Juneteenth Soon Declared Paid City Holiday

 

President Biden recently declared Juneteenth a national holiday.  Governor Inslee declared June 19th a holiday, as well.  Mr. Fields asked staff the extent the holiday was declared by other Washington cities.  The Human Resource Director gushed over the question giving a broad "yes." 

"The City seeks approval of the adoption of Juneteenth as a paid City holiday, effective June 19, 2022. June 19 is the annual observance celebrating the end of slavery in the United States in 1865, when Union soldiers enforced President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and freed all remaining slaves in Texas. It was two months after the South’s official surrender in the Civil War and two and a half years after the proclamation went into effect. 

The recognition of this new holiday is worthy of celebration by every American, including City of Redmond employees. It has been celebrated since 1866, mostly by Black Americans, but has not been heard more broadly until recently and represents a critical turning point in American history, as the day America began to live up to one of our greatest principles…a nation devoted to liberty for all.

Total Cost: Adoption of a holiday results in an unproductive workday equivalent of approximately $219,163 in lost productivity and banked holiday time for public safety positions. There is no actual additional cost or expense."

Thirteen paid Holidays, including one floating holiday:

• New Year’s Day First day of January • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Third Monday in January • President’s Day Third Monday in February • Memorial Day Last Monday in May • Juneteenth June 19 • Independence Day July 4 • Labor Day First Monday in September • Veterans Day November 11 • Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November • Day after Thanksgiving Day after Thanksgiving • Day before Christmas December 24 • Christmas Day December 25 and one Floating Holiday.

Initiated by Mayor Birney, 3/8/2022

Finance, Administration, Communication Committee of the Whole

--Reported by Yoder, 3/9/2022

Image, Internet