SEATTLE — The city of Seattle is backing away from a proposed requirement that child care centers meet with union representatives or lose city funding.
The Seattle Times reports city officials decided to make meetings optional instead of mandatory after a threat of a lawsuit and pressure from providers.
The October directive said all child care providers who rely on the city for funding or have an agreement to operate in public schools must sign a “teacher stabilization agreement” with a union.
Interim Human Services Department Director Catherine Lester wrote in a letter Tuesday that providers won’t have to sign the amendment to the vendor agreement.
Mayor Mike McGinn proposed the change in city policy this fall, amid a failed re-election campaign.
The Seattle City Council also had raised legal questions about the requirement.
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