Some Seattle workers are back at City Hall. The rest should follow

As of Monday, about 114 city of Seattle employees who report to the Legislative Department have been in their City Hall offices at least four days a week.

These are city workers overseen by City Council President Sara Nelson. The same arrangement doesn’t apply to thousands of nonessential executive branch employees who fall under Mayor Bruce Harrell’s chain of command. Those municipal workers are still expected to come in only two days a week, unless they have an approved arrangement giving them more flexibility.

With the downtown business district continuing to suffer from the impacts of remote work and empty sidewalks a pressing safety concern, Harrell ought to follow the council’s example.

“Public service should be conducted in public,” said Nelson. When six new council members showed up for work earlier this year, they came to City Hall every day with their staffs, said Nelson. The new return-to-work policy, which Nelson announced in April, was greeted with enthusiasm.

“Without exception, they all said ‘Great,’” said Nelson.

Nelson was quick to point out that private employers should determine what office policy works best for their individual circumstances.

“We’re not the boss of the private sector, but I don’t believe it’s good practice to even encourage the private sector to come back unless we are modeling the same commitment,” she said.

“Our business is to create the conditions where workers feel safe coming back to the office. That’s the city’s responsibility. And there’s no question that public safety is a barrier. People need to feel safe on public transit and walking around.”

In April, the Seattle City Council approved a suite of union contracts and raises for city employees, bumping pay for roughly 11,000 workers by between 4% and 5% each year until 2026. The raises are retroactive to 2023.

Return-to-work policies are not bargain-able with city unions, although certain impacts must be discussed.

It’s past time for public employees to do the public’s business in public. Doing so will help fill the region’s buses, populate city sidewalks, and make for a more inviting downtown environment, not to mention making it easier for residents to access city services.

The legislative branch of Seattle government is back at City Hall four days a week. Harrell’s employees should join them.