organizations, labor
organizations and businesses in sectors with relatively large immigrant participation.
The Legislature directed the work group to prepare an annual report as follows from RCW 43.330.510:
(a) Develop strategies with private sector businesses, labor, and immigrant advocacy organizations to support current
and future industries across the state;
(b) Conduct research on methods to strengthen career pathways for immigrants and create and enhance partnerships
with projected growth industries;
(c) Support business and agriculture leadership, civic groups, government, and immigrant advocacy organizations in a
statewide effort to provide predictability and stability to the workforce in the agriculture industry; and
(d) Recommend approaches to improve Washington's ability to attract and retain immigrant business owners that
provide new business and trade opportunities.
The work group identified critical overarching challenges facing the immigrant and refugee workforce in
Washington in its first report to the Legislature:
Lack of data
Washington lacks accessible data on how its workforce programs and strategies support job seekers,
workers, independent contractors and small businesses. Although additional workforce data is essential for
designing future proposals, there are obstacles to its collection and disbursement (described below).
Fear of government
Federal policies have created an environment of fear in many immigrant and refugee communities. This
discourages immigrants from seeking public supports, including training programs.
Changes in federal immigration policy
The outgoing presidential administration enacted more than 400 separate policies through executive or
regulatory action. The vast majority of these policy changes restrict immigration.
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING 2
Language access
Although Washington has taken important steps toward improving language access, immigrant
communities and organizations serving people with limited English proficiency are often unaware of publicly
available opportunities due to the lack of accurate and professional interpretation and translated materials.
Fragmented services
Stakeholders have raised concerns over fragmentation across systems. For example, publicly-funded job
training programs operate with little to no knowledge of community-based or community college-based
adult English learning programs. Fragmentation creates additional challenges for immigrant and refugee job
seekers navigating these systems, especially in rural and under-served communities.
Overview
The Keep Washington Working work group focused on three themes in its second year:
1. Further exploring workforce development, small business development and non-traditional work in
Washington's immigrant and refugee communities. These were among the key themes that emerged in the
first report.
2. Considering potential implications of federal legislation on Washington’s immigrants, their employers and
the state.
3. Reviewing recent best practices, accomplishments and developments with respect to the goals of the
work group.
Recommendations
This report makes six recommendations to the Legislature:
Establish an interagency work group to serve as a hub for immigrant integration and workforce strategies
Expand the Welcome Back Washington Initiative, which is currently focused on the Puget Sound region
Require workforce development agencies to develop immigrant workforce strategies
Disaggregate workforce and economic data by race, ethnicity and immigration status
Ensure language access to workforce development and small business services
Establish new Business Innovation Partnership Zones in Eastern Washington
These recommendations reflect the experience and recommendations of work group members, presentations to
the work group by key thought leaders in immigrant integration and workforce development, and data on
recently enacted laws gathered by work group members and Department of Commerce staff. In addition, they
build on findings from the first report.
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING 3
Keep Washington Working recommendations
The potential for billions of dollars in federal funding for workforce programs in Washington, stemming from
recently enacted and prospective economic and pandemic recovery and infrastructure legislation, also create
new opportunities to resource the efforts described in this report.
The Keep Washington Working work group strongly urges Washington to ensure that federal and state funds are
invested in building community capacity, including in immigrant-serving organizations rooted in immigrant
communities. For example, if the federal reconciliation package passes with a legalization program, there will be
significant demand for access to information on eligibility for conditional work permits and worker access to
employment, health and other related programs. Washington has community groups better suited for
conducting this outreach than state agencies.
Address fragmentation of immigrant services
Fragmentation of services continues to be a major barrier for immigrants and refugees seeking employment and
pursuing educational credentials in Washington. The challenges of fragmentation are further exacerbated by
limits in expertise, cultural competence or knowledge among state agencies. Addressing the unique challenges
facing immigrant and refugee community members requires a system-wide shift in state strategy to better tailor
services to strengthen workforce participation. State agencies can also help communities adapt to often-
dynamic and volatile federal policies facing immigrant and refugee communities.
Coordination across agencies and stakeholders is possible, if there is a clear mandate. An excellent example is
the developing effort to respond to the resettlement of Afghanistan refugees and allies. This effort is coordinated
by the Office of the Governor and the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance in the Department of Social
and Health Services. Though the resettlement situation for refugees remains in flux, rapid response by the state
has built initial infrastructure, including multi-agency and multi-sector working groups, to address key issues like
housing, legal services and employment to prepare for refugee resettlement. As of the end of 2021, more than
1,500 Afghan refugees have arrived in Washington since October, with hundreds more anticipated. This has put
significant stress on Washington's refugee resettlement and social service capacity, which were depleted during
years of disinvestment by the federal government.
