Exec meets with employees to learn how to boost women in trades
King County Executive Dow Constantine recently hosted an Employee Listening Session on the topic “Women in Trades” to hear from the people in the best position to advise on how we can bring more women into the skilled trades at King County – women working in the trades at King County.
“As women who work in the trades here at King County, I want to get your thoughts on how we can bring more women into skilled trades jobs at the County,” Executive Constantine said to the attendees. “What are the barriers you see or have encountered yourself, and how we can go about removing them?”
At King County just 7% of employees in the skilled crafts are women, whereas women comprise 41% of the total County workforce. Executive Constantine spoke about the need to do more to attract women into County trades careers if we are to be truly representative of the communities we serve at all levels.
The women represented a diverse group of trades, including painting, plumbing, carpentry and electrical, and worked in the Facilities Management Division, Roads Division, Fleet Division, Parks Division, Wastewater Treatment Division and Metro Transit.
The group’s suggestions included looking at how the County can provide more trades jobs so there are more positions to recruit women into (“it’s hard to attract women into jobs that don’t exist” was one comment); an apprenticeship program for garage services; offering more apprenticeships in the north of the county rather than just south King County; and beginning early with education to help girls believe they can do trades work and with boys to show them that girls can excel at this work.
Executive Constantine began hosting quarterly Employee Listening Sessions last December to hear from employees about the issues they are facing in their workplaces, and what the County can do to help them thrive and better serve their customers.
Thank you to the employees who participated in this listening session and providing their unique perspectives and ideas.
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Resources to help you cope with traumatic events
The horrific mass shooting that took place Sunday night in Las Vegas has deeply affected all of us. This senseless, heartbreaking event may evoke feelings of fear and anxiety, or bring back thoughts associated with other tragedies that have happened closer to home.
King County Making Life Easier is providing several resources to help you and your family cope with your emotional reactions to this tragedy. If you need immediate support, or specific resources, please call the King County Making Life Easier program at 1-888-874-7290.
The following links are curated articles provided as starting points to help you understand and navigate through the emotional impact of this tragedy.
- Common Reactions After Trauma
- Coping With A Traumatic Event
- Helping Children And Adolescents Cope With Violence And Disasters
- Tips For Talking With Children After A Traumatic Event
- Coping With Traumatic Events
When something tragic like this happens, it’s normal to have stress reactions. The severity of your reaction depends on the nature of the situation, your involvement in it, and how you are coping with other stressors in your life at the time of the incident. Most stress reactions resolve within a few weeks, with good self-care and support from friends and family.
Common reactions to an extreme stressor include:
- Physical reactions: tightness in the throat or chest, trouble sleeping, lack of appetite, fatigue, headaches, lower back aches.
- Emotions: sadness, irritability or anger, fear, anxiety, and guilt.
- Thoughts: disbelief, inability to concentrate, confusion, difficulty with decision-making.
- Behaviors: avoiding reminders of the event, withdrawing from others, increased use of alcohol, restlessness.
There are many ways to cope with the aftermath of a traumatic situation. Some that you may find helpful include:
- Accept that the reactions you are experiencing are normal following a traumatic incident.
- Take a break from the news when coverage is making you feel overwhelmed.
- Keep a journal. Writing can be very healing. Write down your thoughts, fears, pain and despair.
- Reach out to your support system. Find people who will listen to you, and comfort you. This could be friends, family, clergy, or a therapist.
- Take care of yourself physically. Get 8 hours of sleep, eat balanced meals, drink plenty of water, and take walks outside.
- Avoid alcohol and drugs not prescribed by your physician.
- Remember to breathe.
If your reactions do not resolve within a few weeks, or if you are experiencing disturbing images or nightmares, call us for a referral to a qualified therapist experienced with trauma.
This tragic event is a reminder that all employees should be aware of their surroundings and potential threats in and around their workplace.
If you see anything or anyone that looks unusual or out of place, please call FMD Security at 206-296-5000. If it’s an emergency, call 9-1-1 first, then call FMD Security when you are able. We have also launched a new online security incident report form to report non-emergency incidents to the FMD Security Unit for possible follow-up. You can report incidents that happen at work or on your commute.
We also have a list of safety tips online. This information from the Seattle Police Department is designed to help you enhance your personal safety and avoid potential trouble. Want a walking buddy to or from work? Check out our Walkpool program.
Our first priority is your safety and security at work and we are continuing our efforts to ensure the safety of all employees and visitors to our facilities.
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Featured Job: Strategic Planning Manager I
Closing Date/Time: Continuous
Salary: $101,920.00 – $129,188.80 Annually
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Location: King Street Center – 201 S Jackson St, Seattle, Washington
Department: Department of Natural Resources & Parks – Solid Waste Division
Description: The Solid Waste Division (SWD) of King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) is looking for a dynamic person to lead the division’s public policy, strategic planning, forecasting and rate development efforts. The candidate will lead an interdisciplinary team to plan for future solid waste services, provide technical and policy analysis, and develop solid waste rate proposals. The ideal candidate will be forward thinking with solid waste knowledge, strong supervisory experience and excellent communication and quantitative skills.
Contact: For more information contact Prakash Meloot, Senior Human Resource Analyst at Prakash.meloot@kingcounty.gov.
