Seattle won $15 but the movement to strike poverty isn’t over yet. The International Franchise Association is suing to overturn our minimum wage law because they think it’s not fair to McDonald’s, and Tim Eyman wants more than $1 million to try and take away the power cities have to raise wages.
Read MoreThe sky is not falling
Washington Post: Raising the minimum wage without raising havoc
“As fast-food workers demonstrate nationwide for a $15 hourly wage, and congressional Republicans fight off a $10 federal minimum, little SeaTac has something to offer the debate. Its neighbor, Seattle, was the first big city to approve a $15 wage, this spring, but that doesn’t start phasing in until next year. SeaTac did it all at once. And, though there’s nothing definitive, this much is clear: The sky did not fall.”
Some of the people who helped win $15 for Seattle
Yes! Magazine: The Faces Behind the Fight for $15 an Hour
“I’m 43 years old, probably not ever going to be able to buy a house, but at least I’ll be a little more comfortable in my own surroundings.”
A forever-commitment of McDonald’s and Franchisees
McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees tie the knot, take joint responsibility for employees
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Victory!
It’s official. Workers at Bags, who serve Alaska Airlines customers, at Sea-Tac Airport celebrated as the votes were counted in a union election. We won!
Read MoreBREAKING: Minimum wage repeal referendum will NOT qualify for the ballot
Latest numbers from King County Elections show that Forward Seattle’s referendum to repeal $15 cannot reach the necessary signature threshold and will not qualify for the ballot
King County Elections has now reviewed well over half of the referendum petitions submitted by Forward Seattle, and their fringe effort to repeal the minimum wage law has come up short. So far, 15,004 of Forward Seattle’s 18,928 petition signatures have been reviewed, and only 11,412 have been validated as legitimate signatures from actual voters — a 76% verification rate. At this point, Forward Seattle could not meet the minimum standard of 16,510 valid signatures even if every single one of the 3,924 remaining signatures were verified.
The numbers are clear: Forward Seattle’s minimum wage repeal will not qualify for the ballot. Our phased-in $15 minimum wage law will take effect as passed unanimously by the City Council and signed into law by the Mayor.
“Getting $15 will change my life because I wouldn’t feel like I’m in debt with everybody,” said Terran Lyons, a Seattle McDonald’s worker and a leader with Working Washington. “I could pay my bills on time and give my kids what they need. If my son loses his shoe when he’s playing outside, I won’t have to be worried about how I can buy him a new pair.”
Support for the $15 minimum wage law is so strong in Seattle that once word got out to the public that Forward Seattle was using misleading tactics to try and repeal the minimum wage, signature gathering ground to a halt — even moving in reverse as hundreds of people formally withdrew their signatures from the referendum in the final hours.
Seattle made history by taking on the crisis of income inequality with a $15 minimum wage will help ensure everyone can support themselves, afford the basics, and contribute to the economy. It will raise up Seattle’s 100,000 low-wage workers, providing a $3 billion boost to the economy over the next decade that will generate abundant opportunities for every business that is looking to bring in more customers.
The first raises under Seattle’s minimum wage law take effect April 1, 2015, and the first group of Seattle workers reaches $15/hour on January 1, 2017.
Summary from King County Elections:
Referendum No. 2 (Forward Seattle)
Number of signatures submitted 18,928
Number of signatures reviewed 15,004
Number of signatures verified 11,412
Withdraw your signature from the referendum to repeal the minimum wage, online!
Good news: you have one last chance to withdraw your signature if you signed the referendum to repeal the minimum wage. The City Clerk is willing to accept withdrawn signatures by email — and we created a form to make it easy.
Read MoreSupport Seattle Workers!
A fringe group of right-wing conservatives, real estate developers, and corporate executives are using misleading tactics to try and repeal Seattle's minimum wage law and keep workers in poverty.
Read MoreThe stock footage names of everyone who appears in the Franchise Association's "franchise fairness" video
At the same time they announced their absurd lawsuit against Seattle's $15 minimum wage, the DC-based International Franchise Association also released a video intended to make their case to the public that Seattle's law "discriminates" against franchise systems. Turns out every single person shown in the video is taken directly from a popular stock footage library. And the names of the video pieces they spliced together say a lot about how the franchise lobby group is trying to make their case.
A list of every single person who appears in the franchise industry's video as they appear in the Pond5 stock video catalog:
- Young asian woman smiling face
- Young hispanic man smiling at camera
- Portrait Of Young Happy Handsome Man In Glasses
- Friendly Female Barista In A Coffee Shop Serving Customers
- Young Pretty Woman Working As Florist In Shop And Smiling (Note: they color-adjusted the apron so it's Starbucks green!)
- Attractive Female Business Owner On The Phone Behind The Counter Of Her Shop
- African American Woman Close Looks Up Smiles Into Camera
- Man Looking At Seattle Skyline
We did it! Seattle workers win $15!
At 3:39PM on June 2nd, fast food workers made history when the Seattle City Council passed a $15 minimum wage by a unanimous 9-0 vote. It was only a year ago that fast food workers sparked this movement in Seattle with their first citywide strike. It was only six months ago that SeaTac voted to pass a $15 minimum wage for workers in and around the airport. And today, Seattle becomes the first big city in the US to pass a $15 minimum wage, putting the central demand of the fast food movement into law.
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