AN ACT Relating to establishing the future of work task force; adding a new chapter to Title 28C RCW; creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

The legislature further finds that the United States has already lost millions of jobs to automation. In manufacturing alone, since 2000, robots have taken over four million four hundred thousand jobs. By comparison, six hundred thousand manufacturing jobs were lost due to foreign competition.

Blue collar and technical workers have been hit hardest and are the least likely to find employment with similar or higher wage levels. On the employer side, small and midsized suppliers lose their competitive advantage when larger businesses bring automated processes in-house.

Finally, the legislature recognizes that in rural and suburban regions, small and midsized businesses are critical to the local economy. When these businesses close, they are unlikely to be replaced quickly by enterprises that can absorb dislocated workers and middle class wages.

(a) Inventory and periodically assess trends and factors that are current or potential drivers of transformation of industries and work in Washington;

(b) Identify policies and practices that will help Washington's businesses, workers, and communities thrive economically, while responding to rapid changes in technology, workplace practices, environmental and security issues, and global interdependence;

(c) Recommend mechanisms and structures for sustainable industry sector partnerships through which employers and workers can collaborate to support their sector's growth in Washington; and

(d) Create a policy framework that supports a talent development pipeline and lifelong learning structure that:

(i) Prepares Washington's young people to navigate careers and workplaces of the future;

(ii) Helps workers keep their skills up-to-date or retrain for new careers when needed;

(iii) Enables attainment of credentials that are portable, transferable, and cost and time efficient;

(iv) Provides opportunities for instructional staff to keep pace with changes in their disciplines and related occupations; and

(v) Allows for collaborative applied research between businesses, instructional staff, and students to learn concurrently about new technology and assist companies with adoption.

(2) The task force must consist of:

(a) Two members from the house of representatives, with one member appointed from each of the two major caucuses of the house of representatives by the speaker of the house of representatives and the minority leader of the house of representatives;

(b) Two members from the senate, with one member appointed from each of the two major caucuses of the senate by the majority leader and minority leader of the senate; and

(c) Six business and six labor representatives appointed by the workforce training and education coordinating board.

(3) The task force may contract with research advisors from various disciplines in order to carry out the duties of the task force.

(4) The task force must meet at least four times a year, either in person or by any means of communication by which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other during the meeting.

(1) Develop and maintain an inventory of the current and future trends and factors that drive transformation of industries and work in Washington over the next twenty-five years;

(2) Research best and promising practices from state, national, and international sources, and develop case examples;

(3) Gather input from employers and workers from the major industrial sectors of Washington, via surveys and community forums, ensuring that every region of the state is consulted;

(4) Identify relevant metrics and recommend a possible dashboard for tracking the state's success, addressing future of work issues, including analysis of what data sets are readily available and what new data might need to be collected and by whom;

(5) Consult with public and not-for-profit organizations that support businesses or their workforce to identify policy or structural barriers that hinder the ability of not-for-profit organizations to effectively support business and workforce development in a transformational environment;

(6) Make an initial set of recommendations and a research design report describing the plan and methods to be used by the task force by December 31, 2018; and

(7) Beginning in 2019, make an annual report to the appropriate committees of the legislature and the governor on task force activities and recommendations. The report is due December 1st of each year.

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