Representative Farrell Files Bill to Raise Washington State Minimum Wage to $12 an Hour

Comments

Prediction: In order to get enough votes from more conservative members, they will have to add a proviso that prohibits minimum wage ordinances by local governments.

Citizen R on January 23, 2014 at 4:04 PM

Prediction: No Democrat who has aspirations for State-wide office would sign off on such a proviso: because Seattle voters.

Sean Kinney on January 23, 2014 at 4:10 PM

@1's point is prescient - We are already hamstringed by an RCW that restricts municipalities from enacting rent control or indexing rents to the CPI.

Sean Kinney on January 23, 2014 at 4:16 PM

Not to mention that $12/hour is much easier to bundle with 12th-man mania.

How many people in the Century Link and Seahawks orgs make less than 12/hr now?

unpaid reader on January 23, 2014 at 4:36 PM

This is too small and slow to make a huge difference, though it's better than nothing. I wish our legislators would start bigger to have a chance of bargaining down to this level as a baseline. So make it $12 as of next year, and adjust the minimum proportionally upward for localities with a median wage higher than the state median wage. Because King County has a median household income 18% higher than the state as a whole, that would create a countywide minimum wage of $14.27, nearly at the totemic $15 level. And then index that to inflation.

Cascadian on January 23, 2014 at 4:39 PM

It would mean something in Aberdeen and Yakima

Sean Kinney on January 23, 2014 at 4:43 PM

We should let cities lower it below the state minimum, as well as raise it. Republicans want a race to the bottom, so let the rural redneck counties all race to the bottom. Voters there might even learn something from the experiment.

Meanwhile, let Seattle raise it to $15. After all, if Republicans believed their own rhetoric, they'd be thrilled to put Bellevue or Kent or Pasco at a supposed competitive advantage against Seattle. But the don't believe a word coming out of their own mouths.

What they know is that if you empower workers, it hurts the 1% and that's who they work for. And that's why they don't want anyone to see what happens when a city starts paying it's workers at least $15 per hour.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn on January 23, 2014 at 5:35 PM

More like, "Over six million Washingtonians would benefit from a $12 minimum wage."

G g on January 23, 2014 at 5:42 PM

The same cost-of-living adjustment from $12 that gets us almost to $15 for King County would lead to a minimum wage under $8 in the lowest-income county. Maybe have $12 be the default and let each county decide whether to adjust by cost of living. I'd feel bad for the poor saps in rural counties consigned to wages under $8/hour, though.

Cascadian on January 23, 2014 at 5:44 PM

"In order to get enough votes from more conservative members, they will have to add a proviso that prohibits minimum wage ordinances by local governments."

Good compromise.

on January 23, 2014 at 5:59 PM

This is exactly why the $15 fight is so important. There's a good number of people who think $15 is too high, but they equally acknowledge that the minimum wage as it stands isn't high enough. If we wanted $15 an hour we would have asked for $20 an hour. $12 an hour is a perfect place to land. Everyone always gets mad at me for saying this but this is politics. You ask for significantly more than you want to get the ball rolling and when enough people identify with your cause shit gets changed. Starting the conversation was the first step.

watchout5 on January 23, 2014 at 6:32 PM

@7, the redneck counties already consume most of the low-income benefits the state offers (because their politicians keep them poor), so letting them lower the minimum would be a bit counterproductive. We in Seattle pay for those redneck counties.

sarah70 on January 23, 2014 at 7:10 PM

Your headline almost feels like a lie after reading the article. $12 by 2017 is nothing more than 10% per year. Yes, its more than nothing: double boeing's projected increase in profits (yet 20x the machinists' contracted increases), but less than half the rate of increase in home prices on beacon hill this past year (one of the cheapest places in Seattle). I think anything less than $12 immediately is chicken shit. another unfortunate dem placation of a popular movement...

Upchuck on January 23, 2014 at 7:41 PM

Unlike the lessons that could be imparted by the upper-caste, non-racial, non-sexual, non-physical entity currently hemming and hawing over the power hike she has no control over,

This one wouldn't destroy the economy of Seattle.

It would not serve smaller communities well.