Coordination should be further supported and institutionalized, particularly since there are additional policy shifts
anticipated at the federal level that will affect immigrant and refugee communities in Washington. For example,
the U.S. House of Representatives passed a major bill that could grant protection from deportation, work permits
and permission to travel to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for more than 10
years. While prospects for enactment in the U.S. Senate have dimmed due to parliamentary procedures and
overall disagreement over the total funding level of the reconciliation package, these federal developments
underscore the importance for the state to be prepared for multiple scenarios.
The proposal passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would directly affect 150,000 residents and their
families in Washington state, according to recently-released analysis from the Migration Policy Center. Based on
the significant effort required to prepare for the resettlement of 1,000 to 3,500 Afghan refugees and allies, the
state must act now to prepare for an entirely new scale of operation.
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING 4
Interagency work group for immigrant services
Based on current and prospective federal shifts regarding immigration, we recommend the Legislature create an
interagency work group to coordinate services performed for immigrants. This new workgroup is intended to be
in addition to the Keep Washington Working work group, and would serve as a complimentary hub for planning
and coordinating on immigrant workforce development strategies across state government.
Key activities of the proposed work group include:
Coordinate with the Keep Washington Working work group to bring recommendations to the governor and
Legislature with respect to legalization and related workforce and social service strategies to support
undocumented immigrants impacted by federal legislation.
Conduct a census of immigrant and refugee workforce and support programs in state government, and
coordinate immigrant and refugee workforce strategies among key agencies. This should include, but not be
limited to, the Economic Security Department, the Washington State Board of Community and Technical
Colleges, and the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board.
Coordinate workforce, education, apprenticeship and related wrap-around service strategies to support
immigrants and refugees in Washington.
Expand work-based learning, apprenticeship and subsidized employment opportunities to support
immigrants and refugees and allow job seekers and English learners to earn while they learn.
Establish immigrant and refugee liaisons in key agencies and boards, including the Office of the Governor,
the Office of Equity, the Washington State Community and Technical College Board, the Workforce Training
and Education Coordinating Board, and the departments of Commerce, Social and Health Services,
Employment Security, Labor and Industries, and Licensing.
Contract with national experts in immigrant integration and workforce development. Potential contractors
include World Education Service, the National Skills Coalition and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions.
Coordinate with the Keep Washington Working work group to bring together public and private sector and
non-profit partners to advance a shared interagency strategy.
Further recommendations for the Department of Commerce:
Continue the Keep Washington Working work group and provide it with a budget to assist with staffing,
research and related needs so it can effectively partner with the other structures recommended in this
section.
Adjust the mandate of the work group and provide resources to further explore how Washington government
can better support workers in industry sectors with large and growing immigrant populations. This includes
developing, piloting and implementing high-road partnerships to improve job quality such as career
pathways, improved wages and benefits, and improved retention, as well as on-the-job training supports
such as language access and learning opportunities.
Expand the scope of the Governor’s Industry Sector Leads to include how sectors are addressing the needs
of immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs and workers, including business training, financing, recruitment,
retention and development of career pathways.
Create a sector lead for agriculture technology in the Department of Commerce. This sector lead would
guide the state's response to the impact of new technologies on the agricultural sector and its workforce,
including strategies to retrain agricultural and immigrant workers so they can meet demands for new skills,
move into more senior roles and/or become farmers, orchardists and owners themselves.
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING 5
Expand the Welcome Back Washington Initiative
There is great urgency in addressing the employment, educational and workforce development needs of
immigrants and refugees who come to Washington with work experience and educational credentials that are
not acknowledged in the United States.
The Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA) and the Welcome Back Center at Highline College in Des
Moines are important, though relatively small, structures in Washington for coordinating services for this
growing population of residents. However, there are limited, if any, resources available to these populations in
communities outside of the south Puget Sound region. Fortunately, ORIA and the Welcome Back Center can
serve as a critical hub to build a statewide Welcome Back Initiative in Washington.
The work group recommends that the Legislature increase funding for the Puget Sound Welcome Back Center
housed at Highline College. Funding will support new positions in order to:
Work with the interagency work group proposed in the previous section to support policy development to
encourage the employment of immigrants and refugees in their chosen professions and connect
immigrants and refugees to employment opportunities in sectors in need of qualified workers. These
policy areas include state and regional workforce system development, college credentialing programs,
and reforms to expand access to industry licensing for qualified residents.
Provide technical assistance to community colleges to establish Welcome Back centers across the state.
Serve as business liaisons to establish collaborations, including but not limited to the development of
apprenticeships and employment opportunities for skilled immigrants and refugees with employers,
including sectors facing staffing shortages, such as healthcare and state government.
Require workforce development agencies to develop immigrant workforce
strategies
Build on a recent directive of the governor to strengthen workforce supports in immigrant and refugee
communities. Specifically, Washington state should clarify that fulfilling the federal Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act requirement to serve English language learners requires reporting on how agencies address
barriers facing limited English proficient, immigrant and refugee populations.
