CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
title
A RESOLUTION in support of the youth-led September 20, 2019 Global Climate Strike; urging Seattle Public Schools to support its students’ right to assemble and participate in the Global Climate Strike; and affirming that City employees may request unpaid leave for a day of conscience on September 20, 2019.
body
WHEREAS, the global climate crisis poses a grave threat to all life on Earth, and according to the World Health Organization, is already killing at least 150,000 people every year around the world; and
WHEREAS, the global climate crisis threatens the health, well-being, and economic vitality of our community members, and disproportionately impacts black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color, as well as immigrants, refugees, economically disadvantaged residents, older people and children, people who are homeless, and people with existing mental or health conditions; and
WHEREAS, internationally the political system is utterly failing to respond to the global climate crisis with the urgency needed, with the majority of nations failing to be on track to meet even the inadequate climate pollution reduction pledges made at the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015; and
WHEREAS, young people around the world have organized school strikes in order to draw attention to political inaction on the global climate crisis, including on March 15, 2019 when an estimated 1.4 million students around the world went on strike from school; and
WHEREAS, leaders of the global school strikes, including Greta Thunberg, have called on “everyone: young people, parents, workers, and all concerned citizens” to join a massive climate strike on September 20, 2019; and
WHEREAS, throughout history community organizing and activism have been the impetus for major political change; and
WHEREAS, spurred by the advocacy of climate justice activists and other community organizers, New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sponsored House Resolution 109 calling for a federal Green New Deal, with 94 United States Congressmembers cosponsoring, and the Seattle City Council passed Resolution 31895 supporting a Green New Deal for Seattle; and
WHEREAS, powerful climate action can strengthen our communities by preventing the floods, storms, fires, famines, and other disasters caused by climate change, creating tens of thousands of high quality, good paying, clean energy jobs, and reducing illness-causing air pollution; and
WHEREAS, the global climate crisis is a matter of intergenerational justice, and action on the global climate crisis stands to benefit all of us: those of us who live locally, and those who live in different parts of the globe; those of us who are alive today, and those who are not yet born; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE THAT:
Section 1. The Seattle City Council supports the youth-led September 20, 2019 Global Climate Strike, as an important strategy to demand governments around the world take bold action reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly enough to curtail catastrophic climate change.
Section 2. The Seattle City Council urges Seattle Public Schools to support its students’ right to assemble and participate in the Global Climate Strike on September 20, 2019. Students who participate should have opportunities to make up any missed schoolwork and should not be penalized for participating in this political activism to protect their communities and futures from the ravages of climate change.
Section 3. The Seattle City Council reaffirms that City employees have the benefits conferred by RCW 1.16.050 and City personnel rules described in the attachments. Recognizing that some City employees may wish to participate in Global Climate Strike activities, the City Council also requests that all City departments communicate to City employees that they have the right to request a day off without pay as a matter of conscience to attend these activities, and that they should be informed about any administrative procedures required to make that request.
Adopted by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2019, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of _________________________, 2019.
____________________________________
President ____________ of the City Council
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2019.
____________________________________
Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)