Mayor Harrell, Labor and Community Partners Celebrate 10-Year Impact of Priority Hire Program

Seattle –Today, Mayor Bruce Harrell joined the Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS), union leaders, contractors, and training and community partners today to celebrate the 10-year impact of the City’s Priority Hire program.  

Created in 2015 through a City Ordinance co-sponsored by then-Councilmember Harrell, the program is operated by FAS and establishes a community workforce agreement (CWA) among the City and labor partners. The CWA creates hiring goals that prioritize workers from economically distressed communities on City construction projects totaling $5 million or more.    

“For over a decade, Seattle’s landmark Priority Hire program has opened doors for workers from historically underserved communities, connecting them with competitive paying construction and clean energy jobs,” said Mayor Harrell. “This program has served as a regional and national model for how we can invest in our communities and advance economic mobility, racial equity, and environmental justice goals. As we celebrate this milestone, we remain committed to building a city where everyone – regardless of their zip code or background – can access job opportunities and thrive. 

Since its creation, construction workers who’ve gone through the program have earned $120 million dollars in wages—an amount that’s estimated to be double what they would have earned without Priority Hire. Many of these workers are BIPOC and women. In the last year alone, Priority Hire workers earned $16 million in wages, plus benefits. 

“The Priority Hire program is helping ensure residents receive a fair share of wealth-generating construction jobs,” said FAS Director Kiersten Grove, whose department manages the program. “Thanks to the collective work of community, public-private partners, labor unions, contractors, and training partners, women and BIPOC workers have increased their share of hours worked on City projects by 60 percent since the program started, from 25 percent to 40 percent in 2024. And these jobs have a real and immediate impact on workers and their families.” 

The program was created following the demolition and construction of the Rainier Beach Community Center. Residents and experienced construction workers from Seattle's most racially diverse ZIP code 98118 uncovered a lack of local workers on City construction projects. They formed a coalition to increase access to work on large public works project and City leaders responded with the passage of the historic Priority Hire Ordinance in 2015. The ordinance was designed to expand economic opportunity and employment to racially diverse and economically disadvantaged Seattle area residents and, since its creation, has been a model throughout the region and nation that others have adopted.  

"Priority Hire is one of those neighborhood derived policies that helps Seattle realize its promise as a city able to support the dreams and aspirations for all that come here, particularly those that settle in underinvested neighborhood,” said Gregory Davis, Managing Strategist at Rainier Beach Action Coalition.  

The City estimates that apprentices on Priority Hire projects in 2024 earned about double the minimum wage of $19.97 an hour in Seattle, plus benefits. And workers who started as apprentices on the City’s earliest projects are now leaders in labor unions, contracting firms, and training programs — reshaping the industry from within.  

“We are honored to join Mayor Bruce Harrell, City leaders and staff as well as other community leaders to celebrate the tenth year of the City of Seattle’s impactful Priority Hire program. Priority Hire fosters economic opportunity through careers in construction and pathways out of poverty for the most vulnerable through apprenticeship. The good, family-wage construction jobs for skilled craftspeople supported through this successful program are helping build better lives. We deeply value our partnership with the City of Seattle, and we are excited to keep strengthening and expanding the program,” said Monty Anderson, Executive Secretary, Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council. 

As part of the program, Mayor Harrell issued a directive that recommits the City to the Priority Hire program and directs FAS to establish an interdepartmental team composed of representatives from all City departments that participate in or support private projects with significant City investment.  

The City will build off of its success and investments in long-term worker success. Since 2016, the City has put $9.6 million toward construction outreach, training, and wraparound support – helping a thousand community members discover and access construction careers they might not have otherwise considered. In 2024, 30 percent of the City-funded pre-apprenticeship graduates who entered apprenticeship were women.  

“The past 10 years have shown that programs like Priority Hire can be transformative,” said District 4 Councilmember Maritza Rivera, who’s been a strong proponent of the Priority Hire program. “As the daughter of a welder, I am proud to support this program that creates economic opportunities for people of color, women, and residents from economically troubled communities. This program is a national model for how to create long-term life-changing wages for Seattle communities.”    

“What Seattle’s Priority Hire has meant to me personally is seeing hundreds of our Carpenter and other building trades pre-apprenticeship graduates step onto jobsites and into life-changing careers that support their families and futures,” said Marianna Hyke, Western States Regional Council of Carpenters and Priority Hire Advisory Committee Member. “It’s been incredible to witness how this program has brought education, pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship programs, and contractors closer together, building real partnerships that strengthen our workforce. Most importantly, it has uplifted our local communities that are too often overlooked, helping small, minority, and women-owned businesses grow while transforming lives across our region.”  

To learn more about the program, visit https://www.seattle.gov/purchasing-and-contracting/priority-hire