Within those redneck counties lies the future population of Seattle, because you sure as hell don't contribute.

on January 23, 2014 at 7:49 PM

Let's get this straight, everyone.

Or, if you prefer, we could get this queer.

Let's get this LGBTQPRSLMNOP.

Let's tax the super rich.

This is, after all, how we'll pay the $15 an hour minimum wage.

Which is enough money to live well and travel all over the planet, by the way.

Not that you'd know that.

So we tax the super rich. This money goes.. um..

Into a fund for the business owners!

Yeah, that's it!

So now we are redistributing wealth from the super rich to the merely wealthy so that they can pay people who will take those jobs, effectively booting those currently picketing from the city.

Like Uber, only with fries.

Wait, no one has gotten that far yet..

How nice of her to hijack someone else's day.

on January 23, 2014 at 7:59 PM

Upchuck: short of legislation that would establish a truly progressive revenue stream, and a robust public infrastructure, raising the floor is the only realizable end-around. Why? Because despite the cognitive dissonance that grips the rural poor (voting against their clear material interest for candidates that confirm their xenophobic assumptions) pretty much the entire underclass will vote themselves a pay raise. Even in red states this discussion is underway. $12 is a big one.

Sean Kinney on January 23, 2014 at 8:09 PM

Mommy, what's mitosis?

on January 23, 2014 at 8:17 PM

My my what an incoherent troll.

Machiavelli was framed on January 23, 2014 at 8:59 PM

Big one Sean? People making the min right now need a raise right now. A big raise. Have you ever lived on 9.32? My wife and I each make damn near 3x that and it's still tough to pay the mortgage, day care, groceries, health ins, bills and gas for our p.o.s 25 yr old car. And this dem proposal is supposed to be a great thing we should be so happy about? Please. $12 in 3 years is incremental chicken shit, I say again. Thank god we at least have 1 socialist on the city council!

Upchuck on January 23, 2014 at 10:16 PM

Upchuck: I'm speaking of towns that lie outside of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area. Like Concrete, Omak, Sedro Wooley, etc. $12 is a big deal there. Of course it needs to be higher here. I'm sorry $25 an hour doesn't cut it for you. You are a ways back in line, my friend.

Sean Kinney on January 23, 2014 at 10:54 PM

I'll see your $25 an hour and raise it: $40/hour!

Will in Seattle on January 23, 2014 at 11:39 PM

Yay for no tip credit! This is in contrast with the voter initiative filed by Elizabeth Campbell in Seattle for fifteen dollars includes a tip credit provision, which would be the first such law in Washington State that allows employers to pay less than the minimum wage to tipped workers, reinforcing the position of these service workers as a class below all others.

mrjoe on January 24, 2014 at 12:04 AM

@22: Which already doesn't work in the states that already have that implemented, so why are we trying to bring a broken system to WA again? So that you can feel a little bit better about not working in the service industry?

treehugger on January 24, 2014 at 8:12 AM

Goldy, honest question: Does The Stranger provide a living wage of at least $15 (or even $12) an hour, health care benefits and paid days off to all of its employees and only contract with printers and other service providers who do the same?

If not, why not?

You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me on January 24, 2014 at 10:07 AM

Watchout5 @11, you've just expressed what are pretty much my views far better than I could have expressed them myself. The numbers and the timing hit the political sweet spot, and they actually could make a difference for low-wage workers and the state economy.

This is just the kind of smart, practical, progressive legislation I expect to come from Jessyn Farrell. Having her in Olympia gives me some hope for our state.

Disclaimer. I'm not holding my breath waiting to see this pass.

cressona on January 24, 2014 at 4:18 PM

Sean, $12 may indeed have more impact for the rural areas and small towns... if it happened now! But three years is too long for people who are hurting. I have lived in a small town and i have family in rural areas, so I know what it's like. rent is cheaper, not much else. so out there just as in seattle, anything les than 12 immediately is incremental and barely significant, especially with inflating costs. I realize that this may be all that is politically realistic, which is why I believe left leaning folks need to start ditching the dems for socialists, greens, or other third party independents.

Upchuck on January 24, 2014 at 6:44 PM

Representative Farrell Files Bill to Raise Washington State Minimum Wage to $12 an Hour

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