ADVOCACY

The Voice of Business

As a voice of business along the Seattle-Tacoma business Corridor, the Greater Federal Way Chamber represents 480+ businesses, employing an estimated 25,000 workers in the South Sound region.

Can you imagine a place where jobs are plentiful, education is high, transportation is accessible, and everything around you seems rich with opportunity? The Greater Federal Way Chamber of Commerce can. It doesn’t happen by accident. Working together with our partners, stakeholders, and elected officials, your Chamber connects you to issues that can make a difference in your future and the success of our community.

Chamber Legislative Priorities

The Chamber believes a mix of industries creates a dynamic business environment for the region and we work on behalf of members to create a prosperous economy in the greater Federal Way region. To support that work, advocacy at the Chamber is focused on transportation, workforce and education, business climate and global competitiveness, and transportation. With a regional economic development focus for the greater Federal Way area, the Chamber works with our WA District 30 representatives on these issues as outlined in our Legislative Priorities.

Know Your Rights as a Diverse Business Person

As a diverse business owner, entrepreneur, or employee, understanding your legal rights is essential to your success and protection. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) offers valuable information about rights that apply to all individuals regardless of immigration status, including the right to remain silent, the right to refuse consent to searches, and the right to speak with an attorney. As a resource for your protection, these rights are outlined at www.nwirp.org/resources/kyr/

Additional resources include the Small Business Administration's Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (sba.gov/about-sba/organization/offices/office-diversity-equity-inclusion-accessibility) and the Minority Business Development Agency (mbda.gov).

Please note that this information is not legal advice. For specific legal concerns, we recommend consulting with a qualified attorney who specializes in business or immigration law.

Prosperity: Visioning for Inclusive Economic Growth

The Greater Federal Way Chamber has launched Prosperity Project, a visioning effort that builds upon the data collected as part of the Chamber’s economic development work.

“The Chamber believes data-driven strategies create sustainable business growth, particularly as Federal Way develops its downtown core as the urban center of the Seattle-Tacoma business corridors,” said Martin. “Our Prosperity Project adds business visioning to that data as our community looks to support and promote inclusive economic development in our area.”

The Chamber has contracted Ernst & Young (EY) to assist in an economic visioning effort. The main goal of the Prosperity Project’s visioning effort is to understand the current economic conditions of the Federal Way region through business input and economic research. “The Chamber will be working with the EY team to identify high-priority issues and diverse, regionally-connected opportunities for economic growth,” said Martin.

“EY’s economic development practice will assist the business leaders at the Chamber by sharing strategies and tools that contribute to vibrant, innovative economies,” said Tony DeLisi, EY senior manager/director of strategy. “Our team is excited to bring its extensive experience in economic development to work with the Federal Way Chamber in developing a shared vision of economic success and potential strategic pathways to prosperity.”

“The Chamber has established an economic baseline with local and state-focused industry sectors and we continue to monitor a range of data with economic dashboards,” said Martin. “Now, it is the time for us to look to our shared future, focusing on economic prosperity and the best ways to create wealth in our business community.”

Underway in January, the visioning work of Project Prosperity will take six months to complete. During the visioning process, EY will engage the business community through focus groups and interviews with stakeholders as identified by the Chamber. EY also will be working with the Chamber on supplemental research to define Federal Way’s competitive position for business attraction.

According to Martin, the EY sessions will result in a series of narratives that describe the critical economic development themes in greater Federal Way. “The Prosperity Project will provide context to both issues and opportunities facing our businesses,” she said. “In this way we will have a more thorough understanding of the City’s competitive position in critical topic areas.”

“The Prosperity Project and other economic initiatives are made possible with support of our District 30 legislators, our Pivotal Partners, and, of course, our members—the heartbeat of the Chamber network,” she said. “Honestly, we’re pretty excited to offer our business community the opportunity to provide input on the region’s priorities, helping to shape a strategy for the future of our economy and creating prosperity in greater Federal Way.”

EY is a global leader in providing advisory services to public and private sector clients focused on evidence-based results. The Federal Way Chamber is an economic development focused membership organization serving the south Puget Sound region.

Prosperity: Economic Equity for Inclusive Growth

Data can be used as a powerful tool to address the business resiliency of a community. The data points included in this assessment can help us better understand economic conditions such as the distribution of industry, small business clusters, gender and racial disparities, and the unique challenges faced by businesses within their sectors.

Data, however, will only tell part of the story. The statistics in the Equity Assessment show that disparities exist, and while data alone does not tell us how we can address disparities, it can serve as a tool to direct future conversations in our community.

“At the Chamber, we work to enhance growth by identifying areas in which Federal Way business is performing well and others where the local economy and specific populations face persistent challenges.” Said CEO Rebecca Martin, CCE. “How do we enhance growth for strong business clusters? What are the barriers to business success?”

The data in this Assessment supports the message this Chamber has been sharing for the past several years. Our economy must not allow our rich, multicultural businesses to function in silos. Stronger, more strategic connection and investment in BIPOC businesses is a model for growth.

To collectively build a path to the power of owning a business, we need to create a business climate that offers access to economic opportunity for small business ownership of every size, race, and gender. “This is what inclusivity means to the Chamber,” said Martin.

The Economic Equity Assessment gives us insight of Federal Way’s demographics, its economic strengths, and the barriers to greater, and more equitable opportunity for all businesses. Growth is an evolving process, and this data gives us the opportunity to have tough conversations that can direct that growth in a more interconnected way.

The Economic Equity Assessment is part of the Chamber's Prosperity Project, a visioning effort that builds upon the data collected as part of the Chamber’s economic development work.

City Housing Action Plan

Housing Action Plan

The City of Federal Way is developing a Housing Action Plan (HAP) in order to aid in the provision for all people to have a safe place to live that is attainable and meets the diverse housing needs of individuals and families of all income levels. The plan will identify housing needs within the city, provide objectives and policies to meet these needs, and outline strategies designed to meet the identified objectives. Some of the strategies will include the examination of existing regulations and current Comprehensive Plan policies that guide housing development in Federal Way.

The Draft Housing Action Plan is now available for public review ( see attached). For more information, visit the city at https://www.cityoffederalway.com/page/city-federal-way-housing-action-plan

Other Issue Based Advocacy

The Grassroots Alliance is an initiative of the Association of Washington Business. The Greater Federal Way Chamber is one of 100+ members in the network, focused on legislative and economic development goals of the AWB and chambers in Washington state. AWB Legislative Priorities HERE

Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships, an initiative of the National Skills Coalition. The Greater Federal Way Chamber is part of the network comprised of employers from a range of industry sectors across the nation focused on workforce skills and training. BLU promotes inclusive, high-quality skills training policies that help build the workforce that businesses need to grow and thrive. BLU Policy Areas HERE