Learn more about this position, or view all available jobs.
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Tech Tip: Reset your own password 1-2-3
Tired of calling the IT Customer Support Services HelpDesk everytime you forget your password or get locked out of your computer? You can enroll in the Password Reset program and you’ll (almost) never have to contact KCIT again! This one minute video shows you how.
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Social Media Spotlight: Public Health – Seattle & King County Facebook
Your local source for timely and useful health information you can trust — from Public Health – Seattle & King County.
Follow Public Health – Seattle & King County on Facebook today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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Stop by soon! Flu clinic locations and schedules
Clinics are open to all King County employees and flu shots are provided at no cost to benefits-covered employees. Employees with no health benefits may self-pay for the vaccine at the clinic (flu shots are $30 each).
Flu shots are on a first-come, first-served basis. Check out the calendar below and mark your calendars for the location most convenient for you.
If you’re unable to take advantage of a worksite flu clinic, King County employees can get flu shots at clinics offered by the City of Seattle. Flu shots are also available through your primary care physician and many local pharmacies.
Flu-site coordinators will provide more information before your worksite’s scheduled date.
- Remember to come prepared to the worksite clinics:
- Bring your medical insurance card with you.
- Wear short sleeves, sleeveless shirt or clothing that bears your shoulder easily. This makes for speedy service and short lines!
- If you need a receipt, please tell the clerk when you check in.
For more information regarding influenza, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Influenza resource page.
Read more at Healthy Incentives.
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Reminder: Mentors needed! Employees encouraged to apply
Do you have a specific job or technical skill you’d like to share? Are you passionate about King County and its success? Are you an experienced leader that understands the thrill of engaging and empowering others? If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, we need you.
The request for mentors has been very high, and we need a large pool of mentors to meet those requests. You don’t need to be a manager to be a mentor, just knowledge and expertise in a particular skill and an interest in sharing.
Help us create a vibrant, effective learning culture here at King County. Consider contributing your time and skills as a mentor. One hour. Once a month. That’s all it takes to impact someone else’s life.
Intrigued? Contact KCMentoring@KingCounty.gov today. The King County Mentoring Program is part of our Investing in You strategy. Find out more about the Mentoring Program here.
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Poofighters rock on and take the stage at world’s biggest, most extreme, wastewater Ops Challenge at WEFTEC in Chicago
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories
When asked why he became a wastewater operator, Darek Kenaston reveals, “The more I got into it, the more I was interested. It was a good fit. I’ve always been around the water. I grew up in Florida, two blocks from the beach. I love the water, and why not be part of protecting it?”
These days, people want good pay, meaningful work, and opportunities to grow their career. That makes a stable career helping clean water – plus an opportunity to be part of a team that builds comradery and skills – a winning combination.
Four employees from the King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) make up the Poofighters – our team in the worlds’ biggest wastewater extreme challenge. For the past number of weeks, they’ve been gearing up to go “on tour” to Chicago, Ill., for the international Operations Challenge at the Water Environment Federation (WEF)’s WEFTECconference. There, they compete against other utility teams and prove their skills in five different, intense events.
In the spotlight, the clock is ticking and judges scrutinize their every move. The competition is mentally and physically challenging – with real-life-simulated scenarios – including cutting a pipe as fast as they can and rescuing a coworker (really a safety dummy) from a manhole.
Read more at Clean Water Stories
Pictured: Back in Black: True to their rock n’ roll theme, each year the Poofighters put out a new “album” and give away free copies at WEFTEC. While they look like CDs, the DVDs are filled with all the info someone needs to apply for a job at King County.
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New cat café opening soon to feature felines from RASKC
Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) will be providing adoptable cats for Neko, a new cat café in Capitol Hill, opening in October. RASKC already works with Seattle’s first cat cafe, Seattle Meowtropolitan, to provide adoptable cats for customers to interact with.
“Working with Meowtropolitan has been a really cool experience,” said Nickie Ford, RASKC animal services coordinator. “We got started with them about a year and a half ago, I believe, and we found the cats, they really just thrive in that colony environment.”
Slated to open in mid-October, customers at Neko can expect to find 12-15 cats looking for forever homes in the “Catarium” area. The cats available for adoption at Neko will be cats with feline leukemia (FeLV) that are harder to adopt out due to their weakened immune systems. The disease is not transferable to humans.
“What we really want people to know is that these cats can still be very fantastic pets, and they can still lead very happy lives,” Ford said.
Read more in this article at The Capitol Hill Times.
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Taking action to protect your information
Recently there was a large security breach with Equifax customers. Security breaches like this can be scary. You can help protect yourself from identity theft. Our Making Life Easier program has some tips to guide you. Go to http://www.kcmakinglifeeasier.com/login and enter user name King County. Once you enter the website, you can see the tips by clicking the link on the rotating photo menu.
For more individualized guidance, you can sign up to speak with a Money Coach at My Secure Advantage. My Secure Advantage is a financial wellbeing program that provides phone-based coaching and online tools to help you manage finances and meet your goals. King County provides 90 days of free money coaching on identity protection and any other topic. Call 888-874-7290 to enroll.
Employee News 