The Washington State Training and Education Coordinating Board should compile this information for the
proposed interagency work group to better inform statewide and regional strategy on immigrant integration and
workforce activities. The summary should include current information on regional workforce strategies, including
how they plan to:
Incorporate language access into existing and planned services
Serve under-employed residents with professional skills and credentials from their home countries
Improve English language learning and literacy in immigrant and refugee communities
Ensure that immigrants and refugees can access pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, internship and
other training opportunities
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING 6
Establish new Business Innovation Partnership Zones in Eastern Washington
The Department of Commerce currently manages the Business Innovation Partnership Zone (IPZ) program in
Washington. However, of the 10 current IPZs, only two are in Eastern Washington (Wenatchee and the Tri-Cities).
Commerce should work with relevant associate development organizations (ADOs) to establish new zones in
Washington in counties with high agricultural employment and high immigrant populations. These IPZs should
focus on providing equitable access to the agricultural technology manufacturing jobs of the future.
The Department of Commerce should partner with the recommended agricultural technology sector lead and the
Workforce Innovation sector lead to ensure that the mandates within SHB 1170 are executed across the state
and include special emphasis sectors that employ large numbers of immigrants.
Disaggregate workforce and economic data by race, ethnicity and
immigration status
Provide funding to the proposed interagency work group to recommend how to:
Gather and analyze labor market data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, immigration status, nation of
origin and English language proficiency
Assess the impact of federal and state workforce development funding streams on Washington
residents, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, immigration status, nation of origin and English language
proficiency
Better anticipate future demand on state-funded services and resources by forecasting immigration into
Washington, disaggregated by language, nation of origin and immigration status1
Ensure language access to workforce development and small business
services
Adopt a budget proviso requiring the State’s Office of Financial Management develop recommendations for the
codification of the governor’s COVID-19 Language Access Plan in Washington's workforce and social service
agencies, including but not limited to the departments of Commerce, Social and Health Services, and
Employment Security. This effort should be coordinated with the proposed interagency work group.
1
The most recent estimate of limited English proficiency provided by OFM dates back to 2016.
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING 7
Appendix A: Promising developments
The Work Group also encountered a number of promising developments in the field of immigrant workforce
development over the past two years, despite the impact of the pandemic. This section highlights some of these
promising programs and practices.
The Small Business Resiliency Network
The Department of Commerce Small Business Resiliency Network builds on a trusted messenger model to
provide critical small business development support to small businesses, including immigrant, refugee and
minority-owned businesses across Washington. As Commerce continues to expand this model, the Keep
Washington Working work group encourages Commerce to explore how the program can be tailored to meet the
needs of non-traditional workers (such as independent contractors and self-employed people) as addressed in
the 2020 report to the Legislature.
The Agricultural Leadership Program
Over half of all agriculture workers are immigrants. Investing in their training and development is essential. The
Agricultural Leadership Program (ALP) is a comprehensive training program designed for supervisors in the
agricultural industry. The program, now being piloted in Yakima County, was created to enhance the
management skills of orchard operators by providing them with the knowledge and tools to effectively manage
resources, safety and regulations. The course is specifically designed for the Washington tree fruit industry and
is offered in English and Spanish. Participants will graduate after completing a 12 month plan and passing a final
exam. They will receive a Tree Fruit Supervisor Certificate from WSU, WSTFA and WSDA.
Agricultural Leadership Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sZmCCKEB7o
Programa de Liderazgo Agrícola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGZIIYDu7Lg
Cultivating Success Washington
Cultivating Success Washington provides educational programs to create more sustainable small farmers and
ranchers in Washington, and to create more success for those who already exist. Additional funding should be
allocated to expand outreach into Central Washington immigrant populations, with the goal of assisting
agricultural workers to become owners, operators, orchardists and farmers.
Career Connect Tech
Career Connect Tech (CCT) focuses on serving students furthest from opportunity, including historically
underrepresented populations. The development of a CCT Academy will leverage the assets of communities
including industry partners, higher education and public instruction by rallying those institutions around a
common goal and proven model. The program needs additional support to increase outreach and partnership
opportunities in rural Eastern Washington school districts.
2021 state legislation
The work group also acknowledges important opportunities created by the state Legislature in 2021, including:
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING 8
Enactment of HB 1168, the Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration, and Community Resilience Act, which
funds a new workforce strategy to support the development of career pathways in forestry and land
management in Washington that may be particularly valuable for immigrant populations in rural areas.
Enactment of HB 1129 to open up licensing and residency opportunities for internationally trained
medical graduates who have been excluded from their chosen professions in the United States. Their
inclusion creates new opportunities to better address staff shortages in health care while providing
better, culturally competent services in Washington’s immigrant and refugee communities.
KEEP WASHINGTON WORKING 9
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