For those that like flip charts, name tags, teams, role-playing, and post-it notes.

How many of these things will there be before it only warrants the same level of attention as the occupy protesters after a few weeks into their movement.

does this actually have any momentum?

Kshama Sawant who, just like McGinn, folded not more than a month into office and had her allegiance to the Downtown Syndicate laid bare for all to see.

@3)

From this very blog:

New Poll: 68 Percent of Seattle Voters Support $15 an Hour Minimum Wage

Sounds like it has momentum to me.

@5 That poll was funded by the unions. If I can't use a poll funded by the Cato institute and have it consider "non-bias" than you can't use a poll funded by big labor.

So Goldy, here comes that question you never answer (again) : Does the Stranger pay everyone that works for it at least 15/hour?
And, for that matter, how much did Sawant pay those people who worked for her campaign? Something tells me it was a lot less than 15/hour.
Also, the president of SEIU makes about 300,000 a year, all paid for by dues from those "proletariat masses" that she claims to be fighting for. If she is really so "pro-labor", why not set her wage at the average union member's salary? And will Sawant call her out on being just as overpaid as the CEOs? I'm not holding my breath.

Oh, and one more question: will the workers of the restaurant at Seatac's Clarion hotel, all of whom lost their jobs because of the wage increases, also be there to support this measure?
I doubt it...

Seattle liberals as shock troops for Socialist Alternative's trostkyist agenda.

It's either: the liberals will dump them when they achieve their objectives (reform), or the Trots will dump the liberals when they achieve theirs. Can't wait for the circular firing squad to commence once this $15/hr thing plays out.

You will be pleased to know that SEIU has a stellar employer record. If they need to fire someone for not towing the party line, criticizing the campaign, or just not being committed enough to work 70 hour weeks, they offer a "payoff", a months severance, a "layoff" so that those being terminated can collect unemployment, and a non disclosure agreement you must sign in exchange for receiving the severance and "lay off" from which you will never be recalled.

This is SEIU's, SAGE's and Working Washington's dirty little secret. A Public Disclosure Request at WSES will reveal this fraud. But I think they pay $15 an hour so they get a pass for not applying the same principles and rules of "just cause termination" for their own employees, rules they think everyone else should live by.

@11 The problem is that if you don't drag out the issue long enough, or exacerbate conflict long enough, you lose precious opportunity to recruit for the Socialist Alternative. It's about her party first, the working class, second.

Socialist Alternative asked me to wait until after Kshama's election to highlight that a lot of workers in Seattle don't get overtime wages. After the election they said they were 'done talking about this' and that I needed to get with the program. When I met Kshama and Phillip at a Town Hall event last year, they told me they stand in solidarity with workers who enter into struggle. I've struggled to get my current elected representatives to help me fight for overtime wages for all non-salaried workers. Jamie Pedersen put it best when he told me he sympathized with not getting overtime but, "I am a corporate lawyer". I thought this would have been a slam dunk for SA, as their $15/hour message was quickly co-opted by Democrats, with McGuinn stating it's a "fair starting point" (meaning he would have supported more than $15). I've found paying overtime to all non-salaried workers is not so easy for Democrats to get on board with. This is a perfect issue for SA to push in the fight to distinguish themselves from Democrats. Socialist Alternative's 'Seattle Executive Committee' refuses to bring the issue to a vote internally. When I said that I would force a vote, because they call themselves democratic, I was asked what it was I truly wanted, to which I replied "solidarity". Nothing much, just a tweet in support of these workers not getting overtime to prove that SA supports these workers. The tweet never went out. I've was banned from their Facebook page for simply for bringing this up twice. They told me it wasn't the appropriate forum, to email their mailing list, which I did, asking for solidarity. I didn't hear back so replied two months later, the email was rejected, I was banned from their mailing list after sending that email. Would someone at The Stranger do me a favor and ask Kshama if she supports overtime for all workers? For the life of me I can not get a straight answer out of her. Also, it seems to me if Socialism is going to succeed in America it can't be at the expense of democracy. I understand that putting this to vote puts the SEC in an awkward position. They have a plan, and it's a good plan, and my bringing this to a vote complicates their plan. It would be hard for a lot of the SA members to vote against a workers issue like overtime, so it seems like the SEC's doing anything and everything (ignoring, blocking, mocking) to not have to talk about this with me. Phillip Locker (who is on salary with SA) asked me why this issue deserves attention currently and not the death penalty or women's rights. That is a good question, one that I think the membership of the organization should answer by voting. If the membership votes and isn't interested in organizing on behalf of workers not getting overtime, then so be it. But to not allow this to come to a vote, and to do everything in their power to prevent me from bringing this to a vote, Socialist Alternative reveals itself to be fearful of the democratic process. The leadership of SA has not changed for many many years. There are no term limits on leadership positions. Knowing this, it could be years before the current leadership of SA deems overtime for all workers a valid issue around which to organize. Which is quite a different reality than the image they project (aka: we're democratic). I voluntarily built their new socialistalternative.org website into a powerhouse for members to organize through while waiting for them to take up my issue. Problem was, they didn't want anything of the sort. As Jess Spear later explained to me, SA is a propaganda organization. They aren't interested in empowering their members to organize more democratically so much as building a base of activists to distribute propaganda. Once they were satisfied that further voluntary production from me would be met with demands they do what they said they would do (stand in solidarity with workers not getting overtime), they quickly took the website off my sever and put it on their own, where it lives still. In my experience, Socialist Alternative has a seriously clouded agenda. Is Socialist Alternative democratic? Is Socialist Alternative a 'workers party'? Wouldn't a workers party allow members to vote on workers issues instead of dictating what member's can and can't vote for?

@13: If you had broken than into at least three paragraphs, maybe at least three people would have read it.

Goldy: Is it legal for an elected council member to actively campaign for an issue that's currently before the council? Apparently so, but I'm curious.