February 8, 2007
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Jan Drago and Diana Stone
 
Many Washingtonians work full time and still struggle to afford basic necessities. A full-time minimum wage worker earns only $15,860 annually. Many of those workers are employed by small-business owners who want to provide a decent living for their workers but may lack the profits to pay higher wages or offer essential benefits.

Luckily, those employers may have more to offer their employees than they realize: government-funded work-support programs designed to provide needed assistance with food, health care, child care and tax credits.

Unfortunately, many eligible employees do not participate in those programs. Every year, in Washington, more than $75 million in tax credits, which could directly supplement the earnings of low-income workers, goes unclaimed. Only 51 percent of eligible King County residents participate in the food stamps program, leaving behind $54 million in federal money. More than 10 percent of our citizens were uninsured at some point during the past year; many of them might qualify for federal or state health insurance programs.

Why don't more workers participate in those programs? Many don't know about them or believe they don't qualify because they are working. Often, employees are afraid their employer might not approve or might not want to verify employment information.

Washington Appleseed believes those barriers can be addressed by working directly with employers and enlisting their help in reaching eligible workers. We recently surveyed 100 small-business owners about their knowledge and attitudes concerning work support programs. Almost two-thirds were unaware of some of the benefits. However, the survey revealed that 84 percent supported their low-wage workers enrolling in programs for which they qualify. In fact, 80 percent of them would be willing to distribute information and assist employees in filing for benefits.

Indeed, those statistics have been borne out by the progressive and compassionate Seattle small-business community. Appleseed is working directly with small businesses, including restaurants in the International District and garment manufacturers in Rainier Valley, to increase awareness of the benefits. Those employers realize that by helping working families make ends meet, they are also providing their businesses with stable, trained employees at no extra cost.

What they might not realize is that the effort to increase participation rates for those programs is also justified as an important local economic stimulus. Other cities have found that outreach programs to encourage increased use of public benefits for working families led to enormous returns on their investment.

In San Antonio, Texas, the community realized $8.27 for every dollar invested in child care subsidies. Miami estimates that its EITC campaign brought in $62 million in income its first year.

By promoting public benefits to hard-working families, the city of Seattle can boost its economic vitality. By using the most effective advocates -- small-business owners -- we can break down barriers that impede low-income workers from accessing those economic lifesavers. We must capitalize on the enthusiasm of the small-business community, as they play the most vital role as trusted and knowledgeable sources of financial information for their low-wage workers.

Washington Appleseed is working with Seattle's PeoplePoint program, the city's outreach agency, to help small-business owners connect their low-wage workers with essential work supports. Information packets are available for employers to distribute containing fact sheets on each of the programs and information on how to apply at waappleseed.org.

Jan Drago is a Seattle City Councilwoman. Diana Stone is a senior fellow at Washington Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.